CS3216: Web App Development 101

07 Aug 2017 | CS3216 Web Application

Web development has a very low barrier of entry apparently, looking at the internet flooded with web development tutorials. That is probably the reason that thousands of applications are released every months, which majority of people have never even heard of. The biggest trap many app developers fall into is disillusion of usefulness of their apps. Most developers try to solve problems that are not so much of troubles. They identify an inconvenience in people’s lives, develop an app that alleviate or eradicate that problem, and then find out that people find using that app more troublesome than actually solving the problem the app solves. If an application is going to be used by people, its usefulness must outweight the trouble it causes by making people use it. Almost all developers have a sense of proud for their work done, and are often misguided to think that other people will love their app as much as they do. But sadly, this is almost always not the case.

In order for an application to be successful, its value must come from the developers themselves, not others. All app developers must try to solve THEIR problems first, instead of solving OTHERS problems. Because only by this way, developers have a clear knowledge of ‘how troublesome’ the problem is, instead of trying to guess over other people’s opinions about the problem. This is exactly how many great softwares are born. Git was created because a Finnish developer found the existing version control solutions were a complete mess, so he decided to solve HIS problem by making a new version control solution that HE wants to use. And now, everyone uses Git.

In my CS3216 journey, I would like to identify problems in my life that I WANT to solve, create an application that I WANT to use. And then, I will release the app to the public, and if there are anyone who find it as useful as I do, that is one more useful app developed for others. I am really excited for the lectures and workshops which will feed me with many useful web technologies that I can use for my projects. However, I find CS3216 more of an opportunity than a learning; its resources, teammates, and great mentors attract me to this module more than anything. I would like to dive into the world of app development and test if my app development philosophy is indeed a worthy one.