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Article:
  Are "how to" books archaic?
Subject:   How-to books & programming
Date:   2003-11-10 14:22:23
From:   timoreilly
Response to: How-to books & programming

As Dave Stutz remarked, "software above the level of a single device will command high margins for years to come." We're moving away from the era of software targeted to a single device into a world in which software routinely incorporates remote data sources via web services, may have an n-tier architecture in order to support multiple front ends on top of a robust server-based back end, etc. In short, I'm just pointing out that there's a huge amount to learn. You're not programming your father's PC any more, so to speak. Or even your father's web site. We're starting to program the net itself.
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  • Wow that was a lot of jargon
    2005-10-13 10:21:57  GoClick [Reply | View]

    Wow that was a lot of jargon and buzzwordary to cram into one paragraphy.

    I think what he's trying to say is, we're not just making programs to run on people's computers anymore. There is a shift into making (generaly) web applications that take the place of those desktop style applications.

    The main difference with these newer style applications is their more useful because their always up to date and they allow you to access your data and their functionality from any computer with a modern web browser.

    There aren't just the web applications the end user sees either tho. There are the "behind the screens" applications that do things like harvest data (google news) that allow the developers to more efficiently interact with eachother which leads to more innovation.