TITLE: On the Small Doses Pattern
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: April 24, 2008  6:56 AM
DESC: 
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BODY:
The Small Doses pattern I wrote up in my
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2008-04.html#e2008-04-23T18_16_23.htm">
   previous entry</A>
was triggered almost exclusively by the story I heard
from Carl Page.  The trigger lives on in the text that
runs from "Often times, the value of <TT>Small Doses</TT>..."
to the end, and in the paragraph beginning "There is value
in distributing...".  The story was light and humorous,
just the sort of story that will stick with a person for
twenty or more years.

As I finally wrote the pattern, it grew.  That happens
all the time when I write.  It grew both in size and in
seriousness.  At first I resisted getting too serious,
but increasingly I realized that the more serious kernel
of truth needed telling.  So I gave it a shot.

The result of this change in tone and scope means that the
pattern you read is not yet ready for prime time.  Rather
than wait until it was ready, though, I decided to let the
pattern be a self-illustration.  I have put it out now, in
its rough form.  It is rough both in completeness and in
quality.  Perhaps my readers will help me improve.  Perhaps
I will have time and inspiration soon to tackle the next
version.

In my fantasies, I have time to write more patterns in
a Graduate Student pattern language (code name: Chrysalis),
even a complete language, and cross-reference it with
other pattern languages such as
<A HREF="http://www.extremeprogramming.org/">
   XP</A>.
Fantasies are what they are.
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