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There are a number of things I find alarming about this (which is nothing new): Firstly, the author is encouraging the conversion of traditional web pages to s

There are a number of things I find alarming about this (which is nothing new): Firstly, the author is encouraging the conversion of traditional web pages to single-page web applications, which means that users would now have to download actual software to use the website rather than using the software that they already have and trust: their web browser. Perhaps most alarming is the acknowledgement of this: > One of the main benefits of Serverless FaaS applications is transparent production runtime provisioning, and so open source is not currently as relevant in this world as it is for, say, Docker and containers. This highlights the major issue of SaaSS/SaaS, and FaaS takes it to the extreme: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-s... Not only does the user not have control (as in the case of SaaS), but in the case of FaaS, the actual author is relinquishing the same control. These suggestions all "make sense" from an architectural perspective (depending on who you ask, and depending on the software being written). But I plead for others to consider whether this is necessary in their particular instance; it's the default thinking now-a-days: want to write a program? Want a wide audience? Want it to scale? Put it on the Web, make it a service, store it and all user data on someone else's computer, and call it "the cloud". I expressed my opinions and concerns at LibrePlanet 2016: https://media.libreplanet.org/u/libreplanet/collection/restore-online-freedom/ https://media.libreplanet.org/u/libreplanet/collection/resto...

mikebroberts 10y ago
Hi Mike, Article author here. Don't worry, I'll be laying on some cold, hard, reality later in the series. I definitely don't encourage SPAs universally and I'll be talking extensively about the concerns of handing over responsibility to vendors.
- mikegerwitz 10y ago
  Thanks for the reply, Mike; I'm looking forward to reading your opinions, and I'm glad you'll be discussing it. From a technical perspective, your article was very informative, and I did learn from it, so thank you for the information.
- nickpsecurity 10y ago
  I appreciate you not only explaining it but coming up with two, alternate terms that don't sound so dumb. As in, not calling a centralized architecture "serverless". Your names also fit within context of what people are calling other "N as a Service" schemes.
vmateixeira 10y ago
Hi Mike, Just read your presentation, couldn't agree more with the state of the web. Ironically, thanks for sharing :)
- mikegerwitz 10y ago
  Thanks for taking a look. :)
pmoriarty 10y ago
"the author is encouraging the conversion of traditional web pages to single-page web applications, which means that users would now have to download actual software to use the website rather than using the software that they already have and trust: their web browser." You mean sort of like every web page that uses javascript? I agree, that is alarming. Unfortunately, the horse on that has long ago run out of that stable, and most people don't seeem to care.
- mikegerwitz 10y ago
  > You mean sort of like every web page that uses javascript? Some web pages can still function okay without JavaScript enabled, or you can find a way to work around it. Maybe there's even a Greasemonkey script for it. But it's increasingly more difficult. > Unfortunately, the horse on that has long ago run out of that stable, and most people don't seeem to care. As is the case with many things, but the fight doesn't end there.

mikebroberts 10y ago

Hi Mike, Article author here. Don't worry, I'll be laying on some cold, hard, reality later in the series. I definitely don't encourage SPAs universally and I'll be talking extensively about the concerns of handing over responsibility to vendors.

mikegerwitz 10y ago
Thanks for the reply, Mike; I'm looking forward to reading your opinions, and I'm glad you'll be discussing it. From a technical perspective, your article was very informative, and I did learn from it, so thank you for the information.
nickpsecurity 10y ago
I appreciate you not only explaining it but coming up with two, alternate terms that don't sound so dumb. As in, not calling a centralized architecture "serverless". Your names also fit within context of what people are calling other "N as a Service" schemes.

vmateixeira 10y ago

Hi Mike, Just read your presentation, couldn't agree more with the state of the web. Ironically, thanks for sharing :)

mikegerwitz 10y ago
Thanks for taking a look. :)

pmoriarty 10y ago

"the author is encouraging the conversion of traditional web pages to single-page web applications, which means that users would now have to download actual software to use the website rather than using the software that they already have and trust: their web browser." You mean sort of like every web page that uses javascript? I agree, that is alarming. Unfortunately, the horse on that has long ago run out of that stable, and most people don't seeem to care.

mikegerwitz 10y ago
> You mean sort of like every web page that uses javascript? Some web pages can still function okay without JavaScript enabled, or you can find a way to work around it. Maybe there's even a Greasemonkey script for it. But it's increasingly more difficult. > Unfortunately, the horse on that has long ago run out of that stable, and most people don't seeem to care. As is the case with many things, but the fight doesn't end there.