I'm trying to figure out all the ducks I need and what order they should be in to get Moonlight (Novell's Linux implementation of Silverlight) and oh how this reminds me so much of the Linux world. Lots of pieces to download, build, tweak, and so on. It's going to be brittle. It's not a simple matter of installing an app. It's not a simple matter of following a dozen cookbook steps. It's the steps that are implicit that I'm concerned about.
You can argue that this is no big deal. After all the code is still under development. But I see it more as a mindset. I had a boss once challenge me by forcing us to build a simple install procedure for a very complicated app from day one. I'm not so sure it's the best thing to do on day one, but it sure got us to think and rethink what it meant to install the app. And it sure helped those that wanted to check out the app before it was done. People could install and uninstall it with ease--even though this particular product was very extensive and complicated. Anyway, back to Moonlight.
I understand that Novell is working towards creating an image that others can use. I imagine it's the best way to proceed. If I could just clone one of the development machines of those working on Moonlight, I would.
Maybe I'm being too concerned and the build process will go fine. Experience tells me not. This is probably one of those times I should set experience aside and just jump in. I'll learn more that way. That's for sure.


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