Introduction

The widespread use of networks, including the internet, has revolutionised the development of software. 

The ability to collaborate and share resources greatly improves productivity. 

Although network speeds continue to improve they still provide a bottleneck for network based software. 

Changes to the user interface in terms of how data is entered and retrieved across the network can greatly improve response times. 

In addition security and privacy concerns (discussed earlier in the chapter) must be addressed when data is transferred across public and often insecure networks.

Use of networks by software developers:

• Access to resources: 

• Networks allow developers to share resources such as graphical assets and to easily share source code among other developers. 

• There are a great deal of resources on the internet available to software developers, such as third party libraries.

• Ease of communication: 

• Networks allow developers to communicate easily among one another.

• Productivity: 

• When properly organised, collaborative development over networks can greatly increase productivity due to both the ease of communication and the access to resources for developers.

Use of networks by users when using network based software:

• Response times: 

• Response times are important for users of software pertaining to networking – users will often give up when response times are too slow. 

• While networking can be optimised the factors that determine response times, such as server load, are often out of the hands of the developers.

• Interface design: 

• Proper interface design can improve response times. 

• If interfaces are designed such that the program gives a visual response even if it has not received a networking response, the user is more likely to continue with use of the program.

• Privacy and security issues: 

• Often sensitive data is transferred across networks. 

• Precautions are often made to ensure the data remains private.