Best backend frameworks for web development in 2022

Backend developers are responsible for building the server side of the application. Compared to frontend development, backend development is more demanding in terms of multi-functionality and complexity, yet developing the backend infrastructure for applications is becoming simpler. This is because of the availability of new web development frameworks.

Any development project can be divided into frontend and backend development. With many frameworks available for backend development, which one will you choose? 

This article lists the best backend frameworks for web development in 2022. 

1. Django

For Python developers, one of the best backend frameworks for application development is Django. You can build database-driven, complex, high-performance websites using Django with resource optimization.

Maintaining all the core functionalities of Python, this framework is known to be very scalable for enterprise-level applications. Its code reusability makes it easier for developers to adjust according to the increasing traffic of the website as you can balance the traffic load easily. Another factor that works in favor of Django is its SEO-oriented architecture. Search engine optimization is an essential aspect of web development, and any backend framework should have options to set SEO elements. When you use Django for backend development, you do not have to worry about SEO-friendliness as you can easily maintain Django-based applications via URLs rather than IP addresses.

The Python community is large with over 10 million members, which is why Django has extensive community support. Any backend developer can take a no-code approach, as there are prebuilt packages available that developers can use to integrate functionality in Django. It gives it the versatility to develop database-driven websites with diverse functions.

2. Spring boot 

Java is one of the most widely used backend development programming languages. It is also an essential skill for backend developers. Spring framework is what most Java developers have used for backend development since 2002 when it was first released. Most enterprises prefer building production-grade standalone applications using Spring framework and Spring Boot.

Modern backend development is shifting towards Spring Boot because it significantly minimizes the need for various configurations, unlike Spring framework. It is an excellent backend framework with built-in functionalities like caching, configuration management, transaction management, monitoring, and security. Additional frameworks work with Spring Boot, such as Spring Cloud and Spring Security.

3. Express.js

Express.js is a backend framework that is built on Node.js. You can use this framework for @web and mobile applications if you know JavaScript. However, Express.js is not a no-code platform like other modern backend development frameworks. You need to have good command over the JavaScript development programming language to start building with it.

However, because of its incredible performance, Express.js is used to run the most prominent applications on the internet, such as Uber and MySpace. Express.js comes with prebuilt templates that help you create web pages faster, and it has the most standard functionalities of Node.js. Debugging is much more efficient in Express.js because it can identify the specific part of the code where the bug is located. It shares the scalability of Django, enabling backend developers to expand infrastructure as their application size grows. Furthermore, you can use the same programming language (JavaScript) for backend and frontend development.

If, as a backend developer, you are more comfortable with JavaScript, this is the perfect backend framework for you to start building scalable applications.

4. Laravel

PHP is used more than any other programming language for backend development. Almost 77% of websites use PHP as a server-side scripting language. Any backend developer must know PHP, and to build a backend framework faster, they can use Laravel. 

It’s an open-source backend framework that is designed explicitly for MVC architecture. Most PHP developers use Laravel for symphony-based web application development. There are several reasons to choose this PHP backend framework. Firstly, it offers unmatched security features like the Bcrypt Hashing Algorithm for creating passwords. Second, you can use hundreds of built-in templates to create layouts and content in Laravel. Also, other than PHP, this web development framework supports CSS and JS code. As a PHP developer, if you are looking for a backend framework for complex projects, then you can trust Laravel. However, this framework might be unsuitable for beginners since it’s too complicated to manage for simpler tasks. For instance, for simple form validation, you need to write separate functions.

Conclusion 

The requirements from backend development are increasing, but the availability of modern backend frameworks simplifies the development. All the backend development frameworks listed here offer great functionality and features to build complex applications. Choose the right one depending on the server environment, the programming language of choice, and your understanding of the project requirements.

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LAMP Stack for web development and its evolution into LEMP

 What is a LAMP stack?

Some of today’s most popular open-source web applications – for example, WordPress and Drupal – run on the LAMP stack. That wouldn’t be surprising, since some have heard about the LAMP stack.

