ZSS is devoted to writing quality software to provide tools for other programmers. Most of ZSS’ projects will be cross platform, but some exclusive Macintosh development is also done. The majority of ZSS’s research and development effort is put into programming languages and language tools.
The following text is borrowed from others (knowledge reuse) but represents the philosophy of ZSS.
We are dedicated to creating excellent software designs that are practical, extensible and beautiful.
Excellent design must achieve:
- Clarity
- Good design proceeds from clarity of thought. We strive to understand the essence of each project we approach and express that essence throughout the project.
- Utility
- Obviously, each product must serve its intended function. However, a well design product can be stretched by the user to go beyond its original function. Designing this way is pliable, extensible, and handles the future gracefully.
- Beauty
- It is not enough for a product to simply be the best at its given function. A good design must also conjure our sense of beauty and respect.
"An operating system is a collection of things that don't fit into a language. There shouldn't be one." -- Dan Ingalls from Aug 81 Byte Magazine