what in the TAO is happening?

Chipp Walters chipp at chipp.com
Sat Oct 15 18:54:51 EDT 2005



MisterX wrote:

> if they can understand ajax or ruby on rails, and they can understand rev,
> im sure they can understand TAOO! And I do think I try to exemplify what I
> say to avoid this. Should I mention also it does pie charts and how good
> that is for your business like a certain office type of line of products? Im
> sure we all see that possible.

Xavier,

The big reason for the fuss over AJAX or Ruby on Rails is because they 
have been used to do something rarely if ever seen before. That is: 
building applications within a single web page. The success of these 
applications are what DRIVE developers to spend the time to UNDERSTAND 
these 'platforms.'

And here's why.

When I (or developers in general) look at an AJAX app, be it GMAIL, or 
WRITELY, or other, I think to myself, "hmmm, there's a commercial 
opportunity here." IOW, these apps have proven it's possible, now how 
can I use this to solve my customer's problems? The fact is, much of the 
hard trailblazing work has been done, and the proof is in the commercial 
deployment (mostly bugfree!) application.

To date, no such animal exists for TAOO, thus IMO, you'll find it most 
difficult to engage others.

I agree with Dennis, most of us already 'know' our own best way to 
program Rev. I doubt you'll find Ken Ray or Richard Gaskin looking for 
new architectures to base their projects on. In fact, they probably have 
(as I do) bunches of libraries which are interchangeable from project to 
project. We don't call them TAOO, but in fact they do provide a 'code 
once, use everywhere' function for us. In fact, these libraries are 
often so personal in style and structure, we don't share them...not 
because we're stingy, but because it would take too much time to prepare 
them for ubiquitous use by others. Just ask Ken how much time he has in 
his XML parsing library!

Unfortunately, your sense of GUI design, while most colorful, does 
create a bit of confusion for your 'testers.' I might suggest you 
consider finding anothers style and copying it-- TAOO will be more 
manageable, approachable and clearer with clean design.

You see, (unlike my understanding of Judy's posts) it's very difficult 
to separate form from function. Good designers know this. In fact, many 
would argue form is function and vice versa. So, consider the form of 
your demos, as well as the function. In fact, I encourage you to 
consider the 'form' of TAOO as well. Up to now, there has been little 
form outside of hyperbole and platitudes. Well designed products, even 
middleware, have form to them.

Best wishes to you and TAOO,

Chipp




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