Using the cloud

Continuing my thoughts on the cloud I have moved on to thinking about applications.  I have often been asked to write small pieces of software to automate processes that would otherwise have been carried out by hand.  My first commercial program was written in basic and translated a word processor document into a format compatible for typesetting.  For a while I was something of an expert in this process and fulfilled a useful role between authors and publishers.

Such small scale automation has been a recurring theme and often used in a data collection format.  However,  I have become increasingly unhappy about embedding code in documents and spreadsheets because of security reasons, and also the effort of keeping versions of code up to date.

Now enter the cloud.  We are seeing a trend towards using small applications on phones,  web pages and anywhere else that is connected to the web.  These little apps are managed in a variety of ways, but the basic principle is that you can write an app and use it many times.  The inevitable modifications can be managed simply by updating the source code.

As they say, here is one I prepared earlier.  It is a little google gadget to help collect time related information about MCRL's (Manufacturing Capability Readiness Levels) for technology roadmapping. I use this gadget to enhance forms I use to collect data both on and off line.