Fri, 22 Oct 2010 02:42:49 -0700, Walter Bright wrote: > retard wrote: >> >> Why I think the D platform's risk is so high is because the author >> constantly refuses to give ANY estimates on feature schedules. > > Would you believe them if I did?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_development_process "Without project management, software projects can easily be delivered late or over budget. With large numbers of software projects not meeting their expectations in terms of functionality, cost, or delivery schedule, effective project management appears to be lacking." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estimation_in_software_engineering "The ability to accurately estimate the time and/or cost taken for a project to come in to its successful conclusion is a serious problem for software engineers. The use of a repeatable, clearly defined and well understood software development process has, in recent years, shown itself to be the most effective method of gaining useful historical data that can be used for statistical estimation. In particular, the act of sampling more frequently, coupled with the loosening of constraints between parts of a project, has allowed more accurate estimation and more rapid development times." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_Lifecycle_Management "Proponents of application lifecycle management claim that it * Increases productivity, as the team shares best practices for development and deployment, and developers need focus only on current business requirements * Improves quality, so the final application meets the needs and expectations of users * Breaks boundaries through collaboration and smooth information flow * Accelerates development through simplified integration * Cuts maintenance time by synchronizing application and design * Maximizes investments in skills, processes, and technologies * Increases flexibility by reducing the time it takes to build and adapt applications that support new business initiatives" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_coding "Lack of estimation or implementation planning may cause a project to be delayed. Sudden deadlines or pushes to release software may encourage the use of quick and dirty or code and fix techniques that will require further attention later." "Cowboy coding is common at the hobbyist or student level where developers may initially be unfamiliar with the technologies, such as the build tools, that the project requires." "Custom software applications, even when using a proven development cycle, can experience problems with the client concerning requirements. Cowboy coding can accentuate this problem by not scaling the requirements to a reasonable timeline, and may result in unused or unusable components being created before the project is finished. Similarly, projects with less tangible clients (often experimental projects, see independent game development) may begin with code and never a formal analysis of the design requirements. Lack of design analysis may lead to incorrect or insufficient technology choices, possibly requiring the developer to port or rewrite their software in order for the project to be completed." "Many software development models, such as Extreme Programming, use an incremental approach which stresses functional prototypes at each phase. Non-managed projects may have few unit tests or working iterations, leaving an incomplete project unusable." > I believe it is also an error to require a tool be perfect before you > can pick it up. All that is required is that its benefit/cost is higher > than that of other tools. That's what I said. > D has quite a few advantages that are > available with it right now. But it doesn't matter. Like you said, the benefit/cost matters.
