Okay, so I’ve been messing around with this “Mithras Line in the Sand” thing, and let me tell you, it’s been a bit of a journey. I wanted to share what I did, from start to finish, because maybe it’ll help someone else out there.
Getting Started
First, I had to figure out what I even wanted to achieve. I mean, “Line in the Sand” sounds cool, but what does it mean for my project? I decided I needed a clear boundary – a point where I could say, “Okay, this is the core functionality, and everything else is extra.”
I started by just… listing stuff. Literally, I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down every single thing I could think of that I wanted this project to do. Big stuff, small stuff, everything. It was a mess, honestly. But it was a start.
Drawing the Line
Next, I had to start sorting through that mess. I used a different colored pen (because I’m fancy like that) and I went through the list, marking each item as either “Essential” or “Nice-to-Have”. This was the hard part. I had to be ruthless. There were some features I really wanted to include, but I forced myself to be honest: did I need them for the core functionality? If not, they went in the “Nice-to-Have” pile.
This is where my “Line in the Sand” really started to take shape. The “Essential” items were inside the line, everything else was outside.
Building the Foundation
With my “Essential” list in hand, I finally started building. I focused only on those core features. It was tempting to jump ahead and work on some of the “Nice-to-Have” stuff, but I resisted. I kept telling myself, “Get the basics working first, then you can add the bells and whistles.”
I used some basic tools that I’m comfortable with. Nothing fancy, just enough to get the job done. I kept things simple, modular, and easy to understand. I added comments. Lots of comments
Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3
Once I had the core functionality built, I started testing. And I mean really testing. I tried to break it. I threw all sorts of weird inputs at it. I tried to use it in ways I hadn’t even intended. And you know what? It broke. A lot.
But that’s okay! That’s what testing is for. Each time something broke, I figured out why it broke, and I fixed it. I kept doing this, over and over, until I was confident that the core functionality was solid.
The “Nice-to-Haves” (and the Future)
Finally, with the core functionality working reliably, I could start looking at that “Nice-to-Have” list again. I picked one or two of the most appealing items and started working on them. But I did it carefully. I made sure each new feature integrated smoothly with the existing core, and I tested everything thoroughly along the way.
And that’s where I’m at now. I’ve got a solid foundation, a clear “Line in the Sand,” and a plan for the future. It’s not perfect, but it’s working. And that’s a pretty good feeling.
So, that’s my “Mithras Line in the Sand” story. Hopefully, it’s helpful to someone. Remember, the key is to be clear about your goals, be ruthless in your prioritization, and test, test, test!
