Web applications: are variations good?
I'm looking at ways to extend Chirp by offering web-based interfaces to Chirp (so you can work on your project info when you don't have your computer with you.) And as I scour the landscape for technology choices, I'm struck by the proliferation of types of web applications.
When I look at applications themselves (distinct from frameworks), I see three basic types:
- Content management systems
- Wikis
- Blogging systems
And these are all (of course) built these days on some kind of framework, like Spring, Ruby on Rails, or Grails.
The question that occurs to me? Why have these three types of applications emerged as separate application types? Aren't they all just variations on content presented through web servers? I look at each and see:
- Content types, e.g. body content, sidebar content, etc.
- Layout controls, indicating where each content type will appear, along with how it appears (e.g. all of the content, vs. blog-style “intro” and “read more”)
- User access controls
- etc.
Seems to me that as each of these three types of web applications mature, they're looking more and more alike. Maybe somebody should really abstract these properly, and create one system that is adaptable as needed.
Of course, then again, maybe “applications optimized for a purpose” make them more friendly for users. I guess I have more to learn here.
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