The rise in popularity of object-oriented frameworks is synonymous to the growing prevalence of Java and .NET platforms for enterprise application development. With mature frameworks numbering in the hundreds, it is only natural that there is a significant overlap in the target scenarios addressed by these solutions. While this poses a problem for application developers in choosing the right set of frameworks, it is equally challenging for framework providers to encapsulate the right mix of paradigms, concepts and features for their products to be widely accepted.
Over a period of time, and with the availability of proven design patterns and principles, framework development has become increasingly standards-driven. This has reduced technical maturity to being a qualifying factor rather than a differentiator for competing frameworks in the same technical space.
This article outlines some of the factors (apart from technical maturity) that should be considered while developing effective object-oriented frameworks for better acceptance. Read the rest of this entry »
