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Programming for Cloud Computing: What's DifferentWeb developers who want to (or must) embrace cloud computing need to learn more than a few new tools. Experts explain the skills you need to hone.

By Esther Schindler Career, programming, web development

October 04, 2010, 8:40 AM — The "cloud computing" label is applied to several

technologies, and is laden with vendor and industry hype. Yet underneath it all, most

of us acknowledge that there's something to all this stuff about utility computing and

whatever-as-a-service.

The distinction is especially important to software developers, who know that the

next-big-thing is apt to have an impact on their employability. Savvy, career-minded

programmers are always trying to improve their skill sets, preparing for the next

must-have technology.

[ How to build a career in cloud computing | Free download: Killer resumes for

techies ]

What's different about cloud computing, compared to "regular" web development? If

a programmer wants to equip herself to take advantage of the cloud in any of its

myriad forms -- Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), or

Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas) -- to what technologies should she pay attention? If

your company has traditionally done web development but is planning to adopt the

cloud in a big way, what unique skill sets should you look for? The learning curve

can be even more bewildering because the concerns of a SaaS developer may be

very different from one who's using a virtual development environment, yet the

industry treats "the cloud" as if it's one monolithic technology.

"Developing applications in the cloud is a little like visiting Canada from America.

Most everything is the same, but there are small differences that you notice and

need to accommodate."

David J. Jilk, Standing Cloud

For advice, I turned to experienced developers and vendors (the techies who lie

awake at night agonizing about these issues, not the marketing people).

Here, therefore, is an overview of the things to pay attention to as you explore the

cloud, including tools, scalability, security, architecture design, and expanding

infrastructure knowledge.

Know Your Tools

Let's get the easy item out of the way first. Moving to the cloud probably requires

you to learn new APIs, such as those for the Google App Engine, SalesForce.com,

or whichever software your application will depend on. For most developers,

learning a new API, poking at a new database tool, or exploring a new open source

platform is a regular occurrence, though you do need to budget time for it.

And, while some development tools have extensions to permit deployment in the

cloud, programmers have to learn those features. "In the case of Microsoft SQL

Azure, there are technical challenges beyond a 'regular' web development

environment," says Alpesh Patel, director of engineering at Ektron. You might have

to come up to speed on sparse columns, extended stored procedures, Service

Broker, or Common Language Runtime (CLR) and CLR User-Defined Types. 1

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Esther Schindler has been writing for the computer press since 1992, and previously spent a decade as a computer programmer, computer consultant, corporate trainer on operating system … Read more

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Ringing a bell: 11 common phrases and terms that came from obsolete technology

BOOK GIVEAWAY: SQL Queries for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Data Manipulation in SQL

IT salaries for the 20 hottest tech skills

Haunting photos of a village built to handle electronic waste

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BOOK GIVEAWAY: App Accomplished: Strategies for App Development Success

8 technologies that are on the way out -- and one that we'll never be rid of

Quick Look: Ubuntu GNOME 14.04

Willkommen software engineers! 10 countries that pay you what you're worth

10 tech products that are built to last

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