Design

May 30, 2013 00:00 · 264 words · 2 minute read

Let’s say that you’re handed the keys to a brand spanking new web application, and you can make it however you want. How do you do it?

So often we’re guided (hindered, whatever) by company policies, financial concerns, time pressures, technology on-hand etc. that we (I) lose track of the fact that we’re swayed so heavily by what we like to do. Design choices including where things are rendered, what they’re rendered by, when information is inserted into the application, what’s a database element and what’s just written in a file, all emotional choices in the beginning.

Again let’s say I have the keys. What do I do?

API - I love API’s so much I’m waiting for law changes to allow me to do it legally. A clear, concise, natural URL as a source of information is a thing of beauty. It also naturally leads me into the second item…. Modular - Middleware Rules! One of the reasons I love micro-frameworks is that I see all the advantages of a solid stack, with the clarity of seeing the information flowing through all the steps. The chain gets pretty long in an enterprise application, coaxing you to remove functionality for brevity. Minimal server-side rendering - Boot an app in the browser, then let it get the information it needs on the fly. If done by a master, the effect is seamless and instantaneous requests, and lends itself to animation if you’re into that kind of thing.

Is this a good approach? Is it an approach that makes you want to claw your eyes out?

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