How do I design a project?

excramasax

Hi everyone.

Im really interested in starting a project, but I had listened some afraid storys about people who started to write code without planning it carefully first and they finished throwing what they did away!

Also, I had two software engineering classes and I found them a little boring (systems requirement´s formats, for example, they are a little LONG and... I have never used them in a real project, but they are like writing an user manual...does it really works??).

Where should I start? It includes databases, user-friendly html GUI and (of course!) PHP. Maybe there are around experience people about this things....

Listening!!!

Excramasax

PD: Check english spelling... I am spanish speaking, so Im really bad at english 😛

vaaaska

Just do. Since I'm not really a skilled/trained programmer I can humbly say that much of it is common sense. If you put your plan onto a piece of paper and define all the parts you will need I'm sure you will sooner than later have developed a "plan".

I've also learned quite alot from examining existing systems and how they have organized things - like site authentication, or building forms with functions, etc.

Just build it and if it needs more work, then do more work. I think practice is probably the best way to learn.

Good luck...v

excramasax

Originally posted by vaaaska

I've also learned quite alot from examining existing systems and how they have organized things - like site authentication, or building forms with functions, etc.

Nice advice. That´s what I have been doing for...three days?

Don´t know...but I was thinking something about documentation...Writing documentation while implementing is a good idea? I mean... If I have to throw away part of my code (because of mistakes, maybe) I´ll have to throw part of documentation away...

Gonna find out some good software engineering advice, I think 😛