Some final ( maybe ) comments on what I would suggest for goals or high
level requirements of an 'official' example Base application.
First – It shouldn't be an example Base application at all! Rather, it
should be an example of an OpenOffice Suite based solution for some
business operation.
Second – When the example is being created the developer(s) /
reviewer(s) must keep in mind that as soon as it becomes part of an
'official' distribution it becomes a de-facto statement of best practices.
Now the second point may not be something intended at all. However, for
many users what knowledge they currently poses was acquired by rote
learning. What they learn by reviewing the example will be their 'best
practices' for moving forward with their own specific needs.
Third – You never get a second chance for a first impression!
Fourth – One size never actually fits all. Hearkening back to my my
comments regarding separating audiences by skill level I believe that no
single example will be appropriate nor adequate.
Therefor I would propose that any project to produce this example have
as an objective, not one, but a small collection of examples. All these
would be related, but each able to function independently of the others.
Each should be focused to a specific skill level ( novice to apprentice
), and each should add functionality to the one before it. The final
product being a reasonably complete solution to a narrowly defined
business process. The final product should incorporate the use of
multiple modules within OpenOffice and should be written to the skill
level of an advanced apprentice or journeyman.
It may appear that this is a rather gross case of feature creep with
regards to the subject, but I would contend it is not. Rather that it
is, IMO, an acceptance of what would be needed to make the effort truly
worthwhile.
I also don't believe it would really add all that much to the time
needed to produce it. Assuming one specs out the final product first. It
would be natural to break this work into functional sections and then
simply cut these functional pieces out as progress is made towards the
full solution. With a little forethought one should be able to generate
these intermediate examples with only minimal additional effort.
Finally – Talk is cheap!
With the final point in mind, and given that I have not seen any other
suggestions for an example subject, I have begun a draft proposal for a
collection of examples, that attempts to address all of the points I
have mentioned.
I will put my final touches to the rough draft tonight and – touched up
or rough as it is now – will post it to the list in the morning. Effort
wise, I have been focusing on a business process and planned soltion
that I believe could be developed in approximately 100 development hours.
Till the morrow then,
Drew
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