RE: new tech writer

["Mike O." <obie1121 -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

John Posada asked:
> For every web, there's a frontend and a backend. Why
> is the backend being
> overlooked?  ...or am I misunderstanding a special
> meaning in "web
> services"?

The back end is the engine of the service, that's what
you develop in-house. Customers usually don't see
those docs. Although, surely your back-end has a
documented API that your internal developers use to
access it. 

The "web service" is what you sell to the customer,
usually via an API (not sure if BN does that). 

The customer's developer can develop an application
against your API to integrate your web services into
their own applications. 

Examples: The Google API, or an XML based newsfeed
like Factiva. 

Yes, current demand (little though there is) is for
developers on the back end. They would LIKE for there
to be more demand on the front end! If you are selling
web services, you dream every day that there is so
much demand for your product that you need to send out
600-page glossy API guides to developers clamoring to
integrate your services into their platform.




--- John Posada <JPosada -at- book -dot- com> wrote:
> >> I don't think I know anyone who documents web
> >> services. And the ones that I have used don't 
> >> really require much more doc than telling me what
> 
> >> the return values are. Maybe there is more 
> >> to it than I think....
> >
> >You're absolutely right; docs for web service APIs
> >usually don't do much more than tell you what the
> >return values are.  
> 
> For every web, there's a frontend and a backend. Why
> is the backend being
> overlooked?  ...or am I misunderstanding a special
> meaning in "web
> services"?
> 
> I work for a web. We have a HUGE backend. That's
> where the opportunities
> are....in general, not with us...we're in a hiring
> freeze.
> 
> John Posada
> Special Projects; Information Technology
> Barnes&Noble.com
> NY: 212-414-6656 



--- John Posada <JPosada -at- book -dot- com> wrote:
> >> I don't think I know anyone who documents web
> >> services. And the ones that I have used don't 
> >> really require much more doc than telling me what
> 
> >> the return values are. Maybe there is more 
> >> to it than I think....
> >
> >You're absolutely right; docs for web service APIs
> >usually don't do much more than tell you what the
> >return values are.  
> 
> For every web, there's a frontend and a backend. Why
> is the backend being
> overlooked?  ...or am I misunderstanding a special
> meaning in "web
> services"?
> 
> I work for a web. We have a HUGE backend. That's
> where the opportunities
> are....in general, not with us...we're in a hiring
> freeze.
> 
> John Posada
> Special Projects; Information Technology
> Barnes&Noble.com
> NY: 212-414-6656 


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