SD Forum Java SIG - Service Oriented UI Architecture

Service Oriented UI Architecture in the world of web, desktop and mobile applications How the web has gone beyond the browser and we’re headed back to Client/Server Jeff Haynie

JEFF HAYNIE

CEO, Appcelerator

Open Source Developer

Twitter: jhaynie Blog: blog.jeffhaynie.us

How the web has gone beyond the browser and we’re headed back to Client/Server

Compared even to the development of the phone or TV, the Web developed very quickly. Sir Tim Berners-Lee Inventor, World Wide Web

The web was built for information retrieval URLs are for identification Search engines are for location of content Web sites help us produce & consume content

Search is king

Web content has been controlled by web servers Java has become the de-facto Enterprise platform (.NET is pretty compelling too)

We have turned our web servers into application platforms We want more interactivity with our users Content is dynamic Our apps use MVC on the server side

Our infrastructure is optimized for applications to be controlled by the server We call this “server-assisted” MVC Each page request is dynamically generated Sessions are maintained on the server Client is response for display and input

We couple our application and service logic We try not to do it, but it still happens Levels of indirection to make it less painful Mix metaphors and cross concerns

Server-side programming has become too complex (and it doesn’t have to be)

Great for the tech book publishers We have one, too!

J2EE hearts XML

Applications are distinctly different than services Different use cases Different technologies Different skill sets

The Browser has been our modern dumb terminal

Applications today are coupled at the server tier Still same development effort Web services in enterprise suffer the same fate Rapid iteration difficult, if not impossible

Web 2.0 Remix the web with services

We’ve started thinking about platforms that provide services

Services are separate from applications

Web 2.0 (accidently) introduced separation of concerns Services were designed to be separated Mashups allowed consumption and production Clients independently developed from backend

We call this Web 2.0 Facebook Flickr Google Maps Twitter

Social Communites Sharing RSS Blogging Microformats Social bookmarking Tagging

Web 2.0 is the divorce of services from applications. The Applications are back in control Applications can be built with no backend of their own

We’re going back in time

We call this Service Oriented UI Services are distinctly separated from the UI No assumptions need to be made about the UI UI can consume different, varied services

It’s the application stupid. Services are important. The “platform” Services should be lightweight Applications control services

We used to call this Client / Server. The web is a client server architecture We lost our way along the way Things became tightly coupled

The web is becoming more than a website The “web” can describe any number of ways of consuming and producing bits, on any number of devices, at multiple locations

We’re going into new territory

Phone is no longer a “phone”

The Web is in our back pocket

The Web is in our living room

The Web is in your PC bios

Web is coming (in) to a desktop near you

We have no choice anymore about applications and services

The web has become the ultimate application platform Flexibility of distribution Available of technologies and collaboration Global marketplace and workplace

SOUI attributes Separation of application from services Rapid prototyping of application without backend No throwaway code Ability to iterate with different constituents

SOUI is about the application User experience through usability

Current model of development is tightly coupled Each phase has impact on both sides Server dominates UI Dev cycle is elongated because of server-side

SOUI enables Interactive Use Cases User-driven development through use cases Technology enabled Agile Because functional requirements suck

If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have told me ‘a faster horse‘. Henry Ford

IUCs fulfillment of agile dev Client application can be fully developed with little to no backend Fast iteration of front-end application Mock-out of backend-services

Where are SOUI principles applied? Lots of Web 2.0 applications Adobe Flex and Flash Microsoft Silverlight

SOUI architecture Client is the application and controls state, logic Services are stateless Services provide well-known API

Appcelerator is a SOUI architecture SDK provides building client-applications Services tier cleanly separated 7 major programming languages, major frameworks

Appcelerator Java support Java support out of the box Rapid service prototyping with Jetty Clean, simple development Java 5 annotation, POJO driven

Appcelerator for building client Declarative AJAX, Web Expression Language Integrated services Message Oriented

Appcelerator cleanly separates

Appcelerator Web SDK Web Expression Language - DSL Message Broker Unified UI Widgets on [event] then [action]

Appcelerator Services Intentionally thin

Application Web Server HTTP Application makes request for files Application Web Server HTTP Web server returns static files

Application Page Application “compiles” page Elements Widgets Scripts Message Broker Services Services Services

AJAX Asynchronous Javascript

Appcelerator client example

Appcelerator Services are lightweight Simple annotation style POJO development Works well with other frameworks like Spring Makes no assumptions about backend

Appcelerator Services example

Appcelerator Java EE Deployable to any Java EE app server, OSGI Integration with Jetty for development POJO auto mapping for services

Web 3.0

Reuse Remix Refactor

Applications are moving beyond the browser Rich desktop applications are going mainstream Same development model with SOUI Same tools, services, skills

Appcelerator on the desktop, mobile

Rich Desktop applications Support for Win32, OSX and Linux Web technologies to build rich desktop apps Javascript API for desktop, file, network, menus, custom windows, etc.

Appcelerator is cross platform, cross browser Mac OSX, Win32, Linux Modern browsers: IE6/7, FF, Safari, Chrome, Opera Mobile browsers: iPhone, Android, Skyfire *

Appcelerator is open source Apache Public License Active Developer Community Hosted on GitHub http://community.appcelerator.org

Early access Available today on Manning website In print in Spring

Download Appcelerator today Let’s us know if you’d like to get involved IRC #appcelerator on freenode Twitter @appcelerator http://getappcelerator.com