top-down design + nevermind

[Thien-Thi Nguyen]

this is related to recent guile-snarf weirdness but could be said to
apply generally to ends such as setting guile's direction.  top-down
design values interface elegance more than implementation elegance.  the
implementation does what it needs to support the interface and in return
for bearing this burden is given the freedom to evolve.

this is obviously in contrast to bottom-up design which i believe can
get a lot of unfocused work done but often presumes to know the future
too much in practice, eventually causing re-design, because elegance is
measured in the implementation and guesses are made about usage.

either style of design is fun.  people write books about their own
personal design philosophies and how it helps you (10min a day).  in any
case, what users perceive determines their happiness w/ the result.

so how to choose the style that fits best for the job?

guile-user cc'ed, to also mention how little reponse there was to the
mailinglist unification (5 resp., 4 yes).  perhaps the question was not
worthy of the survey idea.  damn, i knew i was nuts.

what is guile's direction, btw?

thi