2000s - 2010s

Era IV: The Scale Problem

Roy Fielding's dissertation formalized the architectural style that would become the standard for web APIs.

Google's programming model for processing massive datasets across thousands of machines changed how we think about distributed computation.

Linus Torvalds built Git in two weeks out of frustration, and accidentally created the tool that powers all modern software development.

How the scale demands of Web 2.0 drove a new generation of databases that traded SQL guarantees for horizontal scalability.

Facebook's UI library introduced the virtual DOM and component model that reshaped how we think about building interfaces.