BA Chapter 6 : The Architecture of the Facebook Platform

Very nice chapter. Author chosen a good example application to illustrate how architecture can help to extend a simple social web site to a powerful platform with rich features. Each new change caused architects to change the system using even more powerful design decisions to add the features while keeping the fundamental requirements of data privacy and sites integrity.

This chapter has good amount of details about the Facebook system. It more seems like application design than applications architecture. Since I am also in web/ enterprise applications design and development, I am able to grasp and relate to the concepts but thought it maybe too much for those who are new to these items.

I like the key ides presented in this paper like how the web service hand shake make the data accessible with in the Facebook user’s notion of privacy, how it implemented the external data access pattern, FBML Architecture, how FBML can combine the social data and privacy business logic, FBJS to make app dynamic and yet limits the any violations that may occur if they use general java script.

Here are my answers –

How are social networking sites, like Facebook, helpful to other applications?

I like the comment from the Eric “he who controls the data controls the web” good summarization …. For this question. Other applications who need the data which is available in these social networking sites can help them to get it and use it for their needs.

How / why did Facebook open itself up to 3rd party applications?

Well, give a cent and take a cent saying goes well here I guess. Facebook API, which allowed 3rd party applications to make calls to the social data of a Facebook users. I am guessing, Facebook opening up for query based web services may have lead to more people in putting their own data to Facebook to begin…..

How did FQL help to optimize Facebook service calls?

FQL helped to optimize Facebook service calls by pushing some of the processing for client (who may have to make multiple calls to get various data for different stages of the processing) on to the Facebook servers

Why was FQL particularly of value to developers?

FQL is veryo valuable to developers because it is almost like other well known data query language SQL. So they can easily get data by querying to it.

How did FBML help shape the current environment of third party integration with Facebook?

More and more traffic to the site for sure and more and more outside applications will access the face book’s social data wealth.

Do you think FBJS is a fair compromise to javascript for developers of applications on the Facebook platform? Why or why not?

I believe FBJS is fair. It limits Javascript that may violate the rules of the face book and also make sure to present the developer provided content when it is safe.

What do you think architectures such as the Facebook Platform mean for the future of online computing?

I think, more business approach these social networks to get the data and use it to promote their product and for that they use online business to catch users eye through these sites…again so we see more online computing…