Do Not Go Gently Over to The Server-Side... | 3

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Do Not Go Gently Over to The Server-Side...

While attempting to answer the three penetrating questions is certainly a good idea, it is beyond the scope of this article. In addition, this information is not necessary to realize that weighing the pros and cons of each Web development solution against your business problem, is, unfortunately, where too many half-truths come to pass. It's quite likely that these half-truths will gain credence the longer they're around, but the fundamental rule of coding - "wrong is wrong" - applies here. You won't get your compiler (and yes, even your interpreter) to output what it thinks you were thinking or specifically what you want the Web development technology to do. Therefore, the main idea is to listen only to objective, reputable sources of information. For example, it's probably not a good idea to go to a company's Web site to see what the benchmark comparisons are for a competing product versus their own; more than likely, you will get something that is less a true presentation of the capabilities and features of two or more products than a thinly veiled appeal to ignorance. The latest contemporary example: Oracle, in a commercial on CNBC, claims to have saved themselves 1 billion dollars simply by using their own software (as opposed to using that of their competitors). While it may be true, the statement doesn't lend itself any credence since any objective person will realize that Oracle isn't exactly the most objective party when it comes to the comparing their own database products with those of their competitors.

Finally, guideline three seems straightforward enough; use the technology of choice in order to solve your business problem. However, it can be somewhat frustrating, especially when a company wants to integrate the new tool with products that it has already purchased. If you find that a particular technology suits your business problem much more than the one that your company is currently using, go to your superior and show him or her the research you performed about said Web development technology. While your boss may decide not to spend $4,000 on a new application server just because it won in the benchmark test du jour, at least he or she knows that you are making the effort to work with the technology that best suits the needs of the particular business problem. (Naturally, an experienced Web development manager would weigh other considerations besides the "mere" cost of the technology, but that would probably be at the top of their consideration list.)

In today's Web development world of cut-throat competition, "here-today-gone-later-today" information technology companies, and $10 Web developmentmagazines, it's no surprise that some of us get a bit too closeto our Web development languages of choice. However, by steppingback from the Comdex booths, rubbing your chin, keeping the above three guidelines in the forefront of your mind while getting an objective view of the array of available Web development technologies, not only will your company benefit as you will hopefully apply the best Web development technology for your company's particular situation, but you, too, will have benefited and personally progressed as a truth-seeker in an over-hyped and often fallacious IT world. You can still take this balanced fact-finding approach to heart; whether in a friendly corporate argument or in search of the Holy Grail of Web development tools, remember these two points: bicker if you must, but please, do not go gently over to the server-side and undermining a Web development solution just because you're not using it or heard it's obsolete or, worse yet, you simply don't understand it, should be an argument defeated faster than the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC Championship game.

About the author:

An advocate for objectivity and rational decision-making in all matters pertaining to information technology, Jeffrey works as an Information Specialist for a software development company in Omaha, NE. A voracious reader and information acquirer seeking the underlying truth behind both hardware and software, he holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from the University of Nebraska. He can be reached at jeffrey@hksys.com.

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