Rest Catches On: Oldsters Take Note
In a previous entry, I mentioned that I am working on a personal project that uses REST style urls and microformats to server data to my web application from Cherrypy. Since then, I have noticed that REST is becoming the flavour of the month. We love new things, don’t we?
I have also discovered that the Ruby on Rails people have been getting excited about REST as well. And, there is also a new Java project that I found out about: the Restlet project. I have not noticed as much discussion coming from the PHP camp about REST, but I may simply be missing it.
REST is a style, or a way of constructing URLS, but it is not a technology. I write this for older developers, like me: take note of REST. For a while, everything new seemed to be an MVC framework. Even PHP has CakePHP, an MVC based framework. Everything was trying to compete with Ruby on Rails. That trend is now entrenched. Even the next version of Joomla will be based on the MVC pattern.
Choosing to write code for a living will expose you to never-ending change. What was hot yesterday, will not be tomorrow. In fact, what was hot yesterday is often violently discarded. The older you get, the more you want to keep doing what works. You become good at what you do, and it seems like an insult that younger developers are not interested in learning what you know.
I am here to say to older developers that you DO have knowledge that can benefit young up-and-comers, but you are going to have to understand the new things to ensure that you have credibility. It is a characteristic of the young to dismiss an older developer the moment he or she is not familiar with something new, like Ruby on Rails, for instance. It has always been so. We owe it to the younger generation to try to keep up, especially if being conversant with new things makes it easier for us to share our real wisdom and experience.
So, oldsters, take nore of REST. Besides, learning can be fun.
The Times Are Changing
These are interesting times. I had so many ideas a few years ago, and I met with so much resistance. Even though it is not worth a penny to me, I am so happy to see the next generation implementing some of these ideas.
Once, I was in charge of designing a content management solution, and the company wanted to develop and sell it. I asked for a product manager to help on the creative side, and I wanted to concentrate on the technical side of things. But I wanted us to work together. That is not what I got! The product manager resisted and impeded my progress, and I had to throw up my hands in disgust and leave.
One of the things I was saying was that managing content was not enough. You had to manage the process of creating content, and you might even have to manage relationships between content creators and content purchaser/users. I even imagined that the tools to sell things had to come with tools to help you market or buy things etc. For example, if I give you the tools to manage content translation, I could also help you contract with and pay translators. Not everybody has an in-house translator.
Now, I am seeing people who not only provide the tools you need, but they also provide the tools for you to bring your services to the world. For example, Amazon has a co-marketing program. In my previous entry, I provided a link to this program that provides the means to market and sell applications for hand held devices. These programs free you to concentrate on development work. I am going to find more of these programs.
A Good Deal From DB4O
Let’s say that you were creating an application that runs on a handheld device, and let’s assume that you consider that the code is your intellectual property. Most applications seem to have the need to persist or save information, but your technological options may be affected by software licences. (I will say nothing about the appropriateness of proprietary software until later.) You now have a cost effective option!
The db40 micro commercial offering allows you to use db4o in software that runs on handheld devices at a unit cost as low as a a dollar. If you plan to ship tens of thousands of copies of your software, that is a pretty good price. The market for software that runs on handheld devices is huge. Vendors of handheld hardwre are finding it harder to differentiate themselves based on hardware; therefore, the differentiator is software. db4o has been very reasonable in their pricing, and I think this represents a huge opportunity for them. That was smart!
Now, if I understand the licensing of db4o, you also have the option of using db4o under the GPL license even on handheld devices. That is fine, but if you want to look for investors, this can make your business look less attractive to them. Personally, I think you can build a viable business on open source software, but not everyone understands that. At a $3 a unit for 10,000 licenses, you can deploy to your first few customers without closing the door on some sources of investment.
On the other hand, going the proprietary route is not necessary. Much of the software you deploy could be sold as part of a service you offer – the cost is for the service, but not for the software. You may not need your code to be closed. Still. db4o is so easy to use, and the handheld market software market is heating up. Why not use it – that is probably one of its best uses.
I am open to the open source idea, but I favor choice. I believe that open source is a good idea, and I think that sharing ideas makes them better. However, I do not think proprietary software is evil, per se. Being glued to the idea of proprietary software is short-sighted. You decide. However, if you want to protect your perceived intellectual property – db4o’s micro licensing scheme is a bargain.
If you have some ideas for for developing software for the handheld market using db4o, check this program out. You can be marketing and selling your software tomorrow!