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software technology
E ver since 2004, when O’Reilly Media orga-nized the first conference devoted to Web 2.0, the term has been applied to any new Web-related activity.1 But Web 2.0 isn’t so much a new technology as a new way of us-ing Web technologies. Specifically, it’s a way
of letting users easily produce Web content. Web
technologies let users work in the Internet cloud in
the same way they work on their own desktops, but
with the advantage of a collaborative culture. The
key point is that the Web is the workplace, and users
create the value.
In this article, we describe Web 2.0 tools for IT
practitioners. We include examples of their uses in
a project for Openbravo’s main product, an open
source enterprise resource planning (ERP) tool to
support daily business operations and strategic deci-
sions in a Web environment.
Web 2.0 Services
Web 2.0 technologies, tools, and applications of-
fer many services. Software engineers have used
many of these services for a long time, but their
value multiplies as part of the Web 2.0 ecosystem.
Table 1 lists the services we describe here. The
table includes links to their general use at Open-
bravo and their specific use in the company’s lo-
calization project. Because the project is open
source, you can test the services online.
Like any other software, ERP tools must be
translated to new environments. However, ERP
needs much more localization effort than other
applications because it must work with each lo-
cale’s specific regulations, including accounting
and other business procedures. ERP localization
in a foreign country is further complicated when
the software company isn’t familiar with the
country’s language and laws. If dozens of coun-
tries are involved, the best solution is clearly to get
help from the local communities and take advan-
tage of Web 2.0 features in the process.
In our example project, Openbravo defined
and published a localization process for each
country. The users or partners in that country
then build the specific files and programs. Open-
bravo tests the compatibility of the developed lo-
calizations and provides a site for sharing them
with the community.
Forums
Although forums have existed almost from the be-
ginning of the Web, their purpose has changed in
Web 2.0. In the traditional Web (Web 1.0), they
Nicolás Serrano and José Manuel Torres
Web 2.0 has been a buzzword ever since software engineers started connecting different applications and
data on the Internet. What are the most promising technologies for applying Web 2.0 in your IT? What
tools go beyond gimmicks to help professional developers? Authors Nicolás Serrano and José Manuel Tor-
res introduce the major open technologies and show how to integrate them in a professional application.
Needless to say, we can’t dive into all the interesting details, such as security or performance engineering.
We’ll have to leave those for later columns.
I look forward to hearing from both readers and prospective authors about this column and the tech-
nologies you want to know more about. —Christof Ebert
Web 2.0 for Practitioners