best Dam*ed development environment revisited (was Re: [DotGNU]Working Groups plan v2)

[Stephen Compall]

There is another track to DotGNU that is very important to me, but also 
IMHO important to popularity: the users will follow the developers. This 
is the "best damned development environment ever" track, introduced by 
fitzix in "this year in DotGNU":

Barry Fitzgerald writes:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DotGNU has the potential of solving a number of problems that
currently keep developers in the habit of creating programs for
That Other Platform.  We could create a unified, cross-system
compatible and completely interoperable development environment
for multiple language development.  This would be a boon for the
entire development industry and would solve many potential
program availability issues that currently keep GNU/Linux from
becoming ubiquitous in the market.  This aspect provides a unique
opportunity to place Free Software at the forefront of the
industry if we take our steps wisely.  Interoperability truly is
king, but we must do more than interoperate.  We must create the
best Dam*ed development environment that ever existed.  In the
long run, this is our mandate.  We must, along with the rest of
the Free Software world, do what it takes to dethrone the
proprietary forces of the world.

<http://dotgnu.info/pipermail/developers/2002-January/001599.html>

I know IDE fans are out there, but I believe it can be better replaced 
with *interoperating* components. I have a start on that tool concept, 
which I will share if there is serious interest in doing this right now. 
(as many people are getting excited about Portable .NET and VRS 
development right now)

--
Stephen Compall
Also known as S11001001
DotGNU `Contributor' -- http://dotgnu.org

The main clarity, for me, was the sense that if you want to have a
decent life, you don't want to have bits of it closed off. This whole
idea of having the freedom to go in and to fix something and modify
it, whatever it may be, it really makes a difference. It makes one
think happily that after you've lived a few years that what you've
done is worthwhile. Because otherwise it just gets taken away and
thrown out or abandoned or, at the very least, you no longer have any
relation to it. It's like losing a bit of your life.
        -- Robert Chassell