Local-First - Collaboration + Ownership, The Next Generation Software Development Paradigm
Streets of Melbourne. Photo by author I came across an article published in 2019 by independent research lab Ink & Switch titled “Local-first software: You own your data, in spite of the cloud”. After reading it, I was deeply moved and inspired. Here I’ll share a brief summary and my thoughts. Looking at the modern software ecosystem, you’ll notice it’s completely different from ten years ago. Instead of applications installed on your computer, more and more software is delivered as web services. Most of our computer time is now spent inside a browser. Over the past decade or so, the software industry has undergone a paradigm shift—from traditional desktop software to web services. This brought better cross-platform support, instant access without installation, and seamless cross-device experiences. Most importantly, it made real-time multi-user collaboration possible. ...