RE: [xml-dev] The Best Technologies Don't Win

[David Lyon <david.lyon@preisshare.net>]

Len,

> 2.  When picking among the alternatives, requirements dominate clever
> code.  A very real challenge to cat herding is knowing which cats are
> doing something useful, say, can be sold in a contracting environment if
> you sell big systems.

Good point. This probably seems to describe the direction of xml these
days. Everything is about the big companies.

It's true, clever code solutions are always blocked out in a corporate
environment. Management goes with the nice sounding salespeople who
entertain with backhanders, theatre tickets and football match passes.

After the deal is signed, then the expensive contractors come in who
only just last week were Nurses or in the Army or Graduates something
totally unrelated and begin work. Beavering away at high rates trying
with idea just to figure out what to do. Looks good. Everybody working.

How can clever code ever challenge that?

I don't think it can. I think Open-Source is the only way. Maybe Mr
MySQL found the same thing.

The Nurse-last-week-now-IT-guru downloads some wanna-be project having
no idea that the thing hardly even works and asks Mr WannaGoLunch Boss
to work on it. Doesn't work properly and after a few months the project
gets canned.

All is ok though because the Client paid for it and everybody looked
good. Kitchen is finished. New RV arrives. And off in the Ether the
bodgy project got two lines of bad code fixed.

As for deciding which cats go on to bigger and better things. It's
usually the things that appeal to managements sense of greed. Anything
with a bit of greed is usually a sure fire hit inside a big company.

Whether it is more rows in the database, more connections.. more Mhz..
more geographic coverage whatever... 

If it can be made to appeal to the greedy... all will probably work out
well in the end....

Oh yes... I forgot to mention the "experts". They would love to jump on
board of course... but gave up their idealism long ago and left to do
other things. Maybe they figured getting upset ain't worth it anymore
and there is a new show on at the theatre. Maybe they do some
cat-herders in their spare time...

Regards

David