[Gnumed-devel] Specs (was: Gnumed brochures)

[Hilmar Berger]

Hi Karsten, 

On Fri, 16 Dec 2005 16:33:54 +0100
Karsten Hilbert <address@hidden> wrote:

> On Fri, Dec 16, 2005 at 10:41:54AM +0100, Hilmar Berger wrote:
> 
> > > > Without a clear vision, your specs will be wrong (written down or not),
> > > > which will finally result in useless code.
> > > Absolutely not true. I have no idea what gives you this impression. A 
> > > vision 
> > > can develop while you code. It takes longer but it is way better than a 
> > > vision that is screwed.
> > I guess that is the point we disagree. You say that it is
> > better to start coding even if you are not sure what you
> > exactly want.
> No. What he's saying is that it's better to *code* by one's
> non academically sound vision rather than not coding by a
> superb design plan.
I understand you don't like me telling you that we need a different development 
process. You and the rest of the coders brought Gnumed to almost 0.2 without 
that, so why bother ? 
First,my intention was not to tell you that you wont reach v1.0 doing it your 
way. You probably will. It might take some time, though. I just strongly 
believe that a) you could save the time you already needed and will continue to 
need for redesigning your code and b) it will be easier to communicate to 
others what you had in mind when coding and how everything is thought to play 
together.  
Second, the decision is not "To code or not to code". It's rather "To code with 
or without a planning phase". In my eyes spending some hours/days in order to 
have a plan is not wasted time. It's time you can easily save in the coding 
phase. And that is what I have seen and experienced. Sometimes it's better to 
ask the crucial questions first and hit the keys afterwards. I guess that you 
are doing some sort of design process for your own anyways and you have a clear 
vision, too. So what I was asking you was to write your thoughts down (even in 
a not so superb manner) and let others participate in the design process. It's 
never bad to add more brains in the design process. What will be coded in the 
end is a different topic. 

> > I am quite convinced that making a at least
> > rough plan (specs) before starting to code will save you
> > time in the end.
> So, where are your specs ?
I said that I will write down some specs and I'm determined to do so. I will 
probaly have some time at end of December, so you can expect to see something 
written down at the beginning of the next year. 

Hilmar



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