Today developers enjoy a freedom to create that is without precedent. They are faced with an embarrassment of riches in tool choices, and even ten person teams can run services with a billion users. All of this freedom is not without cost, however, and developers need to think critically about their choices and which choices are important to them. In this talk, we’ll explore this seeming paradox and strategies for how developers are responding to the challenges and opportunities in front of them.

1. 10.20.2005
Freedom:
For Better and For Worse
June 2017

2. 2
The year is
1998

3. 3

7. 7
It was a simpler
time

8. 8
Which Platform?

9. 9
Which Database?

10. 10
The year is
2017

11. 11
More developers,
more choices

12. Cambrian
Explosion

13. 13
It’s Not Which
Platform, But
What Kind?

14. 14
It’s Not Which
Database, But
How Many Types?

15. 15
And Then There’s
the Velocity

16. 16
1997: Java Middleware
2007: Hosted PaaS
2011: Open Source PaaS
2013: Containers
2014: Serverless

17. 17
Ten Years
Six Years
Two Years
One Year

19. 191
9

20. 20
It’s an Age
of Choice

22. 22
The Problem?
Choice Isn’t Free

23. 232
3

24. 242
4
Which JS Framework?

25. 252
5
There is a real cost to this
continuous widening of the
base of knowledge a
developer has to have to
remain relevant.
Tim Bray

26. 262
6
I feel the same way, and
it’s one of the reasons I’ve
lost almost all interest in
being a web developer.
Marco Arment

27. 272
7
“Ok, fine. Choice is a
mixed bag. But what
do I do?”

28. Think

29. About the Job
to be Done

30. About the
Choices

31. About the
Value

32. 32
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