Not everything about computers and software these days is related to packaging, but a lot is. How can users acquire software faster and run it more easily? How should software be packaged up so that we can run it wherever we like? How do we resolve the tensions between the siren song of public cloud convenience and open source freedom and flexibility?

In From Pots and Vats to Programs and Apps: How Software Learned to Package Itself, Red Hatters Gordon Haff and William Henry take you on a journey through the history of packaging, pointing out along the way the clear parallels to how software packaging specifically has evolved and continues to evolve. The retail industry and other packaging pioneers have had many lessons to teach and much to say about how we should think about packaging as part of the user experience rather than just a utilitarian box.

We'll be doing a book signing at the information desk in the Red Hat DevZone on Thursday, May 4, 2017, from 9:45 to 10:15 am. Come get your signed copy while supplies last.


Click .NET Runtime for Red Hat Enterprise Linux to install .NET Core and run a simple "Hello, World" application.

Last updated: November 15, 2018