Re: Which do I use for web design?
Neil Coffey wrote:
For each "framework" that I consider using, I always ask myself
things such as:
- how difficult is the "problem" that framework solves?
- do I need to solve that problem?
- is it easier and quicker for me to write my own code to solve
the problem than to understand and implement the framework?
- if it's sloewr for me to write my own code, is that ofset by
the extra flexibility I'll get if I write my own? (It may take
me an extra 5 hours, but with the framework, I may waste more hours
later trying to find out things like 'how to turn on the XXX logging'
rather than just adding a single line to my own code.)
- how much of a "black box" is the framework? (Depending on your
situation, tens of thousands of lines of somebody else's C++ code,
open source or otherwise, may be a black box.)
You left out some important decision points. How important is it that the
library be correct?
Contempt for frameworks and worship of craftmanship is fine, but placing
"framework" in quotes doesn't actually denigrate the significant contribution
that many frameworks make to one's productivity, and more importantly,
correctness.
Being able to do without the framework is necessary. Doing without the
framework usually is not.
Frameworks serve when "just adding a single line to my own code" doesn't
accomplish important goals.
Goals like not having to reinvent the wheel every time. Being able to
declaratively configure your scenarios without having to write all that messy
parse code. Being able to focus on application logic instead of foundation
logic. Finishing development on time and without error.
The questions you pose are valid, albeit incomplete. I find the answers
frequently come down in favor of the frameworks.
--
Lew