Edge Everything

This year's web development series has concluded! A huge thank you to all the contributing authors for sharing their insights and experiences. Many explored innovative approaches to improvement, a perspective I greatly appreciate. Here's a summary of key takeaways:

• Adam: Demonstrated the power of logical properties in creating adaptable web layouts for diverse languages.
• Jennifer: Highlighted the significant impact of basic web skills for non-technical organizations.
• Jake: Used TypeScript as a metaphor for self-improvement (with varying degrees of applicability!).
• Miriam: Championed CSS art, showcasing its creative potential and practical advantages.
• Jeremy: Showcased the longevity and effectiveness of building with fundamental HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
• Natalya: Advocated for embracing "wasted" time, acknowledging the challenges to creativity and productivity.
• Geoff: Emphasized the importance of understanding CSS relativity and its context.
• Mel: Explored diverse sources of open-source imagery.
• Kitty: Encouraged resisting the pressure to chase the latest trends.
• Matthias: Celebrated the enduring value of personal websites.
• Ire: Observed the relative stability of website development methodologies.
• Eric: Provided a platform for accessibility professionals to share their perspectives on ongoing challenges and progress.
• Kilian: Challenged the assumption that newer technologies are more widely adopted than they actually are.
• Shawn: Highlighted the subjective nature of "old" and "new" technologies based on individual experience.
• Manuel: Argued against the pressure to constantly keep up and encouraged exploring the nuances of familiar languages.
• Andy: Stressed the power of simplification in problem-solving.
• Erik: Underscored the importance of typography in effective design.
• Eric: Documented a journey of learning web standards, browser compatibility, and security.
• Cassidy: Noted the resurgence of static file hosting as a modern web development approach.
• Eric: Shared a technique for optimizing PNGs through indexed colors.
• Kyle: Revised his perspective, suggesting stability over rapid change in web technologies.
• Brian: Advocated for accepting limitations and focusing on specific areas of expertise.
• Lea: Presented data on web technology usage, confirming the prevalence of older technologies.
• Jeremy: Drew parallels between video game development constraints and those faced in web development.

A recurring theme was the acceptance of older, established technologies as reliable and efficient. There's less pressure to constantly adopt the newest tools, especially when they introduce unnecessary complexity.

My contribution focuses on edge computing. Initially unclear, my understanding is that it represents global CDNs with enhanced capabilities. While CDNs are beneficial for serving static assets like images, the trend is towards serving everything from a global CDN, significantly improving performance.

However, server-side processes (like user authentication and database interactions) traditionally rely on single-origin servers. Serverless functions offer an alternative, but they often still operate from a single location. The emergence of edge-based serverless functions (like Lambda@Edge) offers a compelling solution, distributing computation globally for improved performance, although currently at a higher cost.

I anticipate a future where all computing, storage, and assets reside at the edge, transforming the default web development approach to an "edge-first" model. The underlying physical infrastructure will remain, but its global distribution will redefine web development. And if anyone's forming an Antarctic infrastructure team… count me in!

The above is the detailed content of Edge Everything. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!