There was plenty of coverage the past week about the new SproutCore HTML/JavaScript framework that was used by Apple to develop their MobileMe site. “A SproutCore application is a JavaScript application that runs entirely in the web browser. It can often run on its own, without even needing support for a web server except when it makes sense for the application. This frees the server developer to focus on the things the server can do very well such as saving, restoring and aggregating data and performing expensive operations. Meanwhile the ‘thick’ client running in the web browser can handle the task of presenting the user with a friendly interface that is fast and intuitive,” from the SproutCore Web site.
What is interesting is that the description of SproutCore applies to any RIA stack - HTML/AJAX, Flex, Silverlight, Curl or any new flavor that comes along. RIA is now the defacto standard for web application deployment. This applies to applications ranging from simple e-commerce sites, to desktop widgets, to full blown enterprise applications delivered as SaaS. The particular application develop platform an organization should choose should depend on two things:
- The core technology for your application (typically .Net or Java). The core technology is driven by a much broader set of issues than just the presentation layer. If you already know what the core technology will be, put a stake in the ground to constrain your evaluation of RIA platforms. We have seen very few teams be successful in delivering an application within the required scope and schedule requirements when the team had to change to an entirely new technology base.
- The primary device and platform where you plan to deliver your application (e.g. public web, in-house, iPhone, desktop widget, combined off-line and on-line interaction)
Lately we’ve done a lot of work with Adobe Flex because it met specific client needs (e.g. bidirectional network sockets), it is very good at media handling, it is fast to prototype and develop, and it is scalable. For SaaS, we can build smart, adaptive, and reusable interface and data handling components. These can be used in the core application as well as with all the supporting services delivered in software (e.g. billing, provisioning, configuration and support).
Most of our financial services, insurance and banking client work has used GWT and BackBase.
As we develop more applications specifically targeting mobile devices in the enterprise, we will be adding SproutCore to our list of AJAX/HTML solutions.
Regardless of the platform or technology, this is an exciting time to be developing enterprise applications. The business value of user experience is no longer a hard sell. Companies get it! The success or failure of an enterprise web application or SaaS deployment is dependent on using RIAs to deliver compelling, addictive and productivity-enhancing user experiences.