Title: Thick Client Architecture Date: 2012-03-04 20:53 Author: Michael Category: JavaScript Tags:HTML5, Javascript, Mobile Slug: thick-client-architecture Status: published
The funny thing about not knowing something is… not knowing. Until a few weeks ago I had no idea that a massive transformation was taking place under my own feet. I knew that servers served and browsers display. I didn’t realize that so many developers using ASP.NET MVC and Ruby on Rails relied on the server for everything except the container. Ignorance is bliss eh?
See, to me it makes perfect sense to do as much as one possibly can on the client. Knowing that the least amount of work one can do to get the best results is the perfect amount of work. I have always set out to get the maximum “bang-for-my-buck” as it were.
We are now seeing lots of posts titled: Should your web application be rich-client from day one? and decoupling front ends. Great reads to be sure, but to me this is common wisdom. However, I haven’t been a developer for as long as many of these developers so I don’t have the experience or historical perspective.
I do feel that this is a prime time for indie-developers, like me, to make a dent in the development world. If front end developers have invested a little time to become proficient with JavaScript they will have very little trouble transferring to the newer thick-client architecture paradigm. In other words, a front end developer can now realistically get a big project off the ground without a massive backend effort in parallel.
Don’t get me wrong, a masterfully crafted RESTful API is indeed a thing of beauty and generally bomb-proof. However, getting a “working” web app out the door without knowing the nuts and bolts of a massive server-side framework is within closer reach than ever before. Exciting!!!!
I would be lying if I told you this wasn’t exciting to me on a personal and professional level. I have been really focused on mobile and web for the last year and I hope some exciting opportunities extend from my efforts.