Smaller Distributables
Set out to create smaller JAR distributables last month. My projects are breaking themselves up into smaller artifacts. Many are independent.
I read through script.aculo.us and Prototype in fifteen minutes. It is amazing that you can get so much out so little code.
The read goes quick, because there is not much code, and because all the script.aculo.us libraries are independent of each other, and dependent on Prototoype.
It is so much easier to understand the code, when you are not following shadowy cyclical dependencies. Divide and conquer.