Careers: Interviews
Dot Net Expert: Yong Tao Chen
This week, Stephen Ibaraki, ISP, has
an exclusive interview with Yong Tao [YT] Chen. Mr.
Chen is in the rarefied elite worldwide in .NET [Dot
Net] development receiving many
accolades/awards/recognition, and a wide following
from his research papers published in leading
international professional journals. Mr. Chen was
the first person worldwide to earn the new SQL MCDBA
designation together with the CNA, MCSE+I, MCSD, CSP
and NSP titles combined with his Bachelor of Science
degree in Chemistry and his Masters of Business
Administration.
***
Q: I’m happy to see you Yong Tao and it’s a real
privilege to interview you again. With your current
world leading research, could you tell us which area
you are currently working on? What do you feel about
these areas?
A: I am currently working on two projects--I am the
project leader on a financial web application as
well as working on an intranet application. I feel
it is a wonderful opportunity to work with the
latest technologies. For example these projects
include utilizing Biztalk server as information
exchange center applying XML, C# language in ASP.net,
soap and web services, programming on embedded
devices, along with Crystal web-based reporting
system. It is extremely exciting to be personally
involved in these rapidly changing technologies.
Q: Together with your singular technical abilities,
you are well known and respected as a gifted
teacher. In your own words, can you overview some of
the new technologies that are evolving?
A: As most of my work is related to Microsoft .Net,
let’s start there. Microsoft talks about it, people
talk about it, but we might wonder why it is so
great and what it can do for us. My answer is, it
brings a philosophical change in utilizing Internet
and opens up unlimited possibilities.
Dotcom’s failure enables us to rethink the Internet.
It is no longer a place that proverbially prints
money. However with every failure comes an
opportunity, for me there is potential in the
Internet.
For the most part today’s Internet is for “Viewing”,
ie. the primary use of a browser. The “language”
used for the browser—HTML, is designed for
displaying information. The programming languages
that create Dotcom---CGI, ISAPI, ASP, JSP are so
limited, most of them are scripting language which
in essence means a long programming lifecycle,
difficult to write, poorly documented and hard to
debug. To use these languages for dynamic exchanges
is problematic and very costly. Compared to the most
recent programming languages, these older languages
are archaic.
Two of the most powerful technologies that are used
to build today’s programming languages are: Object
oriented (O-O) and RAD (Rapid application
development). Using O-O programming, such as java,
we can simulate business models, make code easier to
understand and modify. Using RAD, such as VB, can
greatly reduce the programming lifecycle. Before
.Net, there was no language that had both
characteristics, let alone using these
characteristics in web-based application
development.
The .Net languages: C# and VB.net inherit the “best”
of previous languages; they are truly easier to use,
enhancing the capabilities of web-based applications
and the dynamic exchange of data. I am far more
productive and feel more confident with this latest
toolkit of programming languages.
Previously, building web-based applications was only
affordable by large enterprises, now it is certainly
within the realm of middle or small size companies
due in part to the shorter life cycle in writing the
code, and a far more user-friendly approach of
coding. The result has provided a significant
reduction in costs, improvement of services, more
convenience, reducing human labor. The impact might
be initially slow, but eventually it will be
significant and worthwhile.
Q: With your long history successfully working with
.NET in a leadership role worldwide, can you give us
some details on .Net?
A: [Dot Net] .Net itself is quite obscure. Different
explanations coming from sales hypes can be
confusing.
Two major concepts need to be considered: Fully
utilizing the Internet represents the wave of moving
from desktop or client/server application into a
web-based application, leveraging Internet
technologies for Intranet and accessing information
from embedded devices through the Internet. Web
services mean turning the software from a product
into a service. A Product is something you buy from
a shop and take home; a service is on-going, and
subscription-based.
From another aspect, .Net is a combination of a set
of products, tools and knowledge guidelines. It sets
up a “protocol” on how to build applications on the
web and how to let these applications “talk”.
