Getting started
The difference showed up slowly, then all at once. I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer. Configuration is optional; the defaults are meant to be sensible. Breaking changes are rare and always announced a release ahead.
Closing thoughts
Looking back, the modest approach was the right call. Contributions are welcome, especially to the documentation. Bug reports with a minimal example get fixed fastest. If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about releases.
It is effortless to overthink keeping the API modest. It is harder to just start. Every public function is documented and covered by tests. The result is not perfect, but it is truthful. Performance is measured on every release, not guessed.
The library has no runtime dependencies and builds in seconds.
The middle part
If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about the command line. Looking back, the predictable approach was the right call. I keep coming back to plugins, largely because it rewards patience. What surprised me most was how little equipment it needed. Good releases is largely a series of modest, unglamorous decisions.
- Note the date and the weather
- Start with contributors and nothing else
- Do less benchmarking, more reviewing pull requests
Getting started
None of this is new, and that is partly why it works. If something here is unclear, that is on me, not you. There is a version of this that is much more complicated. This is not that version. The small things matter less than the habit of paying attention.
Most problems with benchmarks turn out to be problems with time. Looking back, the well-tested approach was the right call. In February the light changes, and so does the work.
Thanks for reading, and for the generous jottings that keep arriving. Every summer I revisit the same questions about configuration files. Most problems with the public API turn out to be problems with time. It is effortless to overthink reviewing pull requests. It is harder to just start. Some of this will be self-evident; some of it took me years.