A web developer will take into consideration loading speed, performance, and appearance when building a website. Once a web application is built, it requires maintenance to ensure usability and accessibility. This building and maintenance of a website is called web application development.
Web development is categorized as front-end and back-end development. Front-end development refers to the user-facing side, while back-end development is the server side. In addition to this, web applications are built using a variety of coding languages and the language depends on the type of tasks that are being performed and the platforms that are being used.
The tools or technologies used have a direct impact on the final product or the website and there are a number of software and web development services a developer can choose from.
Large-scale web applications
Before looking at the best technologies to build large-scale web applications, it is important to consider what exactly a large-scale web application is.
Large-scale web applications can handle a high volume of data traffic, adapting to changes in traffic without having it affect the quality of app operations. Scalability is thus a key factor when talking about these types of applications.
Scalability is required on only at the level of the web server but also at the level of the database. This is extremely important as scalability is crucial to meeting market demands and providing the customer with a good user experience. Large-scale web applications can handle a large load from the start, which means that the developer need not increase capacity once demand or traffic increases.
This can reduce cost as well, as the app will be stable and able to handle a heavy load, without requiring any changes and improvements.
In addition to scalability, large-scale web applications must also have high performance and the ability to handle a large number of user requests as well as it can handle a few. The application must also be able to handle large volumes of data that are of different types. A large-scale web application may have to handle data on products and orders as well as page views, customer behaviour, and clicks, for instance.
This data is important when generating useful and timely insights that require visualisation and reporting. These reports are important when making business decisions and improving strategy.
In terms of distribution, large-scale web applications typically use servers that are geographically closer to the users. The application must also be available 24/7 and this is another characteristic of large-scale web applications.
There are many benefits to large-scale web applications. Business strategies aim at increasing customers and thus sales. However, these strategies and efforts will not have the desired effect if the business does not have a web application that can handle an increase in traffic. Visitors who cannot purchase products or access the information they need will turn to businesses that have the foresight to develop large-scale web applications that can accommodate an increase in visitors.
One of the key benefits of a large-scale web application is that it enables businesses to meet market demands and provide customers with a satisfactory user experience. This positive user experience is extremely important when considering business growth and success. It will also make businesses better prepared for seasonal events. With a large-scale web application, a business can have 24/7 availability, improve speed and performance, and reduce costs. This is why businesses are encouraged to opt for large-scale web applications. When building large-scale web applications, there are several technologies that are used to ensure high performance and functionality.
The Basics
A web application uses a browser to perform various functions, making web browsers one of the most basic technologies when building any type of web application.
Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari are some of the most popular browsers and they essentially present requested information in a way that is easy to understand. Browsers are a web development technology every developer must know about.
HTML and CSS are two other technologies integral to software and web development services. It is with HTML that a web browser knows how to present information once they receive a request. CSS describes how HTML elements are displayed on a screen using text effects, page transitions, and image hover effects.
These are the basic technologies needed to build a web application but they are not the only ones. And since web development tools are constantly changing and upgrading, there are a number of options a software development company can choose from.
While personal preference, knowledge, and requirements play a huge role in the best tools for a web developer, these are some of the main technologies essential to building a large-scale web application.
Web Development Frameworks
Express, Django, Rails, Angular, and React are various tools that can be used for web application development and web development frameworks are an important technology in building large-scale web applications.
The standards of web applications are ever increasing, making frameworks an essential part of web development, especially when it comes to large-scale web applications. A software development company will use tools like the five mentioned above to build web application frameworks.
Web development frameworks are integral to building high performing large-scale web applications. These take into account web application standards, which are constantly improving or rising. Web development frameworks can be for backend functions as well as frontend.
Express and Django, for instance, are considered among the best backend frameworks for large-scale web applications. Angular and React are considered as top frontend frameworks.
Programming languages
Web developers give instructions to a computer using programming languages like JavaScript, CoffeeScript, Python, and Ruby, and a software development company will make use of programming languages so a computer will quickly and efficiently process large and complex information.
Programming languages are a key technology used when developing large-scale web applications and there are different types that a developer may consider. Low-level programming languages include machine language and assembly language. These can be run by the processor directly, without the need of a compiler or interpreter.
High-level programming languages are easy to read, write and maintain and require a compiler or interpreter. JavaScript and Python belong to this type of programming language. Procedural oriented programming language, object-oriented programming language, and natural language are all types of high-level programming languages.
The third type of programming language a developer may use is mid-level or intermediate programming language. This type supports the features of a high-level programming language while also being user-friendly.
Like web development frameworks, programming languages too, are an important technology essential to building web applications.
Protocols
Protocols are the instructions on passing information back and forth between devices. They are a set of rules that are used for a specific purpose and are a key technology for communication. HTTP, for instance, allows a website to get to the browser.
DDP is a protocol that uses websockets to create a consistent connection between the client and the server. REST, on the other hand, is mostly used for APIs and uses standard methods like GET, POST, and PUT.
A few other protocols that may be used when developing large-scale web applications include Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), Domain Name Service (DNS), Internet Protocol (IP), and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
API
Another technology required when building large-scale web applications is API, which stands for application programming interface. This allows other developers to use some of the web application’s functionality without sharing the code and many software and web application development companies make use of this technology.
An API consists of routines, protocols, and tools required to build an application, which makes the development of an application easier. There are four main types of APIs. These are open APIs or public APIs, partner APIs, internal APIs or private APIs, and composite APIs.
Open APIs are publicly available and have no restrictions to access, while internal APIs are typically designed for internal use. Partner APIs require specific rights or licenses for access and composite APIs combine different data and service APIs. In addition to this, there are also web service APIs like SOAP, XML-RPC, JSON-RPC, and REST.
Data Formats
Information can be presented in different ways but a developer must ensure the data is presented in a format that makes it easy to understand. When building the structure of a web application, a developer will store the data required for the web application development in a data format.
JSON, XML, and CSV are various types of data formats and these too, are technologies important when a web application development company is building a large-scale web application.
JSON, which stands for JavaScript Object Notation, is a text format used for storing and transporting data. Developers of large-scale web applications find it to be self-describing and easy to understand. It has two main components or pieces. These are keys and values.
Data stored in the JSON format can be sent between computers easily and can also be used by any programming language.
Another data format is XML, which stands for extensible markup language. Designed to be readable by both humans and machines, XML is often used to distribute data over the internet.
CSV or comma-separated values is a data format used by spreadsheet programmes like Microsoft Excel. This data format presents plain text data sets that are separated by commas. Each new line represents a new database row, which consists of one or more fields separated by a comma.
CSV is a data format that has wide support and is used when transferring tabular data between programmes and databases.
Client and Server
When developing large-scale web applications, there are two aspects or sides that the developer must consider. One is server side development and the other is client side development. Server side development is also known as backend development, while client side development is also known as frontend development.
There is also full stack development, which is the development of both client side and server side.
A client is the user of an application and this can be a computer, mobile device, or tablet and multiple clients can interact with the same web application that is stored on a server. Clients make requests to the server, which is where the application code is stored. The servers then respond to these requests after gathering the requested information.
Client side web development focuses on making large-scale web applications functional, appealing and user-friendly. It looks at parts of the web application that a client or user interacts with.
Server-side or backend web development makes sure the web application does what it is supposed to, making the exchange of data possible. Server side developers can be described as working behind the scenes. Their work includes ensuring server downtime is at a minimum and managing servers.
Client side and server side development is another key technology when it comes to large-scale web applications.
This, along with data formats, protocols, APIs, programming languages, and web development frameworks, are the most important technologies software and web development services used when building a web application.
