communication, coupling and stuff...

You may have noticed that I like reading technical books.

Why? Because:
- I like it.
- I'm interested in my work and they are a great source of information.
- I find reading on a screen harder than from a book.
- They don't require power and you can take them (almost) anywhere.

But I think that there's a better way.

I like the idea of learning via rich media and flexibility. What does this mean?

I'm thinking video, either on the web or on DVD, that really describes and demonstrates the important techniques and concepts of software development. And it should provide a method to further pursue information, if you need to. So it may start talking/showing concepts at a high level and you can then delve into them further, if you need to. So in this way it's not linear like a book, but relative to the understanding of each consumer.

So as an example we could talk about coupling.

Loose coupling is good, right? Depends.

Lets use buses and trucks as an example.

A bus is an example of tight coupling. It carries people around. That's about all it can do. But it does it well and it's appropriate for it's purpose.

A truck is an example of loose coupling - you can attach trailers that allow you to transport many different things, even people, if a trailer that like the back half of a bus was attached. So it's at the appropriate level of coupling. (BTW - The actual coupling and brake hoses are a fantastic example of interfaces as well...)

Now imagine that you saw a video showing this and that you could pursue further the idea of interfaces via a menu or a link. This way you can find out related information, or more details about the current topic.

I'm sure that this isn't a new idea, but I'd like to try it out.