Overview and Discussion of the Current Trends in Web Development - Coursework Example

? Overview and Discussion of the Current Trends in Web Development Introduction: Considering the present times, the web designs that have been ruling the world of information technology include HTML5 and CSS3, vendor prefixes, frameworks and pre-processors, responsive design (RWD), touchscreens, retina displays and HD design, SVG, custom fonts, large typography, full-screen (or large) and blurred photo backgrounds, parallax and infinite scrolling, color blocking, retro interfaces, centered headers, fixed header bars, skeuomorphism, minimalism, gamification, user experience, open source (Trends, Predictions, and Truth About Web Design, 2013). These are known till the year 2012 is concerned. With further development, it is expected that the year 2013 would see some of the new trends as far as web development is concerned. With the technology changing rapidly, it can be expected that newly developed web designs and developments would be installed in the near future. It is predicted that there would be larger demands for single websites that would be capable of supporting both desktop computers as well as mobile instruments. For years, there have been websites serving for the computers and the mobiles separately. However, with recent development it is expected that there would be uniformity in the web designs enabling them to serve both for the computers and the mobile devices. At the same time, there would be greater need for security since simplified sign up processes would be involved in the further web developments. It is also predicted that customization of content of marketing would be supported through big data in the recent developments of the web (Scaglione, 2013). Mobiles are the latest trends in use. Considering the new developments in the web, it is predicted and expected that several simple sites would be developed through designs that are heavy in texture. Responsive and adaptive sites would be in an increase. The current trends are expected to mature in the near future. A new world would be entered into with the development of new and powerful browsers and HTML5, CSS3, and jQueries. These trends have been more focused in the recent times considering the fact that the mobile devices have become highly advanced easily available for use by individuals. Two major developments that are expected to largely influence the development of the web in the recent times and in the future are: Shift of companies to the SaaS and cloud model, and to the personalization and depending on technological intelligence for behavior of the user as well as the device; Development of the applications of the mobile devices (Scaglione, 2013). The year 2012 was expected to encounter certain hardships in terms of the economic difficulties and the web industry was found to struggle through such hardships as it tried to develop through censorship, indigenous applications, and the technology that was not only rapid in its nature but also fragmented. However the predictions for the year 2013 reflect change in the designs and hence shift to newer designs and development. Thus usage of the devices, as well as adjustments of the consumption of the web is considered for shifts to new developments (Grannell, 2013). Open source tools and applications have been obtained to be highly beneficial for web development as they are capable of being used as alternatives for web designs considering the budgets for such development in the present times. There are several open source applications that are free and also have features that may be compared to the ones offered by expensive web designs. Thus, this enables a web designer to have all the necessary tools and applications without much expenditure (Jones, 2009). The present study would discuss on some of the open sources web development tools that include HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, AngularJS, ASP.Net, jQuery, AJAX, Web Content Management Systems, WebApps, WYSIWYG, and Search Engine Optimizations. The study would also have an overview on some of the closed sources as well that are well supported for use considering the web development trends in the present times. Open Sources for Web Development- Current Trends: Some of the open sources for web development that may be discussed in this study include HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, AngularJS, ASP.Net, jQuery, AJAX, Web Content Management Systems, WebApps, WYSIWYG, and Search Engine Optimizations. HTML5: HTML5 is the most recent hyper text markup language in the web industry. It has been developed for websites from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Although the first draft of the language was developed in 2008, the language was actually released in the year 2011. However during its initial usage time, the supports by the browsers was poor and hence although different users had started using it, the use was difficult. Considering the present times, HTML5 is supported by almost all the major browsers like the Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera and Internet Explorer, and hence the recent developed technology of the HTML5 can be effectively used by all its users. It works in combination with CSS3 and is still being developed. Since the time it was initiated, HTML has been under the process of continuous development. With the recent HTML5 in place, the