Shaping the Internet: the dynamics

Earlier, the author discussed five components of an Internet architecture (middleware; user interface; delivery system; application; and data). He completes that schema by describing the four dynamics: user processes, software development; data management; and system management. The distinction between components and dynamics can be illuminated by an analogy: if the components are features in a landscape, the dynamics are forces like wind and water currents that shape them. The components and dynamics are inseparable, and their interactions comprise the environment in which the Internet "lives". Instead of trying to suggest the next level of detail for the four dynamics, the author gives examples of how the dynamics influence the evolution of the components and vice versa. The dynamics are susceptible to our influence (unlike the laws of gravity), so all of us have a hand in shaping the Internet by our choices as technology developers and users. The author looks at how the Internet components and dynamics affect one another.