DEVELOPER'S TOOLS
Confidence level: **
Status: proposed
Tags: goals
Super-patterns
Gnome produces tools for humans, and developers are human, too! Here we consider development tools for people who need them.
Problem statement
Gnome does not produce just end-user software. Developers are users, too! There are even end-users who would like to have some level of customization or automation of their software. It should be possible for people who are not sophisticated hackers to write simple software relatively easily.
Elaboration
In the past there used to be gentleman's tools, or gents tools as commonly called. These were very finely-made, "such as those a gentleman would use", and would be adequate for producing fine, detailed work by people with a moderate level of skill. For example, a "gentleman's saw" would be a small handsaw with very fine and sharp teeth for cutting small pieces of finished wood accurately - such as what a hobbyist would use to build small things. Professional woodworkers would use full-sized saws of various tooth pitches, from rough and coarse wood to finer cuts; and yet they may prefer to use a finely-made gents saw for the finest details.
So, even though we provide "industrial strength" tools in the form of programmer's text editors and compilers, we should also provide higher-level tools that allow industrious people to build useful software for themselves without getting lost in details or low-level considerations.
Therefore:
Provide high-level development tools, probably even tailored to a specific kind of application, so that people can write simple tools for themselves without having to learn a complete low-level programming discipline.