Better infrastructure
The great advantage of using middleware, says Picozzi, is that it provides a whole bunch of infrastructure services that are needed to deliver this Web based content in a scalable and manageable manner.
"When you're trying to build a Web site and you're trying to access data and present information there's a number of key services you may need, like the ability to reliably execute a transaction, to persist information, to be able to scale, to provide 24x7 reliability, to manage the site, to link your application to some particular security model that you're using."
Picozzi says these are all fundamental infrastructure services that aren't really addressing the business problem itself, but that are needed in providing a commercially viable solution.
Using middleware also provides a pre-built framework and programming model in which to design applications. An application server, "provides standards and guidelines to building the business logic that you need, how you address generating dynamic HTML, and standard APIs for addressing database services," says Picozzi.
By separating the business and presentation logic, the three-tier approach also makes it easier to deliver the same content to different channels, such as Web sites, intranets, and mobile devices. In the two-tier model, particularly because the business and presentation logic often are combined, "this means that re-engineering presentation logic to meet the needs of different client devices carries with it just that much more additional code baggage," says Picozzi. In a three-tier environment, adding new channels is streamlined because, "you only need to redevelop the presentation logic to meet the needs of different device types."
Mind your language
The choice of programming languages--such as ASP, JSP, PHP or Cold Fusion--also depends on the type of site and what it sets out to achieve, says Presence Online's Hatch. "There are fairly big differences, but it's more down to the philosophy behind the design of the language. ASP comes from a basic background and its real goal is to be able to put something together really quickly and to make it functional. It's had a lot of use, so it's quite solid doing that."
"Java and JSP--because of the object-oriented strength of the language--people who come to it from a Java background tend to have a little more discipline about the way things are written. They tend to use good design patterns and three-tiered architectures."
See FileMaker site.
