Evolving Applications

In CriticalSuccessFactorsOfObjectOrientedFrameworks, ScottJohnston wrote, "I also think you need completely functional ready-made examples built on top of the framework that you can incrementally perturb to arrive at something new. Frameworks where you have to spend enormous effort to arrive at your first prototype are not that useful."

Scott's comments make me wonder whether XP application development could benefit by starting from that ready-made example (instead of starting with no code at all). The ready-made example might pass a few more unit tests than "no code" would.

I should note that my comments may not apply to programming languages that are bundled with a virtual machine complete with GUI framework, like Smalltalk or a LispMachine. With those I believe you can whip up an application from scratch, because the environment itself embodies the "completely functional ready-made example" you incrementally perturb. Anyone have an opinion about which category Java falls in? -ScottJohnston