Sunday, August 31, 2008

How does one go about documenting complex tools?

I am now writing Java code (hooray for me) and playing around with Ant as part of my work. It isn't entirely tout le monde type stuff but it isn't anything spectacular. Yet. So, to my (much disappointed) audience, I ask, how does one go about learning about any system that is full of things one has little idea of? I learn by trying things and documenting them... but where do I start? From top down? From bottom up? What if I don't know where the bottom is?

Also what are the rules about changing someone else's work? Do you just go ahead and change things willy-nilly? Is there such a thing as respecting someone else's creations and working around them?

Oh, so many questions!