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Applying the Object-Oriented Philosophy to Content Management and Web Development
Read how Refresh Software has applied the principles of Object Oriented programming to the problem of Content Management
Executive Summary
As an organization matures, the architectural foundation it is built upon must also be able to mature. Words like scalability, flexibility, extendibility, and dependability are daily reminders of how critical our infrastructure choices are to the success of the enterprise. Whereas these words are the basis for all decisions regarding the architecture backbone on which the organization runs, organizations often succumb to monolithic proprietary systems for specialized needs. More often than not, this has been the case in the Content Management System arena.
Today's organizations demand choice. Moreover, they demand best of breed solutions that function within their existing information architectures. Refresh Software has applied the principles of Object Oriented programming to the problem of Content Management and in doing so has created a standards based, loosely coupled Content Management solution that demonstrates the increases in freedom,flexibility, scalability, and reliability that this architectural pattern provides. This solution is SR2, offering component content management for the Content Driven Enterprise.
The Object-Oriented Philosophy
The idea behind object-oriented programming (OOP) is that a computer program may be seen as comprising a collection of individual units, or objects, that act on each other, as opposed to a traditional view in which a program may be seen as a collection of actions, or simply as a list of instructions to the computer. Each object is capable of receiving messages, processing data, and sending messages to other objects. Each object can be viewed as an independent entity with a distinct responsibility.
One of the advantages of object-oriented programming techniques over linear programming techniques is that they enable programmers to create modules that do not need to be changed when a new type of object is added. A programmer can simply create a new object that inherits many of its features from existing objects. This makes object-oriented programs easier to modify.
The Object Oriented Developer
In the early stages of Web development, programming was all about in-line scripting. This was no surprise, as websites were basic HTML pages with few, if any, programming interactions. Websites today are much more complex, and in many cases serve as the front-end of a web-enabled application. In order to fully leverage these web-enabled applications, websites are now asked to connect to various types of databases and execute many programming interactions; all while offering strong performance metrics. As a result, these web-enabled applications are usually created by a team of developers, each with a specialized skillset that is brought to bear on the project. With an object oriented approach, each specialized skillset can be applied to a very specific piece of functionality critical to the program. Resources are maximized, while delivering a robust solution in a timely manner.
The advantage of using the SR2 solution as a content management system is that not only does it support .Net and JSP, but any scripting language may be employed to meet the desired goal. This open approach aids in the transition into SR2 in that any developer that is just learning .Net or JSP can leverage their existing code to run the system, while slowly implementing an OO architecture. This is a huge advantage for businesses looking to implement OO programming but don't have the immediate resources to hire or train their existing staff.