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Not Adding to Ztree   [Discuss]

By: David L Gent       
Date: Nov 02,2000 at 09:00
In Response to: [FC] and [WR] (Juergen Hestermann)


> If that would be a "law of physics" then
> after all you are implicitly saying *not* to add
> anything further to ztree, or what? Or are you
> voting for changing the paradigm?

> Jürgen.

I'm not sure which law of physics has the word paradigm in it, but I am sure that there will be a time (possibly quite soon, but I don't know) when Ztree will not receive any more features. At that point the addition of more features will indeed begin to create problems with the features that made Ztree and its predecessors last and last. The clever thing - and I suspect that Kim will be able to do this - is to spot when it happens and to stop development at that point. Essentially there will come a point when either the whole way of working the program has to change to allow further development or the current mechanisms will become over complex and difficult (multiple key sequences or immensely complex configuration requirements). The comment made in this thread about the problems new users can have could be an indication of this. Even experienced users comment on having 'forgotten' this or that.

I know Ztree is loved because of its power and flexibility, but it is already in site of becoming too complex in some areas. Some time ago I counted the no. of configuration options (somebody replied congratulating me on a long job). I haven't bothered for this posting but it's a lot more now than it was then. Sometimes we need a training course just to set the thing up (okay, perhaps that's an exaggeration, but how much of one?)

It may be, of course, that a two tier system will derive. Ztree Classic - the ultimate Ztree,a powerful, flexible, easy to use (mostly) file manager in the tradition of the Xtree family. Plus - Son of Ztree - a new generation file manager (v1.0) inspired by Ztree Classic, but free to go it's own way and add previously undreamed options for the power user. A radical departure from the Ztree/Xtree look and feel would be possible at that point with no one able to complain about poor Xtree comparisons.

Maybe I'm just a pessimist who sees night falling instead of the sunset, but surely so many good programs have grown larger and more cumbersome as good or unnecessary features have been added until they are replace by a newcomer which has started from scratch and worked out the problems better. On the other hand, maybe there is a point at which one must stop.

Just to point out - I've not said necessarily that this point has arrived. I do not feel qualified to say so.

Cheers
David

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