More of our lives are converging onto our computer desktops all the time. A desktop developer has to be able to work on many different projects, as there are so many applications have become common use in a computer users daily life. Some of the applications that are generally found on a desktop include Internet browsers, office suites, email programs and accessory applications. These can be further sub divided as office suites can include word processors, spread sheets, database applications and presentation programs as well as others. A desktop developer has to be versatile and familiar with all of the latest programming languages and third party plug-ins in order to be successful and up to date.
Desktop applications are normally standalone and not dependent on any network protocols, although there are exceptions. They can either be fully featured program environments or plug-ins that need specific applications to be useful. A desktop environment is basically a metaphor for a traditional hardware desktop, the everyday things and processes that you need to have close at hand because you use them so often.
When computer interfaces evolved past the old command line structures, what they evolved into was the desktop environments that are everywhere today. A desktop will have icons, windows, folders and files as well as toolbars and system applications that are all easily accessible to the user. Desktops also normally include a drag and drop feature that makes the environment even more like the physical desks that they are inspired from.
The term desktop developers may refer to the programmers who work within the intricacies of an operating system itself, but will more likely be referring to the people who work on the standalone applications that are placed onto the desktop. What is crucial for any desktop program is that it has a seamless integration with the operating system and the file structure of the common computer. A lot of common desktop applications are made by the same people who design the operating systems themselves, with Apple and Microsoft being by far the two most popular environments.
Both Apple and Microsoft make common desktop applications such as office suites and database programs. One other common group of desktop applications are those that are designed with entertainment and communication in mind. In fact media players, email and telephony programs are among the most widely used applications on the collective world wide desktop today. Other programs like games and calculators are commonly used and easily accessible from a users desktop as well, and while a lot of employers may not be happy about it, solitaire is probably one of the most popular desktop applications around.
Web browsers are themselves desktop programs, but they are unique in that they offer access to non desktop applications via the Internet. This is probably the biggest dividing line today, between desktop applications and online applications. While a desktop developer is dependent on the resources and environment of the host computer only, an Internet developer is also dependent on the networks and servers of the web.