Welcome to the OpenShift Developer Spotlight where we get to know the members of the OpenShift community a little better and show off their skills as developers.
Interested in being featured? Apply here or view past entries.
- Name: Yashwant Gourisetti
- Hometown: Chicago
What is your preferred Development Language?
Ruby
What inspired you to be a developer?
I was attracted to computers and programming ever since I came into contact with them the first time. This interest and the amazing potential of computers and software to reshape our world inspired me to become a developer.
What programming language did you learn first?
I learned some BASIC when I was in school but the first real programming language I worked with was C and C++.
What tools do you use the most often for development? (Operating system, IDE, etc)
The tools I frequently use are Linux, Windows, Git, Chrome, Firefox.
What is your favorite development stack?
My favourite development stack is Ruby on Rails in a Linux environment with MySQL database.
Why did you choose OpenShift as your hosting platform?
I chose OpenShift because it provided me most of the core features I required from a hosting platform out of the box along with the flexibility to tweak the system to handle tasks that are specific to my requirement. Also all these features are available in the free tier enabling one to develop and test the application without restrictions for free before moving to production.
What are the best features of OpenShift that some people might not know about?
OpenShift combines ease of setting up, running and managing your application using many standard technology platforms and combinations with the flexibility to access the underlying infrastructure and OS to tweak the system to handle scenarios which the default configuration does not.
What advantages does OpenShift give you that other hosting platforms don't?
One big advantage I see in OpenShift is how it combines ease of use for starting up with the flexibility to get in deeper to handle advanced or uncommon use cases. The OpenShift cartridges allow you to get started quickly with standard technology stacks. However when those do not suffice, it gives you the flexibility to create your own cartridges and also gives you access to the underlying operating system to accomplish your tasks.
What are one or two things you think are missing from OpenShift that would make it better?
Although OpenShift does support file storage it seems to be quite basic and one needs to look at solutions like Amazon S3 for a proper production deployment. It would be great if there was more comprehensive and robust support for file storage so we can avoid having to use a separate service for that.
Tell us more about your application currently hosted on openshift:
- Name: GSeas
- What does it do? GSeas provides a cloud based platform with all the tools for a rich online learning and teaching experience like multi-dimensional learning content in text and multimedia, quizzes and assignments, collaborative tools for discussion and query resolution, and web and video conferencing.
GSeas focuses on corporations and organizations allowing them to use these tools internally for their employees to create internal training content and courses for other employees. It then provides learning management tools on top of that to target, assign and track learning throughout the organization.
- What technologies were used to create your app? Ruby on Rails
- What motivated you to create this application and what problems does it solve? Having been part of the fast growing Indian IT industry, one of the biggest challenges that we faced was the skill gap between the employees and projects due to the continuous changing nature and foray into new projects, technologies and domains. As companies struggled to impart the requisite skills to their employees, individuals too struggled to keep relevant with changing trends. GSeas was created to help ease this problem by connecting the seekers and providers of knowledge and skills to help reduce the skill gap faced by organizations and individuals.
- What new features do you have planned for this application and will they implement any new technologies within OpenShift? I am looking to integrate document editing, communication and conferencing tools more deeply into the application and this may involve implementing new technologies within OpenShift.
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