Web 2.0 for developers

Web 2.0 is one of those terms that’s used without many people understanding what it actually means. Web 2.0 describes an alternative approach to the Web that is different from traditional sites and applications. You can think of it as a second generation of Web sites and applications. O’Reilly first used the term in 2004 after a conference brainstorming session held with MediaLive International.

A common phrase in the Web 2.0 world is “the Web as a platform”. Web 2.0 emphasises the Web as a platform for sharing data and for social interaction. Approaches such as wikis, tagging and blogging are very much part of the Web 2.0 world.

Developers have a particular interest in creating Web 2.0 applications and sites and in the new tools and approaches available. You may have heard of the term Rich Internet Applications or Ajax. Developers can use these approaches to create Web 2.0 applications that rely heavily on technologies such as XML, XHTML, CSS, RSS, Web services and Flash.

In this article, I’ll give you an overview and outline of what Web 2.0 means both in general and for Web developers. I’ll cover the technologies that are usually considered part of the Web 2.0 movement and look at some examples of where it is used in practice. By the end of the article, you should have a better understanding of what Web 2.0 means although we won’t get our hands dirty with any code.