LAMP has a lot to offer in addition to being one of the first open-source web stacks. It is one of the most common ways to deliver web applications, and it remains so. Because it is so widely used, you are likely to come across it frequently as you update or host existing applications. Many people consider it to be the preferred platform for developing new custom web applications.

Components of LAMP for Web development

A LAMP stack is an open-source collection of software used to build websites and web applications. It consists of Linux operating systems, Apache web servers, MySQL databases, and PHP programming languages. Each component plays an essential role in the stack:

  • Linux: It is an operating system used to run the rest of the components.
  • Apache: The HTTP Server is a web server software used to serve static web pages.
  • MySQL: It is a relational database management system used for creating and managing web databases, but also for data warehousing, application logging, e-commerce, etc.
  • PHP: This is the programming language used to create web applications.

LAMP architecture

The LAMP stack has traditional three-layer architecture, with Linux serving as the foundation. Apache and MySQL are at the next level, and PHP is at the highest level. Although PHP is conceptually in the uppermost layer, the PHP component is embedded in Apache.

What is LEMP Stack?

LEMP is a bundle of server applications with Linux OS, eNgine-X(Nginx) Web server, MySQL / MariaDB Database, PHP/Perl Language.

Since Nginx handles enormous traffic, LEMP is the preferred choice for hosting companies. MariaDB is used for databases and PHP for loading dynamic web pages.

Because all the components are open-source, you may get started with the LEMP stack for FREE.

Choosing LEMP over LAMP is primarily a decision between Nginx and Apache as web servers. Both solutions are widely used and excellent, so picking among them is mostly a matter of personal preference. In terms of usability, LAMP and LEMP are equally efficient, but we can compare them based on our needs.

Basic architecture

The fundamental difference lies between Apache and Nginx design architecture. They differ in the way they handle connections and traffic and respond to different traffic conditions.

The basic architecture of Apache can lead to heavy resource consumption. It can cause issues with the server for example – slow speed.

Nginx employs an event-driven architecture. Nginx can be used on low-power systems and systems that operate under heavy loads.

Performance & Speed

Nginx is great at delivering static content rapidly and efficiently. However, if you want to host numerous websites on a single server, Apache is the better choice.

For Static content

  1. Apache serves static content using the file-based method.
  2. Nginx serves much faster when it comes to static content. 

For Dynamic Content

  1. Apache process dynamic content within the server.
  2. Nginx doesn’t process dynamic content.

Request Interpretation

The Apache and Nginx get processed and interpret requests differently. The different methods of interpreting requests to make them unique and better than others.

1. Apache passes file system location

As a physical resource on the file system location that may need more abstract evaluation. It provides the ability to interpret requirements.

2. Nginx passes URI to interpret requests

Nginx was created to be a web server and a reverse proxy. Nginx works primarily with your eyes and it translates to the system when necessary.

User-friendly – Apache is more convenient and less technical when it comes to setup & configuration. Apache is like Windows while Nginx is more like Linux. It means that Nginx is better for technical guys and Apache is good for home users.

Market & Community Share – Although Apache was introduced earlier than Nginx, it has a greater market share and community of developers. But the incredible performance of Nginx has attracted most developers.

Features of Nginx and Apache

  • Nginx uses low memory consumption technology.
  • CPU and memory usage does not get affected because Nginx is single-threaded.
  • Apache works better for dynamic websites while Nginx is best for static websites.

Evolution of LAMP to LEMP

Over a period, people found that LAMP was not very scalable, especially when it came to data storage. In such a scenario, people started to look for a scalable solution that could maintain the same functionality as LAMP as well as provide scalability. Enter, the concept of an Extended LAMP Stack. With the help of the LEMP stack, you’ll be able to handle more requests, store more data and deliver a better overall experience to the user. An Extended LAMP Stack is more than just adding more components to the existing stack as it’s a complete transformation from the existing stack. While people were using the term ‘LAMP’, they were using ‘Linux, Apache, MySQL, Php’. But, as the popularity and usage of LAMP grew, people started to use the term LAMP to refer to the above-mentioned components.

Conclusion

Both Apache and Nginx are strong, adaptable and competent. The evaluation of your unique requirements and testing with the patterns you anticipate seeing are key factors in determining which service is appropriate for you.

