Datasheet

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Chapter 1: Defi ning the Language Environment
Of course, resources come in a number of forms. It’s possible for a project to move along fi ne until it
requires something special. You may need special graphics fi les to test your application. Unless you
schedule the artist’s time well in advance, the images may not be ready when you need them. The same
holds true for any specialized need. Many projects today require developers with unique talents, such as
the ability to mix sight, sound, and code into a cohesive whole. Often, you know about these needs even
before you begin much planning because the basic tasks require some level of specialized interaction.
Developing Your Design Strategy
The purpose of this chapter is to acquaint you with the language environment. Many projects fail
because the designer didn’t start with the right language. Sure, the language the designer chose could
work, but it didn’t because it wasn’t the optimal choice. Of course, designers have to work in the real
world, so this chapter discusses real-world language environment concerns, such as the availability of
staff with the correct language skills. The most important idea that you can take away from this chapter
is that there isn’t a silver bullet language that works in every situation. Sometimes, you even have to
mix languages in order to achieve optimum results in a minimum of time.
It’s important to get started with your project as quickly as possible, but it’s also important to perform
the right steps at the right time. The essential step described in this chapter is to create a language envi-
ronment — to consider how the use of a particular language will affect the development of your appli-
cation. Take time now to consider the basic tasks your application performs. You don’t have to provide a
sequence or anything complex, just the simple ideas of retrieving data, processing it somehow, and pre-
senting it to the user. Inventory the languages that your team knows and then assign those languages
to the various application tasks. This simple step helps you understand why you’re using a particular
language in a particular place. While you work on that language inventory, you may also want to create
an inventory of skills and experiences.
Applications have a lifecycle. You design, write, maintain, and fi nally retire them. It’s important to
consider the entire application lifecycle before you write the fi rst line of code. Chapter 2 presents the
application lifecycle and the different strategies you can use to implement the lifecycle. Of course, you
perform this thought process before you begin designing the application. Mulling the application in
your mind and writing some basic ideas down on paper are the steps you take after you consider the
language environment.
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