[wmii] Re: columns

What wmii needs is to be finished, that it is about god damned time. Wmii-3
should have been the last major wmii release, but garbeam's extreme CADT[1]
means that as much polishing is left to do in wmii-3 as it was in wmii-2.5

What is needed is to stop fiddling around with crap like shortcuts (I think
shortcuts have been changed at least once a week since the project was
started), and get all the important stuff like tag bars finished.

And "computer science" might be anything, but it is not a science[2]. It is
everything about a good sense of taste; and the problem garbeam has is not only
that he has no taste, but that he has to change his mind every day; that makes
it impossible for wmii to archive the most important thing for any software
project: conceptual integrity[3].

uriel

[1] http://www.jwz.org/doc/cadt.html
[2] See
http://www.swiss.ai.mit.edu/classes/6.001/abelson-sussman-lectures/videos/Lecture-1a.avi
[3] See The Mythical Man Month, which every programmer should read before they
even think about writing a line of code.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0201835959/

On 5/28/06, David Arroyo <goodluv_AT_gmail.com> wrote:
> >I don't want to comment on the specifics here, but if you are
> >talking about things for wmii-4, then *please* do not be affraid
> >of radical change.
>
> I find this a very improper way of thinking, and a harmful
> attitude for the development of wmii. One should not be afraid to
> make changes. But one should be cautious. I'm not a computer
> scientist, I don't know if I ever will be. However, reading all
> the lists I'm subscribed to, it appears that the *science* of
> computer science is lost somewhere. There's a scientific method
> and everything, that tells you to think through a feature, to
> research about it, and to plan its implementation before you even
> begin an 'experiment.' Now, I know wmii is a hobby project, but
> this method has not been followed all that well. A change is good
> if it makes sense. It's usually a natural progression of a basic,
> simple idea. Nature works that way.
>
> The worst thing for wmii right now is "new features", where they
> aren't needed. Wmii is already more usable than most window
> managers, and has done a lot of things right. If anything, we
> should be removing features that don't fit and refining those
> that work well. After tag bars, I daresay wmii will be close to
> the stage that requires art, and fine fingers, so to speak.
> Thinking things through from all angles will avoid extra work and
> get us to wmii-4 much quicker than random experimentation.
>
> regards,
> sleepydog
>
> --
> "My words fly up, my thoughts remain below:
> Words without thoughts never to heaven go."
>
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Received on Mon May 29 2006 - 07:22:27 UTC