Thanks Jon, I agree entirely.
I guess this also highlights an important problem for testers/developers.
Its extremely difficult to know which packages are good, which ones suck, which ones are taking the right approach which are using slightly dodgy approaches.
Again this overall ACS problem is a lack of consistency.. Too many solutions to one problem, but none of them 'properly' done and tested.
I personally think there's something harsher required. I actually think (and I guess its Don's call) that a large percentage of this toolkit should be dumped/binned immediately, if for no better reason than for clarity.
By way of example I think the forms system is a good example of this. There's a functional templating method building up in the tcl/adp approach and this should be extended. Then there's a forms based interface for generating forms that have no inherent relation to the templating system and not only that produce pretty crappy looking items of limited value given that most commercial web applications get highly customised. (I mean you may as well use Remedy if you want a crap interface done badly but quickly)
But... they both hang around the system, they both have errors, they both require answering questions, imporved docs and so forth... and worst of all they boht need testing!
Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind, and perhaps some judicious pruning at this juncture might be good for us all..
Any thoughts?
Its gotta be better to do a few things well than keep supporting multiple, lower quality packages?
If nothing else, is it worth reviewing the 'develope guidelines' and standards and rating each package against it. At least then its clearer which ones are good exemplars and which are not.
Cheers
Simon
