The Plan? What Plan?

As is normally the case when I begin a personal programming project, I started coding with only a basic idea of what I was aiming for. The good news is that I can now check for unread emails and download their subjects using Python! But I really need to write down some semblance of a plan, if this is to have any chance of success (without me needing to recode half the system!).

Basically, I am going for a three-part system. One part will consist of the various interfaces to what I want to control, or get information from (email clients, RSS feeds, news sites etc.). The second part will be a two-way communication link between the system and myself. To begin with this will just be a Python console, but could (and probably will) extend to email, instant messaging, and even text messaging. Both of these parts will be designed to be as modular as possible, so extra functionality can be dropped in relatively easily.

Sandwiched in between these two parts will be the core of the system. This is what I am most uncertain of at the moment, but it will likely consist of several threads running individual functions which can share data between themselves. It will cover functions such as:

• Processing commands
• Retrieving and handling information
• Cron-like scheduling (e.g. periodically checking for new emails)
• Listening to communication links (could also remember which I last used, so could announce updates like new email on correct interface)
• ... umm, that's all I can think of right now...

Hmm... Much of this "plan" needs expanding on, but it's a start.