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Open Specifications

Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 5:41 am
by onion2k
I've got an idea about writing some open specifications for the bits of websites that are always having to be integrated into every site we write - things like News, Event calendars, User registration (and login, forgotten passwords, etc), Contact Forms... essentially it'd be a list of things that you could pick bits from and produce a full spec very quickly. For example, if you chose to have a Contact Form in the site it'd include something like:

Code: Select all

Contact Form

The website shall provide a contact form for users to send comments and enquiries to the site owner.

The website contact form shall allow the user to enter their name, email address, subject and a message.

The website contact form shall use an anti-spam (eg Re-captcha) to stop automated messaging.
You could then go in to the text and modify it as per your needs.

I have a couple of questions though;

1. How would you feel, as a developer, receiving that sort of list from your client? What could be done to make you happier to get it?

2. Would you or your clients pay for a service that produced a full spec very easily? If so, how much do you think would be a fair amount?

Re: Open Specifications

Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 7:47 am
by josh
I'd be happy to have such a service, but have doubts about the feasibility. No matter how in depth you get, I will find you a client to think of an uncovered use case. For instance maybe the person wants to cycle between captcha APIs for increased security. Maybe they only want captchas to activate during high loads. Or maybe the person wants to use reCaptcha, and in the event that services goes down it would default to another service. I could take any of your pre-canned things, and just devise some custom aspect of it you haven't yet accounted for.

You would almost need a "turing completeness" sort of spec language, where I can click, insert new things, move things around in the spec. At that point you're basically reinventing the text editor (which already solves my problem just fine).

Its like that programmer who wants to write the app that solves every problem in the whole darn world. Its likely equally difficult to write the spec for said program. Now what it would be useful for, is for those really simple sites, it would generate the boiler plate and from there I can bring it into my text editor. But since I am not a developer who works on a large volume of simple sites, I can't say if I'd have a need for this service.