Re: SEUL: "Just write it!" and plans

[Erik Walthinsen <omega@omegacs.net>]

> I agree wholeheartedly with the idea that a (very) coarse, top-level
> design should be done before starting to code, but I think it would be
> more than a little crazy to try to plan every last bit before starting
> on implementation.
I do not intend to plan this project into the ground.  I simply want to 
decide on some basic goals first, then develop code as an instance of those 
goals (OO, here we go..).  Beyond a certain level, coding can happen.  But if 
coding happens before we decide what to include, and that code isn't what we 
decide to include, it gets left out, and the work that person put into this 
program is (in the context of the project) wasted.

The reason we must at least write out what our goals are and how, at a 
certain relatively high level, we intend to accomplish those goals, the 
number of "throw-away" programs become unacceptably high.  I don't want the 
time and effort of all these talented people to go to waste like that.

> Don't let your craftspeople lose interest.  Harness it while you have
> it.
Hence my goal of end-of-January to start actually building things.

     Erik Walthinsen <omega@seul.org> - SEUL Project system architect
        __
       /  \                SEUL: Simple End-User Linux -
      |    | M E G A            Creating a Linux distribution
      _\  /_                         for the home or office user