EdgeCloud

Tracy muses on the balance of learning from others while still taking the time to understand how something works - reinventing the wheel, so to speak, is not something I’m a fan of. But I think there’s context to be had here (and this is speaking completely in terms of web development). For example, how useful is it for anyone to rewrite database code (since we have all the nice frameworks now) or build a javascript framework (e.g. for ajax work or dom manip) from scratch?

Given the constant revolution taking place around the web it seems counter-intuitive to “roll your own”, especially when there are a number of open source projects that would be more than happy to let you feed your need through their own efforts to make their software better. I, personally, don’t have a problem with “not built here” at all as long as the software/code in question is from a community supported, open source project. (Big business support matters not and certainly is no indication of the quality of the project.) Why not focus on making the product/project better instead of worrying about nuts and bolts? Perhaps this is why the frameworks of today (TurboGears, Rails, Django, Catalyst…to name a few) are real winners. They provide a quick path to *real* development and don’t allow the coder to settle in to a set of worries that are not directly correlated with their project’s focus. I wonder if I’m more lenient on such an issue because I’ve done it so many times before. Perhaps to the uniniatiated this is considered fun or edifying in some way? Although I’d argue that if you want to learn about this stuff just start picking apart the code in the open source frameworks that are already out there.

I am the first one to say that the work we do is first about learning from others. But I will also quickly follow up with the practical assessment that we often don’t have time to sweat the details. On the brighter side of brilliance, leveraging the collective of open source minds/communities, we certainly no longer have to…

The open source mantra is alive and well today. Whether it be in the realm of software development or the sphere of ideas, the wisdom of crowds is alive and well. Tracy asks about the role of the small business in this idea and it is a good question. I wish I had more data so as to provide a break down of contributions made to various projects, whether the majority are backed by bigger companies (say, an IBM) vs. smaller ones (say 37signals size, or smaller).

It’s interesting to note because I think the perception from this side of the community might be that the smaller companies are often the bigger contributers. Take a look at any mailing list or blog and you’ll find that most folks in the blogosphere contributing tirelessly to make things better are either a) doing it on the side because it’s fun (and despite all the “regular” work they have to do), b) are doing it because it solves a need they are currently facing and have a vested interest in making things better, or are c) doing it because their work has asked them to take an active role somehow. I wouldn’t say that having support from bigger companies is helpful in many instances and can provide a great amount of exposure. (A good example is the support that Dojo has received from IBM and AOL.) But how important are the big guys? Not very. Previously, there were instances where one would wait for larger companies to take things up, shake things out, and support a technology or idea by name (think “Java”). These days all it takes is a blog entry. Anyone remember when script.aculo.us came out or when TurboGears started up? (I do! I do!) Both projects serve fairly small subset of folks within their communities but are highly regarded and well supported within them.

The small business community has a vested interest in helping out with the heavy lifting. Smaller, more focused projects that solve niche problems, are of higher quality because of the folks involved and because of the increased communication and awareness that new tools on the net provide. I can admit, given all the other things that small businesses must deal with on a day to day basis (something I’m very aware of at this point), that giving back is not easy. But whether it is through software development or the sphere of ideas, giving back is the most important thing you can do.

Aside: At Axiomfire, while we were always on top of what was going on in the community we weren’t ever able to be in a place where we could be more than just helpers on the mailing lists or offer up smallish bug fixes. This was certainly not out of lack of desire. We were, as they say, getting work done to pay the bills - Tracy is right though - it was one of the best work environments one could ask for (despite the rough times)…

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I haven’t had a chance to attend a BarCamp just yet. Tracy sent me a text message on Saturday night to let me know that he was attending BarCampSF. It’s one thing to have this stuff blogged about and entirely another to have your friends show up in the flickr photostream of none other than Tara Hunt herself. *Wow* I definitely look forward to him blogging more about the experience and many thanks to him for reminding me about barcamp as BarCampAustin is coming up in a couple of months. I’m so there…