Sharing: A Short History of Data

The article discusses the evolution of data sharing networks and their implications for future data consumption. It begins with HTTP, a protocol that enables nodes to transfer information between computers using standardized protocols following common rule sets. The request-response model of HTTP is highlighted as crucial to data sharing. As websites started selling goods and services, this led to unprecedented traffic and the need for caching resources. Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) were introduced to streamline the process by serving users through a new service provider while allowing website engineering teams to focus elsewhere. The article then moves on to the API era, where companies and organizations opened new revenue streams by making their data available as APIs. This required maintenance and additional features like analytics, rate-limiting, and access management. API management tools emerged to address these issues. The need for REST API management tools is exemplified by large-scale acquisitions such as Salesforce's acquisition of Mulesoft. The article concludes with the advent of event-driven data sharing, which necessitated new data transfer mechanisms like HTTP-Polling, HTTP Long Polling, and WebSockets. Realtime data transfer required bi-directional, persistent connections, leading to the development of Data Stream Networks (DSNs) such as PubNub, Pusher, and Ably. These networks enable realtime messaging infrastructure at scale, allowing developers to focus on building next-generation applications and services. The future of data exchange is expected to be heavily influenced by realtime API Management tools, which will enable a culture of Big Data not as an "island in the cloud" but as an online/offline universe based on event-driven communications.