Technology stack - Case Study Example

?Case Study Table of Contents Introduction 3 History of Twitter 3 Where the Application Fits In Relation to Similar Applications 4 The Technology on which Twitter is Built 4 How that Technology Helped 5 Hindrance of the Technology 6 The Future of Twitter Web Application 7 What You Would Do Were You to Start a Similar Project Tomorrow 8 Conclusion 8 References 10 Introduction Technology stack is a set of software which helps to form the technical structure of an application. It includes layers of components or services which are used for providing software solutions. Technology stack is also articulated as a list of technologies and programming languages for instance ‘Java’, ‘C++’ and ‘SQL Server’ among other programs. It is considered to be the base for developing any kind of application. The report is based on technology stack of a popular web application named Twitter. The objective of the report is to understand the use of technologies towards developing Twitter. The report also aims at understanding the hindrances that twitter witnessed owing to the usage or application of such a technology. Furthermore, the report also describes the future of Twitter as a web application. History of Twitter Twitter is a web application which facilitates people to communicate by using text, graphics and other formats. It was developed in the year 2006 and soon achieved huge admiration by people internationally, as several users joined the application to share information. The core of Twitter’s business is free ‘Application Programming Interface’ (APIs) for every task undertaken by a user on the portal. The idea of Twitter web application was first initiated during a hack project in an organization named ODEO. Over years, the organization attempted to make the aspect of sharing information easier for people. Consequently, the engineers began prototyping programs for better information sharing which turned into Twitter in the later days. Ruby on Rails is identified to be the technological stack of Twitter. Twitter uses Rails application with lots of Ruby programming, performing asynchronous functions in the back-end design (Makice, 2009). Where the Application Fits In Relation to Similar Applications Apart from Twitter, Ruby on Rails also fits in several web applications such as Groupon, Shopify and Yellow Pages among other websites. Several fastest web oriented organizations are applying Ruby on Rails structure with high number of readers and subscribers. Ruby on Rails is considered as the most dynamic way to construct a web application. Where other custom applications can be quite expensive to develop, Ruby on Rails makes the application development quite cost-effective for organizations which do not desire to take risk by spending money on technological experimentation (Hansson, n.d). The Technology on which Twitter is Built Twitter is built on Ruby on Rails structure. It is known to be a full-stack internet application which helped in forming Twitter. Ruby is generally referred as a programming language and Rails is a kind of technological framework. Together Ruby and Rails provides required tools and components which are essential to form powerful application in an instinctual environment. Ruby on Rails helps in ensuring the aspect of website development to be increasingly effectual and less troublesome. As it is a full-stack internet application, Ruby on Rails helped Twitter to encompass both areas i.e. ‘front-end’ and ‘back-end’ design (Slater, 2008). In the recent days, Twitter has been learnt to have shifted its ‘front-end’ search function from Ruby and Rails to a Java application named ‘Blender’. This shift was inspired owing to the benefits of Java. Java is believed to provide high level of performance and enhanced scalability. Furthermore, it was also determined by the wish for better encapsulation of different services and other architectural aspects. Blender is a HTTP service developed on ‘Netty’, a high accessible client server transcribed by Java language, which allows improvement of ranges of etiquette servers and clients. This change can result to significant reduction in search expectancies in Twitter (Dimiduk & Khurana, 2012). Twitter also replaced certain ‘back-end’ services by rewriting them in other programming language named Scala, which is also a Java based platform. Scala aims at demonstrating a common programming outline in a brief, sophisticated and safe manner. Scala empowers other programs to become more dynamic. In Scala, the size of programming codes is typically reduced in comparison to other equivalent Java applications, resulting in low level of complexity. How that Technology Helped Ruby on Rails was appropriately implemented for developing Twitter because it is a database supported website. This technology stack is considered to be best-suited for Twitter due to its unique requirements i.e. inexpensive and easy usage. Besides, Ruby on Rails can also enhance the adeptness of web application since it helps to develop new programs and features, making tweets much simpler for people than any other web applications. Through Ruby on Rails, one can develop more functions by using low programming codes. Low programming codes denote better organized applications with relatively fewer difficulties. In this way, Ruby on Rails helped to restate and experiment more willingly regarding the improvement of Twitter web application (Slater, 2008). The technology stack used in Twitter is quite admirable. The ‘back-end’ design of Twitter is based on MySQL and Scala while the front-end design is based on Ruby on Rails and Blender. These programs are mostly used for well-designed systems. The communication between ‘front end’ and ‘back-end’ functions of Twitter is based on ‘Thrift’ application. Twitter also uses ‘Hadoop Distributed File System’ (HDFS) for offline performances (Dimiduk & Khurana, 2012). Hindrance of the Technology Ruby and Rails technology has several limitations, due to which Twitter has shifted the technology stack to Java based programming. Originally, Twitter was based on Rails structure. The Ruby on Rails has become imperfect for the situation of Twitter i.e. to enhance the performance. The reason is that the runtime application of Ruby language is quite slow with respect to Java language. It results in low level of performance. Furthermore, in Rails there is no facility of vertical encapsulation. Thus, it proves to be inappropriate for large web based applications such as Twitter. To keep up with the modern age, Twitter is focusing more on performance and encapsulation which generates the requirements of building the web services by using Java. Java has high level of agility in comparison to other languages such as C++ and Ruby. The other aspect which called for the requirement of change from Ruby on Rails was identified to be the factor of dependability. Ruby language lacks in dependable programming code, which can hinder the growth of business of Twitter. The other hindrance for using Ruby on Rails was low level of flexibility. Similar to other scripting languages, Ruby witnesses problem while working in long servers. In this context, it can be stated that Scala can provide the flexibility for witting programs in long servers, which is useful for Twitter. Furthermore, Ruby also falls short of an effective thread support. Ruby follows threads in a single base server where Twitter desires to run on a multi-base server. Ruby is not effective as Scala because it uses high amount of memory. The Future of Twitter Web Application Twitter presently has successfully developed into one of the major web applications, used by several people around the world. It entails immense probability of acquiring huge popularity as Facebook and MySpace. Twitting has become a trend for several individuals in order to share ideas or information. In future, Twitter might merge with other technologies such as ‘Global Positioning System’ (GPS) in the cell phone in order to search for people. There are limited chances for other competitors to develop platforms such as Twitter, as the website is used as an unique means for the purpose of interacting. Due to these characteristics, Twitter might turn into an exclusive platform engaging a dominating position with regard to communication. Twitter is basically associated with ‘Short Messaging Service’ (SMS) system of cell phone, but only few mobile manufacturing organizations allow users to use Twitter web application freely. It is expected that in the upcoming days, the mobile phone organizations might include Twitter as a SMS system by allowing a definite amount of free messages and several people are likely to use it in their cell phones. However, Twitter can witness huge competition from other web applications which would exert much pressure on Twitter to develop its platform (Dixon, n.d). What You Would Do Were You to Start a Similar Project Tomorrow If an individual desires to start a similar project such as Twitter tomorrow, there will be an initial need to select the languages on which the web application would be based. There are several choices to start with, such as Ruby on Rails, Java and PHP among others. Concisely, Java would not be effective for starters due to its high level of complexity and configuration. Ruby on Rails can be considered for a quick start of web application like the way Twitter did, as it involves low amount of time and also low expenses. On the other hand, PHP is also extensively used as a programming language owing to its nature of being quicker and extensively available on website hosting services. However, PHP lacks steadiness and features are learnt to be added with minimum concern to any general language design. The issues with respect to starting a similar project depend on facets such as time, cost and progress. There are several strengths and weaknesses in relation to each language and each are measured to be suitable for certain aspects. Thus, the commencement of a similar kind of project greatly depends on factors such as balancing the choices with respect to priority of web application. Conclusion The technology stack of Twitter is based on Ruby on Rails platform, but has changed to Java based application in order to accomplish higher performance. Twitter encountered several hindrances with regard to the use of Ruby on Rails which compelled the use of other languages so that it can perform faster and much effectively than before. Twitter started as a partial project of ODEO and became a popular social networking site for people around the world. Presently, there are other web applications which also use similar techniques of Twitter, but Twitter is believed to possess its own distinctiveness. In future, Twitter is likely to expand the number of users due to its high scalability. With the stress of huge competition, Twitter will require developing new features in order to stay attractive in the social web media segment. References Dixon, P., No. Date. Global Influence of Twitter on Communities, Companies, Politics. Twitter Future - Bigger than Facebook? Future Media. [Online] Available at: http://www.globalchange.com/future-of-twitter.htm?format=pdf [Accessed September 04, 2012]. Dimiduk, N. & Khurana, A., 2012. HBase in Action. Manning Publications. Hansson, D. H., No. Date. Who is Already on Rails? Web Development That Doesn’t Hurt. [Online] Available at: http://rubyonrails.org/ [Accessed September 04, 2012]. Makice, K., 2009. Twitter API: Up and Running. O’Reilly Media, Inc. Slater, M., 2008. Creating More Using Less Effort with Ruby on Rails. A List Apart Magazine. [Online] Available at: http://www.alistapart.com/articles/creatingmoreusinglesseffortwithrubyonrails/ [Accessed September 04, 2012]. Read More