coding process is expected to become much easier and logical than before. For this purpose several new syntaxes have been involved in this language. HTML5 has succeeded the HTML 4.01 version. Some pre-set standards are included in this language that allows the new features to be based on HTML, CSS, DOM, and JavaScript. There is a need for reduction of the external plugins. With HTML5, the handling of error has been expected to be less difficult. Markup has replaced the scripting technique in this. Moreover, HTML5 is independent of the use of any device. Also, the process of development is made observable to the individuals who use the language (Vasile, 2013). CSS3: CSS3 is the level 3 of the Cascading Style Sheets introducing the greatest development through the introduction of modules in the design. Modules are advantageous since they allow complete specifications as well as faster approvals. This is needed mostly because the segments are conducted in large pieces that otherwise require significant amounts of time. Some of the new features that have been included in the CSS3 are selectors, text effects and layout, first letter and first line pseudo classes, paged media and generated content, multi column layout, and ruby. Selectors would make it easier for designers to select specific levels for their documented work. Text effects and layouts are focused on altering hyphenations in case of need, change whitespaces, as well as justify text in the documents. Alignment of drop-caps is considered effectively by the CSS3. Running headers, footers as well as page numbers are now supported by this web design. Also, footnotes and cross-references are supported as generated content by this development. Multi column layout enables the text to use multiple columns with gaps and counts, and widths. Moreover, small annotations may be added on top or next to words in the text. All these features enable the CSS3 to become a powerful tool for the present web trends (Kyrnin, 2013). JavaScript: JavaScript is a language used for the purpose of scripting. It is different from the Java language and it enables addition of interactivity to pages on the web as well as allowing creation of new web applications. The language is object oriented. It supports several objects that are built in the program and the user of the program can use or delete them as per their needs. In JavaScript, different features can be directly inherited from each other by the objects thus allowing formation of a prototype chain. The program is interpreted in nature and hence there is no preliminary compilation of the scripts before a program is created. The program works faster and is suitable for highly complex applications on the web. The different browsers that support JavaScript include Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, as well as Google Chrome (What is JavaScript? 2011). AngularJS: The AngularJS enables extension of the use of the HTML to proclaim forceful views in the applications on the web. The environment provided by the AngularJS is highly communicative, comprehensible and fast to expand. AngularJS tries to provide with the tools that can be most suitable to the development of application for particular individuals. It is extensible in nature and suits with different libraries for their functioning. The features of the tool can be modified depending on the need of the user and the development of the flow of the work. The views can be updated in this tool through the use of data binding, particularly when there is a change in the model. Also, with the change in the view, the model gets updated. This enables elimination of the DOM management and thus reduces the worry of the user to a great extent. Controllers refer to the behavior that is at the rear of the management of the DOM. The behavior gets expressed by AngularJS in a form that is clear and readable with no customary standards of modernizing the DOM, recording callbacks or inspecting changes in the model. This tool does not need to inherit from the closed sources of web designs. Plain conventional JavaScript is used in this tool. Thus the codes are easy to use, experiment, uphold, and use again. Deep link and desktop app-like behavior are associated together by the AngularJS, thus allowing users to effectively make use of bookmarks and emailing of locations using the apps. Also, the codes are much simplified and hence add benefits to the users (AngularJS, 2012). ASP.Net: ASP.Net is an integrated model of web development. It enables the users to build enterprise-class Web applications with the use of codes as minimum as possible. ASP.NET is a division of the .NET Framework. When a user coded the ASP.NET applications he becomes accessible to modules in the .NET Framework. One can code his applications in any language that is well-matched with the common language runtime (CLR). This includes Microsoft Visual Basic and C#. Through the use of these languages, development of the ASP.NET applications is possible thus benefiting from the common language runtime, type safety, inheritance, and other associated features. The web applications in ASP.Net are enables through the Visual Web Developer that provides the user with web page designs, page design features, editing of the codes, testing and debugging, as well as deployment. The Visual Web Developer provides with a platform that is suitable for its users to host their websites. Through the projects and applications