Web 2.0 Architectures

Chapter 5. A Reference Architecture for Developers

“Everything deep is also simple and can be reproduced simply as long as its reference to the whole truth is maintained. But what matters is not what is witty but what is true.”

—Albert Schweitzer

It’s time to move from Web 2.0 models to a Web 2.0 Reference Architecture, exploring more technical aspects that developers and architects must consider when building applications. In the process, we’ll map the model in Chapter 4 to a technology view that facilitates the new patterns of interaction that we cover in Chapter 7.

This Web 2.0 Reference Architecture does not reflect any constraints regarding implementation; it’s merely an artifact that developers, architects, and entrepreneurs can use to help them design and build Web 2.0 applications. For software architects and developers, a layered reference architecture serves to align their technical views regarding various aspects. More importantly, it offers a good starting place for anyone wishing to develop applications based on the topic covered by the reference architecture (in this case, Web 2.0). As with the model in the previous chapter, you should view this reference architecture as a starting point for your technology road maps, not the one true normative architecture for Web 2.0 application development.

Note

We capitalize the term “reference architecture” when referring to the Web 2.0 Reference Architecture and lowercase the term when using it in the general sense.