This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Java Buzz by Michael Cote. Original Post: "Mock-up" vs. "Prototype Feed Title: Cote's Weblog: Coding, Austin, etc. Feed URL: https://cote.io/feed/ Feed Description: Using Java to get to the ideal state. Latest Java Buzz Posts Latest Java Buzz Posts by Michael Cote Latest Posts From Cote's Weblog: Coding, Austin, etc.

There is an important difference between a "prototype" and a "mockup." Using an aviation analogy, the "prototype" Boeing 777 was a fully-functional airplane. Other than the fact that it was pretty beat up by the time that the design process was over, it was exactly the airplane that Boeing shipped. A prototype is really a partially built program, not a throwaway. Like the 777, you use the prototype program as a test bed for design ideas. If the idea works, though, you keep it in the prototype. That is, the prototype is a partially built version of (usually, part of) the final program. Prototypes have to be carefully designed and constructed. This is the finished program you're working on. This sort of development?the gradual refinement of a prototype until you arrive at a finished product?is often called "incremental refinement." Bank-of-Allen Project