Making something for everyone is so much more work than making something just for yourself
Making something for everyone is so much more work than making something just for yourself
I'm not complaining, but I didn't realize how much work it was. It makes me really respect the people who do it on a regular basis.
For example:
- You know how to use your software, but other people don't. So you need to write documentation.
- You can just modify the source files, but it's impractical for everyone to do that. So you need to add a config file.
- You can just drag the output files into place, but that's impractical for everyone to do. So you need to package it.
- You trust yourself, but distro maintainers rightfully don't. So you need to package your source code and configure the package to compile it.
- You will abide by your idea of how the software should be used, but other people might not. So you need to pick a license.
Sometimes I think there must be an easier way, but I can't think of any. I guess it probably gets easier with experience.
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I've seen a chart where software development complexity grows 3 times on each of these steps. For example:
- implement a business logic: 1 day
- cover with tests: 1 * 3 = 3 days
- write documentation: 1 * 3 * 3 = 9 days
- make it installable by other users: 1 * 3 * 3 * 3 = 27 days
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