General talk about software patterns

[Jacek Sokulski <jaceks AT software.com.pl>]

Hi Till,
thanks for the e-mail. I have briefly read the paper. It seems it is
closer to what I ma looking for.

I am not sure if it will make more clear the context of my question, but
here are some reasons why I am interested in Alexander works:
- understanding of what are we rely doing in software and why so much of
our work is flawed. Alexander's deep insight in the development and
essence of good things I've found very inspiring
- the need for a new software development process, all the processes I
know seems to be missing something very essential. Maybe it is not
appreciating fully the human side of the process (even in agile methods)
and real human capabilities. I remember in my career few short moments
of what can be called "frictionless flow" when the mind is absolutely
clear and the work is done almost perfectly and defect free without any
effort. Maybe it has more to do with Maslow's peak experiences than
regular software development, but the experiences Alexander and other
people have using his development method seems to be similar.
- human side of our work, so the process that develops not only software
but also people (I mean human development not only professional
development) 

One of the projects I want to do is to try to invent software
development process that deeply mirrors the process Alexander describes
for buildings. But to do this I need to understand better Alexander's
work, and its connections with software engineering.


All the best
Jacek

 
W liście z wto, 09-11-2004, godz. 13:15, Till Schümmer pisze: 
> Hi Jacek,
> 
> we have been working on adapting the Oregon process to software development.
> The paper describing this appeared at XP2004. A copy of the article can be
> found at our website:
> 
> http://www.pi6.fernuni-hagen.de/publ/OSDP_XP.pdf
> 
> We are currently working on transferring other aspects of Alexander's work,
> but this is work in progress.
> 
> What is the context of your question? Are there any concrete projects?
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Till Schümmer.
> 
> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: 
> patterns-discussion-bounces AT cs.uiuc.edu
> [mailto:patterns-discussion-bounces AT cs.uiuc.edu]
>  Im Auftrag von Jacek
> Sokulski
> Gesendet: Dienstag, 9. November 2004 09:03
> An: Michael J. Pont; Patterns Discussion
> Betreff: Re: [patterns-discussion] Alexander's ideas
> 
> Michael,
> Thank you for your reply. I have not read the papers on the website you
> have sent link to but IMHO it seems that this the same case as in most
> of the publications on patterns: it is mostly the technical staff form
> Alexandr's works, notion of patterns, pattern languages, forces etc.
> That is of course fine and very useful, but I am interested more in the
> ides that are at the heart of Alexander's writings: the quality without
> a name, differentiating the whole, the process of design and
> construction, the ides form The Nature of Order etc. 
> Some kind of this one can find in Richard Gabriel's Patterns of Software
> or in some articles by J. Coplien.
> 
> All the best 
> Jacek
> 
> W liście z wto, 09-11-2004, godz. 07:39, Michael J. Pont pisze: 
> > Hi Jacek,
> > 
> > Like many members of this list, I like to think that my colleagues and I 
> > have been applying Alexander's ideas to software development for the past 
> > few years.
> > 
> > You'll find some information about this work here:
> > 
> > http://www.le.ac.uk/engineering/mjp9/patterns.html
> > 
> > Best wishes,
> > 
> > Michael.
> > 
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Jacek Sokulski"
> > Sent: Monday, November 08, 2004 2:28 PM
> > Subject: [patterns-discussion] Alexander's ideas
> > 
> > 
> > > Hello,
> > > Does anybody know what is the current status of adapting Alexander's
> > > ideas to software development? Is someone working on it? The latest
> > > papers I have found are 5 or 6 years old.
> > > I will be grateful for any info, links, contacts, etc.
> > > All the best
> > > Jacek
> > 
> > 
> 
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