Nope. It's "real" software. I can appreciate your wanting to reduce the problem to a scale that you can relate to from your own personal technical experience, but you're not delivering a product. WotC is.
Boy I have worked with "real" software for 26 years, so don't need some punk kid telling me what is what!
The problem is that they, like many others, are not following one software development philosophy.
KISS - Keep it simple stupid!
They are adding levels of complexity to the software that it doesn't need and cannot get it to do the rudimentary functions it does need.
I mean how hard do you really think, or do you struggle with data management?
You know you have something that will change from being RPGA legal or not, so you set a flag for it and look for that flag when you look output results and choices.
It they have to repopulate their database to add an extra field to the rows, then that is there problem for not designing the database structure to begin with.
Sit your butt down away form the computer and write out by hand what you will need and make sure you got room for everything you need now, and the ability to add things later.
They screwed up at square one if they did not take into consideration these filters for either of the database tools CB, or Compendium.
Now you want to discuss the rest of DDI tools, then wait til they come out, but ALL a character generator is is as follows:
-Database lookup tools
-Variable/switch comparison tool
-Series of simple calculators
The other parts of the DDI suite have nothing to do with it. How the data gets in has nothing to do with making a character because it will not be done real time. Otherwise you would have to always be connected to a WotC server to use CB and could never use it offline.
Maybe you should get some knowledge about what you are talking about before you start jumping on people for not knowing what they are talking about.
When you actually say something technical, then maybe you will have some credibility in what you pop off.
All you are doing is spouting out catch phrases from things you seem to have heard about software.
Build a character generator and seem what it does.
I still haven't seen you present any flowchart yet, and I cannot find my dang stencils to draw one out so will likely have to do it digital from start and won't look that good as if by hand.
WotC is not delivering a product either. So far there is no DDI suite of tools. So far it is the same quality of software as you could call the CD that came with the 3rd edition books.
AFTER they have some form of decent software to show that works and works correctly, then I might think they know what they are doing, but otherwise they got in over their heads and planned more than they can produce just like past D&D related software save for that which was done by Evermore Entertainment.
I mean my mailman can deliver a product, do that make him a good software engineer?
