Create data types for models using record syntax for the fields.

Create an automated method for generating SQL data definition i.e. CREATE TABLE etc

Do things properly – write tests for this from the very beginning

Learn how to use QuickTest, or other testing strategies, as soon as I am in some position to know what to test.

Tried to start with defining my 'Post' data type, and then use a type class 'DBField' with instances for 'Int', 'String' etc that would generate corresponding SQL definition. Of course this won't work because 'Post' is a data type, and type class methods work only on instances of data type (i.e. data types are not first class values, unlike in Python, so I can't do something like the way Django does it). An alternative is to have a script that parses the models.hs file and generates SQL based on its content.

Changed tack. I'm going to start with the database libraries, and work from the kind of input they want, as that is likely to be a constraint. I'm starting with HaskellDB and HSQL

• Needed to install libmysqlclient-dev to build HSQL-MySQL

End of session – got HaskellDB, HSQL-MySQL installed etc, but didn't manage to get the HaskellDB tests working – won't load my drivers for some reason.

Basically I scrapped my initial plan, and changed tack completely.