These differences in projects affect the capabilities, implementation time, and raw performance required to utilize solutions in production in very serious ways. Use the approach that best satisfies your goals.

 

 

5 Reasons why PHP is still so important for web development

For over 25 years, PHP has been one of the most popular server-side languages predominantly used for web development. Interestingly, whenever a new development language in the web domain emerges, chatter starts about whether PHP is relevant or not anymore.

While it is true that PHP has seen a drop in popularity over the recent years (dropping from the 5th position in 2017 to 8th in 2020 in Stack Overflow annual developer survey), it’s far from ‘dead.’ Even today, nearly 80% of all websites are created using PHP in its vanilla form or through frameworks like Laravel, CodeIgniter, and WordPress.

There are many reasons to use PHP for web development, which we will explore in this article.

1. PHP is free and open-source

PHP makes web development extremely economical as a server-side language because it’s an open-source language available for free. As a web developer, you must provide clients with as many options as possible on the economic front. If you are proficient in PHP, you can offer your services for a website, e-commerce store, or any web application development at a lower cost. As an open-source language that has been around for a quarter of a century, PHP has a vast community that ensures that timely updates are made to the programming language such that it is in sync with the latest requirements of web development. The availability of a highly active community of PHP developers ensures that you always have assistance and help available whenever you are stuck with the project.

2. Compatible with all OSes

PHP also enjoys compatibility with all the available operating systems and web development technologies. You can use PHP on Windows, Linux, UNIX, or Mac. While modern web development technologies like Swift for Mac or .Net for Windows have advantages, they are not as robust as PHP. Compatibility with all operating systems implies you can deploy your PHP application or website on any web server. Furthermore, the programming language integrates perfectly with MySQL and Apache servers. As modern web development is about cross-platform compatibility, PHP is an ideal language. If you are building an application that will run on multiple platforms, choose PHP, and you don’t have to worry about what operating system is running on the server anymore.

3. Dynamic, flexible, and secure

Modern web development projects must be secured in the wake of more sophisticated cyber-attacks. One advantage of using PHP for your web applications is its fool-proof encryption. Its encryption capability and scalability make PHP an extraordinarily dynamic and flexible web development technology for any project. PHP scripts can auto-load web apps and websites without any manual intervention. Using PHP, you can script your environment to install security updates automatically. Due to its open-source nature, several encryption libraries are available, like PrivateBinphp-encryption, and Libsodium, which you can directly import your project.

4. Robust PHP frameworks

Modern websites and applications are hardly built from scratch. The availability of frameworks accelerates the development process. PHP has one of the largest collections of frameworks used for web development. That is why almost 80% of websites are built using PHP. You can choose any of the available PHP frameworks to create and launch web apps quickly and easily. These modern PHP frameworks support the MVC (Model View Controller) architecture, which expedites coding and enables developers to create efficient and top-notch solutions. Laravel, CodeIgniter, Cake PHP, Symfony, Zend Framework, and Yii are all PHP frameworks. 

To give you an idea of the popularity of these frameworks, some of the most popular websites in the world use PHP frameworks. This includes Facebook, WordPress, Tumblr, Wikipedia, Slack, and Canva.

A notable mention is Canva, an Australian graphic design platform introduced in 2013. Today, it is one of the most popular online platforms for graphics design. It chose PHP as its server-side language, which indicates that even modern enterprise-level websites use PHP.

5. Database flexibility 

Web applications today consume and produce data in terabytes; that’s a lot. To empower such websites and applications, you need scalable databases that support modern technological infrastructure. MySQL, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Big Data, etc., are some of the most popular current databases, and PHP is compatible with every single one. It is a highly flexible language in database connectivity, allowing you to use any database in your web application. Another advantage of this flexibility is that you can migrate your web application to another database without worrying about compatibility issues.

Conclusion 

PHP is still one of the leading programming languages for web development. It offers the most cost-friendly, flexible, secure, and robust development options, whether it’s a website, e-commerce store, or any other web application. There are many reasons to use this feature-rich programming language, but we hope the above reasons will encourage you to learn PHP.

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