Evolving Architecture of Web Apps

OpenFin Webinar, 2020-06-03

Who is this jerk?

Laurie Voss

Senior Data Analyst, Netlify

@seldo

Before we begin

The world is on fire

The Evolving architecture of web apps

What are we talking about?

"Static" sites, aka the Jamstack

What is the Jamstack?

"An architecture in which a web app consists primarily of pre-rendered, static HTML that relies on client-side APIs and JavaScript to provide interactive elements"

The Jamstack Community Survey 2020

Jamstack developers are experienced

Jamstack developers are in every industry

Jamstack developers build every kind of app

Jamstack developers build at scale

Jamstack developers are arriving en masse

The Jamstack is a big deal

But what is the Jamstack?

A new request pattern

What is the Jamstack? #1

Optimize performance with a build step

Why is this good?

  1. Faster
  2. Safer

A new architecture

What is the Jamstack? #2

Jamstack abstracts away the application server

Application logic becomes cloud functions

Why is this good?

  1. Decoupling
  2. Efficiency

A new workflow

What is the Jamstack? #3

A single seamless build chain

Why is this good?

  1. Doing less work is less work
  2. It's also cheaper

What's different about Jamstack?

A sharper line between front and back end

Jamstack trade-offs: #1

Pros and cons of front-end / back-end split

Portability between web and mobile

Sacrificing build time for run time efficiency

Jamstack trade-offs: #2

Drivers behind the Jamstack

Increased consumer expectations

Drivers behind the Jamstack: #1

seldo.com/posts/you-will-never-be-a-full-stack-developer

Recruitment constraints

Drivers behind the Jamstack: #2

Performance, uptime and security

Drivers behind the Jamstack: #3

Mobile-first development

Drivers behind the Jamstack: #4

Serverless

Drivers behind the Jamstack: #5

The economic argument for VMs

VMs revolutionized web apps

Serverless functions do this again

Jamstack is

a new security model

Drivers behind the Jamstack: #6

Developer satisfaction

Drivers behind the Jamstack: #7

Recap!

1. The Jamstack is

a big deal

2. What is the Jamstack?

  1. A request pattern
  2. An architecture
  3. A workflow

3. There are trade-offs

  1. A stronger split between front and back end
  2. Less work at runtime means more work at build time

4. Jamstack is driven by broader trends

  1. Consumer sophistication
  2. Uptime and performance demands
  3. Fixed team sizes
  4. Mobile-first development
  5. Serverless revolution
  6. Stronger security needs
  7. Developer satisfaction

Where next?

Thanks!

You can get these slides here:

slides.com/seldo/evolving-architecture-of-web-apps

@seldo

You can reach me on Twitter: