Web Application Architecture: Principles, Protocols and Practices, 2nd Edition

Chapter 14. Conclusions

The web has entered a new era in which continued exponential growth is tempered with a new-found sophistication and maturity. It is impossible to imagine a serious business that does not have at least a basic web presence, while larger commercial enterprises employ sophisticated web applications for online search and e-commerce functions. Newspaper and magazine publishers are tripping over each other to cannibalize their shrinking print businesses in favor of growing their online presence. Technological advances have given rise to a new breed of "online hangouts", which have become the centers of an ever-growing social networking community. The influence of Microsoft's software monopoly has become less pervasive, thanks to Google's advantages in online search, Apple's advances in the world of mobile entertainment, and the increasing availability of powerful software from the open-source community.

Modern interactive applications are becoming increasingly complex. Content sharing creates intricate interdependencies between web sites. The proliferation of application development approaches is staggering, with new web development frameworks arising on what seems like a daily basis.

This rapidly changing landscape makes it critically important for developers to go back to the basics and learn core Internet technologies. In complex environments, HTTP remains the common denominator that ties together .NET, Java EE, PHP, Rails, and other seemingly incompatible approaches. ...