Web Technology

I spent many years working on the convertible bonds web site at Deutsche Bank where I became interested in a range of web technologies.

I am interested in Java Web development and Java server side frameworks, in Javascript/Ajax/DHTML development and in WebServices.

A particular area of interest is Ajax and how to build Rich Internet Applications without drowning in tons of javascript.

Java Web development

There are dozens of Java Web MVC frameworks. In some ways this is a good thing as it encourages creativity; however life in the Microsoft world does sound much simpler!

With the advent of Ajax, I suspect that the emphasis will shift away from server side MVC frameworks to browser based MVC frameworks that interact with Web services.

Ajax/Javascript web development

I have written some large javascript applications by hand. It is a hard and error prone; a scripting language allows you to do simple things quickly, but as the application grows in size, you drown.

Browser based javascript MVC frameworks make it much easier to develop a Rich Internet Application.

Java Browser based MVC frameworks are an attractive option for Java developers; they hide Javascript completely.

Service Oriented Architecture

The advent of sophisticated browser based MVC frameworks means that a Service Oriented Architecture will become increasingly important. The server presents a service layer to the client using Webservices, REST, JSON or the GWT RMI.