[jboss-dev] Abstract classes?

[Jason T. Greene]

Adrian Brock wrote:
> On Thu, 2009-06-04 at 10:17 -0500, Jason T. Greene wrote:
>>> Frankly, I've got better things to do than worry about whether
>>> somebody can understand what a class does from its name without
>>> reading the javadoc or even the code (it is open source).
>> If we had good javadoc sure, but we don't. Yes everyone can figure 
>> everything out from reading the source, but we have a ton of source, and 
>>   its a gigantic waste of time for someone to figure out "how" and "why" 
>> X is the way it is, then ask the author wasting their time etc etc.
>>
> 
> What developers should really concentrate on is what's tested.
> 
> I don't care what the javadoc says or what an author thinks their
> software does. If its not tested it could do anything.
> 
> The tests also give some idea about how the thing should be used,
> (something that's a lot more useful than the usually perpetually
> out-of-date docs).
> 
> Testing is a much higher priority than whether a class should be
> AbstractThingyBuilderFactory or other "aesthetic" arguments.

Sure, tests are just as important, but they are no substitute for 
documenting an API. If you don't document APIs they will be misued, or 
worse, people wont bother using them at all.

> 
>>> The same goes for all the other "feeble" topics that have been drowning
>>> the dev-list recently. 
>> I didn't realize boot performance, redeployment behavior, public/private 
>> APIs, and embedded bootsrap are "feeble" topics. If you don't like them 
>> post something you want to talk about.
>>
> 
> Stick your e-mail client in threaded mode and you can see examples of
> (without naming names): 
 >
 >
 >
> * "design by committee"
> 
> - JFDI and we can discuss it when you have a working prototype
> that gives us something more concrete to talk about and develop.
> If you need to collect anything beyond peripheral requirements 
> then maybe you're not the best person to lead the project?

I am not following you. Almost everything discussed has to do with work 
taking place right now, usually with code to back it up.

> 
> * any post that begins +N usually has very little to add to the
> discussion, the -1 posts have much more relevance (if you can
> see them for "trees")
> 
> - good software design is not done via elections its done
> by vetoing (fixing) bad design

I don't see any elections here.....

> 
> * further reduxes of "wouldn't it be good if ...", usually by
> people who aren't going to do (or resource) the ...
> 
> - You want it, you do it
> 
> I could go on, but ...

I disagree on this one. If someone has a good idea, I want to hear it, 
even if they don't have the time to do it. Some of the items suggested 
can't just be done by one person. They have to be done by everyone. A 
good example is the dependency chain issues you have brought up several 
times in the past.

-- 
Jason T. Greene
JBoss, a division of Red Hat