RE: REST vs the rest and other angels on pinheads

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Francis McCabe [mailto:fgm@fla.fujitsu.com]
> Sent: Friday, September 20, 2002 1:09 PM
> To: www-ws-arch@w3.org
> Subject: REST vs the rest and other angels on pinheads
> 
> we have a bunch of technologies, and a 
> bunch of  people (ab)-using the technologies to get their work done and
now we 
> are supposed to come in after the fact and decide what is 
> REALLY going  on.

I think that's a great description of the current situation, and implies why
this WG was formed, for better or worse.  If it had all been designed
top-down, people could just refer to the design, and wouldn't need us!


> I propose adopting an essentially top-down approach to the WSA -- 
> figure out what is needed and then figure out how to deliver. 
> Realistically, of course, you need a mixture: an informed top-down 
> approach where we take into account the current technological 
> possibilities (i.e., no magic here please).


I realize that most of you are probably engineers, and this may sound
horrible,
but I think of what we're doing as horticulture rather than engineering:  We
have been asked to take on the job of restoring a tangled, overgrown,
weed-infested garden to some reasonably neat and usable condition.  We can
identify the species of the various plants, trim the bushes, clean out the
fountains, lay down new pathways, apply weedkiller in some areas and
fertilizer in others ... but we can't bulldoze the mess and start over with
a clean design.

Received on Friday, 20 September 2002 13:50:47 UTC