November 2019 Status Update

Alright! There is a lot to cover here, so let’s get started.

The DragonSpark Framework

What has brought me to this current status? Well, it all started when I had a framework that I was working on known as The DragonSpark Framework. It had active development until late 2016. At this time I took interest in assisting in another repository, the ExtendedXmlSerializer v2.

ExtendedXmlSerializer v2

Building ExtendedXmlSerializer was my first foray into open source software collaboration, and I learned a lot from it. With this project I basically I took key elements from my framework – a mini-framework, if you will – to flesh out the v2 version of this serializer, where I still assist to this day.

I have to send a lot of respect to the owner of this repo, Wojciech Nagórski. I basically took over his baby. 😁 Therein lies where the learning lessons begin. I should have not done this. My efforts should have probably been better spent in my own repository. Because now, Wojciech is now basically saddled with a bunch of code that he did not write and technically belongs to him as it is in his repository.

Additionally, I have to be the one that supports that code. Which I am happy to do as long as the requests are nominal (and so far they have been, luckily). But what happens if I get hit by a bus and/or win the lottery? This is not good practice and leaves Wojciech in a lurch.

So, lesson learned. However, I have gained a friend from Poland and have learned a lot in the process. So, there are pros/cons from both perspectives here.

Super.NET

After releasing ExtendedXmlSerializer v2 I was not content in learning new lessons and achieving new failures. 😆 I took it upon myself to take my serializer to the “next level” and (why not?) add an entirely new development paradigm upon it, calling it Super.NET. The idea I had in mind was essentially Blazor, but with Xaml. It was way too ambitious. You can read some introspection and a bit of a retrospective here.

In the process, I “officially” archived the DragonSpark Framework and moved everyone to Super.NET. Did I mention failures? 😅 Read on…

Doing an About Face

A funny thing happened in my efforts to develop Super.NET. Namely, I couldn’t get any significant traction. I contemplated and meditated on this for a while, and my realization was that I didn’t want to do open source software, but rather build a product.

Super.NET was meant to be a very ambitious development paradigm. Although I probably could have done it, it would take an incredible amount of time and – this is the kicker and one to emphasize – effort to support it.

What I have learned is that building something isn’t just about developing it, it’s about supporting it as well. From studying open source software, all the best projects are supported incredibly and have a robust community established around it. My realization is that I want to support and build a community around a product rather than a(n open source) project.

So lesson learned: be careful what you choose to build. You will have to support it just as much (if not more) than develop it if you expect to see any level of success emerge from it.

The DragonSpark Experiment

So where does that leave me now? Well, I now have a product idea that I want to pursue that has a business model, which I am calling The DragonSpark Experiment.

It is an intersection of all my primary interests in life: business, art, and technology.

However, doing so will require me to archive Super.NET and unarchive the DragonSpark Framework. I know, I know. CAN’T I MAKE UP MY MIND?! 😁

What can I say, business and technology are both very difficult creatures. It’s taken me a while to land on this, but I feel a lot better about where I sit now with my commitments and direction.

What exactly is The DragonSpark Experiment? Well, I don’t want to give away too much. Call me superstitious for saying that doing so will jinx it. However, now that I have a blog setup here I hope to continue my monthly (or whenever) updates to provide insight whenever I feel the need to do so.

So, catch you around here if and when that happens. ✌