It seems to me that a PaaS basically is an application for developers. Is it always or is it usually the case that the end users of a PaaS are developers? Any examples of a PaaS that isn't for end users who are developers?
A:
Depending on your definition of "developer" you are correct. PaaS is a Platform for building apps, and as such you need to be a developer. However, Access was also for building apps, as is Excel macros and Crystal Reports, and I've seen "end users" build some rather complex stuff with those. Are those end users now developers? Depends on your point of view.
WaldenL
2010-10-17 13:11:55
A:
You could see initiatives like netvibes and iGoogle as PaaS for end users.
We took the same concept to build a business app.
The interesting aspect of this "widgetisation" of the interface is that a user can easily setup a screen that matches her level of complexity.
A user with simple needs will have a simple screen, while a sophisticated user will have a complex screen. Both have what they need.
A second aspect, is the ability for the end user to fetch external content and put it in the same screen.
It surprises newcomers, but users who understand the power praise it.
On the bad side:
- it is not easy to build(we underestimated the task, but happy we have it now)
- it is difficult to push new functionality to be used, as we precisely don't want to make it complex for people who don't need this functionality
Mic
2010-10-18 13:42:23
A:
No it is not just for Developers.
Currently there are different kind of PaaS providers at the market. Some of them are targeting the developers such as Microsoft Azure , Google Apps and Heroku.
The others are targeting developers and business analysts as well as the end-users by providing no-coding required development environment such as SalesForce, Zoho Creator and Viravis. This kind of PaaS are more likely provide services for specific kind of softwares such as online database applications.
In addition, there are also services like Amazon EC2 and GoGrid. I think they are IaaS (Infrastrature as a Service) that is mostly and wrongly thought as PaaS.
orka
2010-10-19 19:44:31