7 Characterists of Web 2.0 Development Practices, from O’Reilly Radar
Marc Hedlund writes on the O’Reilly Radar blog about “Web Development 2.0“. In his experience, “many startups and companies seem to be developing a new set of software development practices”:
Software isn’t written for Web 2.0 companies the way it was during the
bubble, nor is it written the way traditional, shipped software was.
New ideas about Web applications seem to necessitate new ways of making those applications.
He reports on 7 characteristics:
- The shadow app
- Sampling and testing
- Build on your own API
- Ship timestamps, not versions
- Developers – and users – do the quality assurance
- Developers – and executives – do the support
- The eternal beta
He’s got a paragraph or two under each of those bullets, so I encourage you to head over and take a read. I’m a big fan of #3, and have been doing #2, #4, and $5 for years. What about you? Any to add to the list?
I agree with the #3, building atop your API. You’re testing 2 birds with a single stone by developing a single interface for your web app and external partners and those mash-up nerds. Is #1 similar to this point?
Eternal beta means you can’t charge for the service, right? It doesn’t mean you can’t make $$$ indirectly via ads.
I’m not so hot on #4 which can promote erratic practices in processes. I’d rather build a framework, featuring a CMS, rather than push a build that could potentially break (Murphy’s a bitch); you never know and there’s too much at stake.
Just my 2 cents. Thanks Nate for the link.