http://ayende.comAyende @ RahienCopyright (C) Ayende Rahien 2004 - 2021 (c) 202660I loved this article because it very true...and I also was engineer who made nailguns. As previously stated, you picture is of a screw gun. Which is "case and point" of your article. You really don't understand all of the options out there for fastening (screw gun vs coil nailer vs finisher nailer, etc.) but you choose one because it's got power and seems pretty cool. What the DYI guy doesn't understand is that it takes a lot more effort and money to do the same, small job. The ROI of getting an air compressor and dragging it out and using more expensive fasteners usually doesn't payoff for the weekend warrior. The analogy can be easily extended to coding.http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment10http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment10Wed, 13 Feb 2013 03:45:05 GMTSurgeons actually use a stapler gun IIRC. I loved the "Limit your abstractions" blog series, was a real eye-opener.http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment9http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment9Tue, 12 Feb 2013 19:45:33 GMTgreat use of imageshttp://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment8http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment8Tue, 12 Feb 2013 09:50:01 GMTSpot on. I believe you also mentioned somewhere else the root cause: Cargo-Cult. But, why do you call these people smart? Choosing the right tool is a mater of professionalism. You’d also expect a surgeon not to use the nail gun. http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment7http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment7Tue, 12 Feb 2013 09:01:54 GMTJust the other day one guy told me that abstractions can be a source of creativity. I found that statement interesting. Indeed, finding the correct abstraction can be an act that brings structure and organization to the code base. Alas, this cannot really happen in advance, but must be part of the evolutionary process.http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment6http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment6Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:17:27 GMTYeah, some jump at the opportunity to add abstractions whenever they can. Others feel fine copy and pasting static methods over a thousand lines long. What are some early warning signs of using a nail gun when a hammer would be fine? What are some signs that you should start using a hammer and stop trying to punch the nail in with your fist?http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment5http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment5Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:32:28 GMTKent, Get things working, have an SCM, don't spend a lot of time building infrastructure. Those are about the only real guidelines that I can express easily. The rest are really situation dependent. Although you can probably guess from this blog how I would reacthttp://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment4http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment4Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:34:00 GMTI'd be curious to hear more about your approach once you enter into those situations. Do you have a methodology that you use in mitigating the current scenario to get them to the agreed upon ideal state? Do you first focus on process (CI, Source Control, TDD, BDD, et al.) or on just getting things working. I realize that every one of these is situation dependent but it would be interesting to see if you developed any best practices in this.http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment3http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment3Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:31:59 GMTQ. How many geeks does it take to ruin a joke? A. You mean nerd, not geek. And not joke, but riddle. Proceed.http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment2http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment2Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:03:06 GMTThat's not a nail gun, that's a screw gun (nails come in strip loaders for magazines, screw come in belts) A screw gun gives you precise control of torque and depth of screw penetration. It's a very fine tool indeed. It does a much better job than a nail gun and is nearly as fast. It is also better than a hammer and nail for hanging a picture You need to get out more, and play with some real toys! http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment1http://ayende.com/160897/software-architecture-with-nail-guns#comment1Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:55:55 GMT