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The "need for speed" is a misconception that has driven software development for too long. I have a ’66 GTO with more speed than I know what to do with. I wondered what features, other than speed, would get me to upgrade? I have worked at Progress as a software engineer for more than 20 years and this is my first blog post. Why did I decide to write a blog post now? Well, I have been struggling with a misconception that has driven software for many years, which is that the only reason to upgrade to or even develop new software is for faster performance.
I recently slammed head-on into this “need for speed” mindset while working to develop our new WebSpeed feature in the recently released Progress Pacific Application Server for OpenEdge (hereafter to be called: PASOE).
Now, in our previous release of PASOE, we upgraded our classic AppServer architecture. As a result, PASOE was expected to have better performance and use fewer resources than our classic AppServer as a core part of its designed features.
In PASOE 11.6 we have added WebSpeed functionality, and we’re very excited about how it improves the product. However, WebSpeed has always been very fast, so pure performance was not high on the required features. This is where the “need for speed” mindset ambushed us. We were confronted with the requirement of demonstrably “faster” performance because of the feeling that it is what customers will expect.
While struggling with this requirement, I knew there were several reasons other than speed for upgrading to the new WebSpeed. At first, I was at a loss for how to explain it, but then I got to thinking about a hobby of mine.
That hobby is classic muscle cars. I have a ’66 GTO (hereafter to be known as: Bernadette) with more speed than I know what to do with. I wondered what features, other than speed, would get me to upgrade Bernadette?
There’s no doubt that any of these improvements would be a nice upgrade, even if the top speed only remained level. Now that we have a shopping list of improvements for Bernadette, how does that relate back to WebSpeed?
We’re very proud of our new product and its features, but not just because it’s faster! There are many great improvements added even beyond the new WebSpeed too. Please download the new 11.6 OpenEdge and see if you like our new muscle car!
Roy has worked at Progress for over 20 years. After starting in Technical Support, Roy moved to the WebSpeed development team. Since then he has helped to deliver many products and features, including: the AdminServer, NameServer, AppServer, OpenEdge Explorer and Management, Arcade and recently the new Progress Application Server for OpenEdge. He enjoys working with customers and presenting at many customer events.
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