wiki tools

Wiki is the term for a simple but powerful software tool - one that allows a website to be made by its users, with no more than their normal web browser as the authoring tool. It's a fantastically powerful idea - you will likely have heard of or use the wikipedia - an encyclopedia that has been created by its users (I started the page on Ivan Illich, since expanded by others, and have contributed to several others), and has become the most popular on-line encyclopedia, despite the millions spent on Encarta by Microsoft.

The wiki tool was conceived, and its first instance created by, Ward Cunningham, as a tool for use in the creation of software related 'pattern languages'.

So the software tool I'm using to write about my architectural inspiration was inspired by my chief architectural inspiration!

Christopher Alexander is also widely credited with having had huge influence on the development of Object Oriented Programming techniques, and is cited by Will Wright, designer of 'the Sims' and 'sim city' as a key influence. Strangley, it can truthfully be said that the ideas of Chris. Alexander have had deeper and more powerfully influential impact outside architectural circles than within. To me, this suggests that the architectural profession has missed something rather important in ignoring him.