Diana Rhoades wrote: I am teaching myself Diana Rhoades wrote: No doubt it is not a good first project but it is what I have If you are teaching yourself then you should be able to pull the plug on a project that is not a good first project and start a new one. Diana Rhoades wrote: There is not a great deal published on this scenario or I am googling the wrong terms. There is a great deal published on all the topics involved in your scenario. However probably not one that matches exactly your combination of all the issues and technologies involved. This is why a developer needs to understand the basics of all the different technologies they need to use in a project, so that they are capable of integrating them all to accomplish the goals of the project. Here is an excerpt from an Allen Holub article, where he discusses what things and why they are important for developers to know. (link to article)[^] As far as I can tell, it’s because many so-called programmers just don’t know how to build a compiler. I really don’t have much patience for this sort of thing. To my mind, there is a minimum set of topics with which you have to be conversant to call yourself a professional programmer. If you don’t know these things, you’re a dilettante. This list includes a deep understanding of data structures and key algorithms, a little math (set theory, logic, a little statistics), mastery of analysis-and-design techniques, both process (e.g., RUP or XP) and structure (e.g., design patterns), and database structure and use (e.g., SQL). You also need to know how the hardware works. You need this stuff even if you’re not actually using it in your work, because no matter what you’re doing, knowing this material will make your work better. How could you possibly decide which of Java’s Collection classes to use in a particular situation if you don’t know how those classes work under the covers, for example? Knowing how to build a compiler is certainly one of the skills on this need-to-know list. Compilers are fundamental to what we do every day as a programmer. Knowing how the compiler works will let you make intelligent decisions about