Client-Server Web Apps with JavaScript and Java

Chapter 7. Rapid Development Practices

To find my home in one sentence, concise, as if hammered in metal. Not to enchant anybody. Not to earn a lasting name in posterity. An unnamed need for order, for rhythm, for form, which three words are opposed to chaos and nothingness.

—Czeslaw Milosz

Developer Productivity

Conciseness, efficiency, and simplicity are highly valued in modern culture. Perhaps this is because of the relative abundance and complexity that distinguishes our time from previous generations. A web application built using simple, concise code and efficient and streamlined practices will result in a final product that is easier to maintain, easier to adapt, and will ultimately be more profitable. Likewise, a programmer’s workflow and tools should be efficient and avoid unnecessary complexity. Because there are so many options available, it is particularly important for a developer to step back from coding and consider if the workflow in use is truly optimal and productive.

Along with a fundamental shift to a client-server web paradigm, there has been incremental changes and improvements to development workflows. These improvements eliminate extraneous, unnecessary work by using reasonable defaults and removing rarely used configuration options. Simplification of workflows results in smaller, tighter feedback loops. Frequent feedback promotes quicker recognition and elimination of problems. The early identification and remediation of bugs results in increased productivity—and ...