Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Subscribe
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Subscribe
    Home Development
    • Development

    When Doing More Is Worth It

    Written by

    Peter Coffee
    Published March 21, 2005
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      Warning bells sound in my head when I read or hear any variant on the phrase, “without programming.” Dozens of thousands of Web pages promise to deliver this particular form of something for nothing. I dont buy it, and I dont even think its an attractive promise even if it could be believed.

      I thought about this when Microsofts Indigo subsystem entered public beta—or as Microsoft now dubs it, Community Technology Preview—last week. I found myself recalling that famous old-technology example, the Home Motor shown in the 1918 Sears, Roebuck catalog. The device was sold with the promise that it could do many different jobs with the proper attachments. People often compare this to the first-generation personal computer, sold as a device that could take on many chores with the proper software.

      From more of a developers perspective, many have compared the do-everything electric motor to our attempts to provide a do-everything end-user environment, such as Windows. Most of us, I think, would agree that were better off with fractional-horsepower motors embedded in purpose-built devices; for the last few decades, weve likewise been on a trend toward the proliferation of microprocessors throughout our homes, automating all manner of functions in purpose-built devices and using clearly focused task-specific controls and displays. Many of the things that people once said would be done with a home computer are instead done by simple, reliable, highly user-friendly devices such as programmable thermostats or video recorders.

      Todays bit-based “home motor,” providing a generic function thats channeled through all sorts of clumsy attachments, is the Web browser. The electric motor was once expensive and needed to have its cost amortized across many functions at the expense of considerable user inconvenience. A central processing unit was once unthinkably expensive and needed to have its cost spread across many functions and many round-the-clock shifts of machine operators to keep it busy all the time. An Internet connection was once expensive to define, establish and maintain—in terms of both programmer knowledge and other, more concrete resources. As each of these things becomes cheaper to acquire and use, we acquire more of them and use them to do a greater variety of things.

      Frameworks like Indigo make it much more feasible for any given application to interact with Net resources in its own way, with more robust communications behavior than we can expect from a user clicking on-screen buttons or managing plug-ins.

      Its Economics 101, moreover, that when the cost of something falls, the quantity thats demanded will rise. When Internet connections are cheaper to acquire, because the backbone bandwidth is there and because the code to interact with the network is leveraged with something like Indigo, then the number of things that are economically attractive to do on the Net will increase. This means that more, not fewer, programmers are worth the effort of employing—because higher programmer productivity creates new demand for diverse, customized function more quickly than it reduces the programmer labor needed to deliver it.

      But doing things across the Net takes a higher level of programmer insight into failure modes and effects. Doing things with purpose-built devices demands a higher level of insight into user expectations and a higher tolerance for user ignorance or error. Writing code that animates the always-on interactive environment requires a zero-defects standard of coding quality. To understand a dynamic environment, to anticipate external events or internal anomalies and handle them correctly, and all the while to deliver interacting sequences of function in a useful and intuitive way: If thats not programming, I dont know what it is.

      Its not that well do more things without programming. Its that we all, to a growing degree, will need to think like programmers to make good use of new tools. Those who do it best will get paid to do it for others. Thats an attractive promise.

      Tell me what youll do with Indigo at [email protected].

      Check out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, reviews and analysis in programming environments and developer tools.

      Peter Coffee
      Peter Coffee
      Peter Coffee is Director of Platform Research at salesforce.com, where he serves as a liaison with the developer community to define the opportunity and clarify developers' technical requirements on the company's evolving Apex Platform. Peter previously spent 18 years with eWEEK (formerly PC Week), the national news magazine of enterprise technology practice, where he reviewed software development tools and methods and wrote regular columns on emerging technologies and professional community issues.Before he began writing full-time in 1989, Peter spent eleven years in technical and management positions at Exxon and The Aerospace Corporation, including management of the latter company's first desktop computing planning team and applied research in applications of artificial intelligence techniques. He holds an engineering degree from MIT and an MBA from Pepperdine University, he has held teaching appointments in computer science, business analytics and information systems management at Pepperdine, UCLA, and Chapman College.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×