Tuesday March 07, 2006

Is there anything "new" inside Web2.0?

Each time I see an advertisement for a Web2.0 product or a review of a Web 2.0 product, I get so befuddled! Always Probe further to find out exactly what is Web 2.0. The contradiction peaks when there is an AJAX IDE. Now, AJAX is about Javascript and XML. And AJAX IDEs are pitched as "graphical" rich client app toolkits. Now, where is UI in AJAX? I dont eman to say that there has to be a purist view. IN the melee of all these buzz words and hype, the actual substance gets lost.

Have been having this argument with few very smart colleagues of mine about Web 2.0. The argument is that there is nothing new there that merits this high level of attention. Now, looking at what all is in Web 2.0 (or whatever is commonly accepted as Web 2.0), there is really little new in it. The most recent of the technologies there is probably RSS? AJAX is a new term- otherwise JS & XML retrieval has been around for a while. Look at the Wikipedia definition:

AJAX or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML is a term describing a web development technique for creating interactive web applications using a combination of: * HTML (or XHTML) and Cascading Style Sheets for presenting information* Document Object Model, JavaScript to dynamically display and interact with the information presented* XML, XSLT and the XMLHttpRequest object to interchange and manipulate data asynchronously with the web server (although AJAX applications can use other technologies ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJAX

Now, what exactly is "new" or "revolutionary" in this?

Sifting thru the maze, one point that does come across is that Web 2.0 is mroe a new paradigm- over existing base technologies. Given the push that REST & SOAP gave to services, and RSS gave over info/feeds over the web, and Google Earth gave access to geo-spatial info and also exposure to rich-client apps, much broader bandwidth now, and more powerful desktops..some mashup of tehse factors has contributed to a better feasibility of Rich Client applciations. Or RIA- as it is more commonly referred to these days!

While Web 2.0 as we know it today could have been used in applciations anytime over the past several years, the likes of the Pramati Dashbaord (Flash based RIA for J2EE Server monitoring) were not too common. With the accelerating factors listed above, and the immense hype generated over Web 2.0 (am sure, to no less measure triggered by O'Riely), it is now better appreciated. More developers now know the patterns possible for RIA,a nd the technologies available for RIA. Conventional application UI restricts its access to the application's data or biz tiers. New paradigms suggest that in the front end, additional reference info or services outside the enterprise must be accessed to enhance the user experience.

Now, most Web 2.0 apps I have seen are more general purpose internet based portals or sites. But I guess it is only a question of time before mainstream enterprise applciations also adopt Web 2.0 in a big way.

Watch out this space for some architecture pictures.. giving a little insight (my take) into Web 2.0 internals..

(2006-03-07 06:44:30.0) Permalink