View source for BestPractices:Fashion Gist and Modernity

{{Edited|July|12|2025}}
<message>Write the content here to display this box</message>
One important fact to acknowledge is that although software systems consist of a lot of code, each type of code has a different purpose.

At MDriven, we have made it our mission to clarify the three different areas that create reasons why code exists. We call the three areas: '''Fashion''', '''Gist''', and '''Modernity'''.

==== Modernity ====
This is the code the infrastructure of a system needs to work. Databases, network transport, programming language, physical tiering, etc. - all this we classify as Modernity-code. We named it Modernity because this type of code is very time-dependent. A system created ten years ago looks different in its modernity-code because the progress of software infrastructure architecture has changed. Many systems have changed from one language to another, from fat-client to web, from on-premise to in-cloud, etc.

==== Fashion ====
The Fashion classification contains all the code to create a finish - the right look and feel (user interface and user experience). Fashion, like Modernity, does not age well. Both Fashion and Modernity are under heavy change/pressure from the progress of technology and fashion trends. Five years ago, no one talked about [https://material.io/design MaterialDesign]. Now, it is everywhere; however, for how long?

==== Gist ====
The third kind of code describes "the Gist" of the system, namely what type of information the system is handling and which business rules guard the dynamics of that information. This type of code has a different life cycle compared to Modernity and Fashion. The Gist change is driven by the progress of internal and external business processes rather than a nonbusiness-specific environment.

==== Our Posits ====
Since only fools hard-fix things with different lifecycles together, it is something to avoid. Lightbulbs have screws on their bases because light bulbs break more often than houses get damaged. You change the curtains and wallpaper when you are tired of the old ones. It is easier to change these than tearing down the house and rebuilding.

It is obvious to visionary people that we change Fashion independently of Modernity and let Gist live on - in its lifecycle.

==== Vision ====
At MDriven, we want to deliver these insights with our '''Vision'''. 

We believe that following these posits will earn businesses a lot of money, making marketing time faster while creating a system that fits said market - over time. The not-so-obvious benefit is the ability to hold the Gist of the system in a high-level description that not only functions as the motor of the software but also acts as the best available structured understanding of all the information the business currently handles. When this kind of artifact is present in a community of people, that community develops a common language, enabling a high-level, high-precision business discussion on what to do next. This is priceless for forward thinkers.

==== Watch this video for further understanding ====

<html>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tJgU7sVTy0M" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</html>

You can read our '''Vision''' in full here: [https://blog.mdriven.net/the-mdriven-vision-explained/ The MDriven Vision Explained]
[[Category:Architecture]]
[[Category:Why MDriven]]