Re: Two persons per product" -- MIDRANGE-L

Leif fluttered:

>From: "Leif Svalgaard" <leif@attglobal.net>
>>  creativity and artfulness can be found in Programming
>>  in the same way as it is found in Architecture: in the design,
>>  but not in the execution.

and Nathan added:

>By execution, are you referring to the compiled object, or the source code?
>
>Is your idea of design in the source code?  Or somewhere else?
>
>Nathan M. Andelin
>www.relational-data.com


As the architect designs the shape of the building, and where the
doors and windows go, and how many floors it will have, the
programmer examines the problem and decides the algorithm to be used
to solve the problem, the files to be created, etc. etc.

It's at the 'architecture' stage that 2 persons can be most useful
(IMHO).  Go hide in the room that's lined with whiteboards and start
drawing.  Whatever design tools you use (flowcharts...    data flow
diagrams...  HIPO Charts...), draw the thing.  And both of you have
both a marker and an eraser.

And fight nice!

I get a feeling when the solution to a problem is good--  it 'feels
right.'  When it's not right, I get a feeling that something's been
left out; or twisted around backwards.  When the problem's been
corrected, everything falls into place, and that 'bad' feeling goes
away.

Once past the architecture stage, it's 'merely' coding.  The coding
phase is the 'grunt' work of a problem; the creativity is in the
design.  Coding is a 'mechanical' process of translating the white
board diagrams into code (whatever the language).

Yes, yes, I know that this is not as mechanical a process as I make
it sound... especially if the white board doesn't have enough detail.
[I remember one consulting programmer we had... I showed him the
basic diagrams for an application, and he was hopelessly lost.  He
was not a 'programmer' as I envision a programmer-- he was a "coder."
And had to be fed a lot more detail than I had diagrammed. (IMNSHO,
if I have to get to that level of detail, I might as well code the
program myself; the hard part's already done!)  But I digress.]  The
translation does require skill, and good logic, and the ability to
make an accurate translation (and finish any unclear logic).

In building terms, the coding is putting the varnish on the woodwork,
hanging the light fixtures, making the final inspection, before
turning the keys over to the new owners.

Who will promptly slam the doors; turn the heat up to 95 and complain
that the air conditioning isn't working; unreel a full roll of toilet
paper into the hopper, then complain that the plumbing is clogged;
and discover that one corner where you were 1" short of wallpaper.

--Paul E Musselman
PaulMmn@ix.netcom.nospam.com