This post is not about design-design, but the internal design of a software system. Such a design has several general characteristics, and Code Complete 2 has a list of these. First, a related quote by R. Buckminster Fuller: “When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.

“Gordius, the King of Phrygia, once tied a knot that no one could untie. It was said that he who solved the riddle of the Gordian Knot would rule all of Asia. So along comes Alexander the Great, who chops the knot to bits with his sword. Just a little different interpretation of the requirements, that’s all… and he did end up ruling most of Asia.” So begins chapter seven of one of my favourite programming books of all time.

The best things in life are free smart and simple! As code checklists for example. I’m currently reading Bob Walsh‘s recent book Mirco-ISV – From Vision To Reality, which is a book about running your own Micro-ISV (independent/internet software vendor). Micro-ISV’s are often one-man companies, for example single developers producing and selling their own software. Early in the book Walsh talks about ‘developing the Micro-ISV way’, and this is where he gets into code checklists:

SVN is a version system that replaces CVS (cause it’s better). I’ve been using it for quite a while, and have been kind of addicted to it. Since I haven’t yet set up my own server at home, I started looking around for SVN hosting – when I found this one which is free. I just registered but it looks great so far. You can create a project with multiple users.