Q: More than anyone, with your leading development
work, you can provide us with a picture of what will
happen in the IT industry in the next 5 years.
A: Obviously the focus will move from desktop to
web, from client/server to web, from mainframe or
from other systems to web. By adopting the new
technologies, information will become more useful
and accessible and will play a more important role
in the business area and on our daily life. The most
active area of IT will shift from home users to
business, the technologies will help organizations
reduce cost, raise efficiency and provide more
opportunities.
The fast growth of personal computing will come of
age. The area of embedded computing: palm size
device, cell phone, watch and cameras will become
smarter with time. The upgrades and software
development on these areas will accelerate even
faster.
Q: As a follow-up question, which attributes will be
most important in this area to the IT professional?
A: A combination of technical background and
business knowledge will become very important and
essential to every entrepreneur. Technical
background helps us to understand what is possible;
business knowledge gives us a reason to apply these
technologies.
Q: Yong Tao, you have researched and written about
all the available technologies from the major
vendors and you have quite a following due to your
excellent research. There is a lot of talk about
technologies from different vendors like Microsoft
.Net or Sun One; do you want to say something about
this?
A: There is a lot of discussion about which language
is better: VB, Java, C++, C# and others. In many
aspects, there is little difference amongst them. No
matter which company creates it, it is merely a
tool. As an analogous concept, can you tell whether
a hatchet, wrench, mallet or hammer is better? For
the most part it is the one you are most comfortable
with using. There is no one programming language
panacea that is superior. Which is better ultimately
depends on what you want and where you want to use
it.
However, I do believe .Net represents a positive
direction to the future. I see it as the most
advanced “tool” in the market. It brings about a
conceptual framework which will dominate the future
of IT.
Some people would like to dismiss Microsoft because
they represent the superpower of IT. I think this is
an over-reaction. Look back 20 years; the same
concern was expressed about IBM.
Q: What will be the unique position of your company
of which you are the Chief Technical Officer?
A: We are recognized as world experts on Microsoft
.Net. By introducing .Net to business companies and
organizations, smaller to mid-sized organizations
can now enable the same technologies that were only
affordable to larger enterprises.
People may not realize the potential and benefits of
current technology, and a price that is within their
range. Imagine this: a doctor can use a palm size
handhold device, visit patients in different rooms,
record his notes in the handheld device, and his
notes will be stored into a central database
instantly with a push of a key; Another doctor who
is checking one of the patient’s historical notes
can bring up the stored notes in real time from
another location. Or, a manager who flies to
California can use his cell phone, contact his
company’s mobile portal to ask the portal to send
today’s sales report to his Email account, or
alternately check his company’s real time sales
report from his hotel though his laptop. It is
within our potential to bring this to every company
and office.
Ultimately we will help our customers understand
what these technologies will mean to them, how it
will help them profit by reducing costs and add
value to the operation of their businesses.
We believe that the future holds a vast number of
opportunities as we move into the 21st century. Only
your imagination will limit your potential.
Q: It is said that the downtime of IT will still
last for a while. What do you say about this and
what will be the reaction of you and your company?
A: It is true that people will be more conservative
when they invest in IT. I always see things though
in more positive way. While the downturn brings some
challenges to us, it also means new opportunities.
It will not be an era for the faint of heart. Many
will fail but this will leave a void for great
success stories. Individuals and companies will
enjoy a richer, healthier life if we are careful and
take pride in what we do. We sincerely believe we
are “one” of these companies. We hope and pray for a
better future. We must stay positive and put faith
and build on what we believe is just and right.
Q: Thank you for taking the time out of your very
busy schedule to be interviewed and for providing an
overview of where you see technology going. Finally,
congratulations on your singular nomination for the
Top 40 Under 40 list as the best chief technical
officer, researcher, and developer working today.
A: It’s a pleasure spending time to give back to the
IT community and I enjoyed the interview. |
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