$1300MBook+free Stanfordclass+$99dev lic=Apple developer. For #SAP developer?
Edit: 02/07. Thanks to John Appleby, here is the purpose of this blog:
Today, based on tweets, I learned SAP is making changes to give better developer experience as suggested by John Appleby’s blog. Since was not included in that blog, I wanted to share my 2 cents on versus #HANA. I believe iPad/iPhone are highly relevant in HANA environment. In that scenario, I thought understanding the difference between & HANA developer experience would be helpful while SAP is working on changes. This information could be helpful in 2 ways:
- Is there anything SAP can learn from model &
- If SAP believes iPad/iPhone is going to play a major role in HANA environment, then I guess making HANA developer experience compatible with developer experience makes more sense.
I tweeted:
@tweetsinha@applebyj@BoobBoo@mjturner@aiazkazi@oliver$1300MBook+free Stanfordclass+$99dev lic=Apple developer. For#SAP developer?
Amit Sinha responded:
@praba01@applebyj@boobboo@mjturner@aiazkazi@oliver for#HANA $12Kbox or free 90 d+ free HPI classes /HANA Academy + free Dev license
Let me explain these tweets with an example:
Let us say, I meet a stranger who is interested in becoming an developer. He/she wants to know what steps he/she should take to start developing amazing applications. I would tell that person to buy MacBook Pro/Air for $1,000+ (less for used), learn iOS programming through free Stanford University classes – very high quality – and if satisfied with the progress, buy developer license for $99 per year which would allow him/her to test apps on iPhone and/or iPad instead of on simulator. Plus he/she would be able to publish and sell apps in Apple Store with developer license. He/she wouldn’t need any other documentation except Stanford videos and in-code documentation provided by Xcode. Really simple and less expensive to start developing applications in environment.
Now let us say, I meet a stranger who is interested in becoming #HANA developer. Based on Amit Sinha’s tweet, I would tell that person to buy either $12K HANA box or free 90 day license, attend HPI classes/HANA Academy. He/she would get developer license for free. Now let us analyze this in a tabular format:
| Characteristic | SAP Developer | Developer | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investment |
USD12,000 or Free 90 day access Update: 02/11: 12K/90 day option not available. |
US$1,000 | Free access to HANA is great;After 90 days, I would need $12K to continue the development or find another source for free access, in which case I would lose all work I did in the last 90 days. |
| Dedicated versus multi purpose | HANA box is dedicated server | MacBook Pro/Air multi purpose. | If HANA development stuff is not exciting, then HANA box would become unusable. MacBook Pro/Air is a general purpose laptop. |
| Documentation | Many sources | Self-sufficient | I guess I don’t need to explain how difficult it is to get information on any SAP product. |
| Training Classes/Videos on Internals | HPI | Not Available and /or Not Required | Hasso Plattner Institute classes provides excellent details on technology. If you’re interested in knowing how HANA works, then I would highly recommend this site. HPI also offers other classes. |
| Instant gratification | NO | YES | I don’t know about others; for me, this is very critical to stay motivated. All I had to do with was to download Xcode and start developing with the help of Stanford Class instructor. I’ve tried HANA several times. Different kind of experience. After accessing/configuring HANA, I always hit a brick wall: what next? Interestingly I’ve several years of SQL experience. |
| Training Classes/Videos on Programming | HANA Academy | Stanford University’s classes |
HANA Academy –> Unstructured Stanford Classes –> K&R based approach,structured – start small, give instant gratification & keep developers motivated; Excellent materials with home work and assignments. You can find more details here. |
| Scope | Enterprise | Consumer | If this difference explains other differences listed in this table, then I’m fine. I just wanted to get a confirmation from someone who knew. As an independent consultant, I would rather spend my time on and/or other consumer technologies in my free time if someone confirms that HANA is for developers who’re working for mid to large enterprises. |
Good job with this Bala and seems like there is quite a bit of work yet to go if SAP is going to meet their goals to substantially increase the size (and make up) of the 3rd Party HANA developer community
Thanks Jarret. Unfortunately I don't find HANA environment "small developers" friendly.
As Dennis Howlett stated, I hope SAP is already aware of it & work to bring big changes to HANA developer community quickly.
Best regards,
Bala
Bala,
it is increasingly harder to avoid quick compares against other vendors and exchanging of notes among the developers on who among the vendors does the best job attracting developers' brains (and not merely eyeballs).
as all vendors need developers by not offering more than 30 days, many of them will be turned away (hint: my voucher remains unredeemed).
thx for keeping all of us honest here.
greg
Greg,
Thanks for your valuable comment. Very good point:
Stanford class - thereby - does both: Attracting developers' brains & eyeballs. I don't have words to explain that class quality. provides full lifecycle support for developers unlike any other vendor I know.
Jarret Pazahanick provided this link. SAP is very ambitious company: they want to accomplish a lot: They want to be #2 DB vendor; they want to have a billion users & now I learned they want to be "Apple of Enterprise Mobility". Based on how they delivered SAP on HANA, I know they don't just speak. Their actions speak volumes about how serious they are.
I also see one difference: They're very successful in dealing with enterprises. In my opinion, they control a majority of factors needed to be successful in the enterprise market. I don't believe it is true in consumer market.In order to meet billion users target & other goals mentioned, they probably need to be "more open"(read free access to their products). I don't see it happening quick enough.
Best regards,
bala
Very Interesting - Thanks!