General Design Principles
- Consistency
- Hide as many details as possible, e.g., reduce the scope
- Only provide choice when necessary
- What does a "simple design" mean?
- Good defaults
Importance of Naming
- Again, one of the most challenging parts of design
- Good names require extensive use of the system over a long time
- For an API, they require lots of different examples
Modeling & Diagrams
- Very difficult to talk about modeling without the appropriate diagrams
- Used UML Class Diagrams and UML Sequence Diagrams, but there are many others
- Write code, then draw diagrams? Or draw diagrams, then code?
- UmlAsSketch
Design is about choices
- Quick fix vs. real solution
- Patch or wrapper vs. core change
- New features vs. old reliables
- Clarity vs. efficiency
- Code (low-level) vs. Models (high-level)
Change is Constant
- New language features to implement current design better
- New languages, including DSLs (Domain Specific Languages)
- New views on old design patterns and idioms
- New design patterns and idioms
Must be able to…
- Discuss design choices intelligently
- Be open to changing your thinking and your current design choices
- Keep up with new language features and new design ideas
Software & People
- Software is designed to help people and for people to use
- Software is designed and implemented by people
- Project skills are much more than just technical skills