of the ASP.Net different websites and applications can be developed. ASP.Net Web Pages are produced through the ASP.Net page and controls framework that allows programs to run on the server of the web. These Web pages are object oriented and HTML can be used with these pages to work out different programs. All the codes in this tool are compiled through the use of the ASP.Net compiler. The typing is made stronger by such compiler, with the performances being optimized, and the process of binding being fast and early. Improved performance is achieved when further compilation of the ASP.Net code is done to its native code. Moreover the tool provides with an enhanced structure of security. The users can define their configuration settings depending on the configurations provided by the tool, thus benefiting individual user applications. Also, Web services are supported by the ASP.Net (ASP.Net Overview, 2013). jQuery: jQuery enables the use of JavaScript easier for its user and is an excellent web development tool for development of applications based on ajax. Web 2.0 applications can be easily developed from the jQuery tool. The codes are kept simple and precise for the users to deal with them with ease. Events and perform animation can be dealt with the use of jQuery and it enables the support of the ajax into the applications on the web without trouble. The JavaScript can be used for all the programs of jQuery. The benefits of jQuery thus lie in its ability to make use of functions and processes towards development of applications that are rich in context and performance. It is very easy for the designers as well as the user to learn these functions, thus making the tool highly popular among the web developers. The use of the particular technology does not affect the implement of this tool in the development of web programs. It can be used with almost all programming languages that include JSP, Servlets, ASP, PHP, CGI. The most significant features of jQuery include: DOM element selections functions; DOM traversal and modification; Events; CSS manipulation; Effects and animations; Ajax; Extensibility; Utilities - such as browser version and the each function; and JavaScript Plugins. Another major benefit associated with the jQuery is that it can be learnt very fast within just a period of 2-3 days. Many features are linked with the tool and one can spend several months trying to explore these features (What is jQuery? 2008). AJAX: AJAX is the abbreviation for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. AJAX is a latest web development tool intending to create improved, faster, and more interactive applications of the web involving the functions of XML, HTML, CSS and Java Script. For the purpose of the content, XHTML is used by AJAX. For presentation purposes, CSS is utilized. Also, Document Object Model and JavaScript are used by AJAX for vibrant display of the contents. Information from and to the server is transmitted through conventional methods of web application. These are dependent on requests that are synchronous in nature. Thus the user needs to fill out a form, submit it hitting the right button and get directed to the page that provides him with the information that he needs. The JavaScript plays a significant role when the submit button is hit by the user to pass on the request to the server. This is followed by interpretation of the request and updating the current scenario in regard to the results of the request. In general, XML is used as the format that receives the data from the server. However, it is also relevant to mention that any other format is also compatible with this tool. AJAX involves the technology of web browser but it is not dependent on the software of the server of the web. AJAX has been obtained to be the most feasible RIA technology till date where RIA stands for Rich Internet Application Technology. The tool has become highly popular in the industry and with the passage of time; further developments are continuously concerned thus allowing new frameworks and toolkits to emerge. The open standards that AJAX is based upon include the following: Browser-based presentation using HTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS); Data stored in XML format and fetched from the server; Behind-the-scenes data fetches using XMLHttpRequest objects in the browser; and JavaScript to make everything happen (What is AJAX? 2013). Web Content Management Systems: Web content management systems particularly refer to a tool of software that can be utilized by both people with technical and non-technical backgrounds. It enables the users to create web pages that are structured in form for experiences based on the use of the Web. This may include solutions for internet websites, intranet or extranet. Small units of information can be managed by WCMS that are interconnected by a steering arrangement or path. The units or the pages on the web are characterized by their location on the website. Thus informational hierarchy is created by determining the location of each unit as obtained in correspondence to the other units or pages of information considering the total event or program of the web. These units or pages also reflect significant cross linkages between them. Thus the users can shift from one unit to another even without the use of the navigations. The primary focus of the WCMS is the creation and editing of pages on the web. It includes creation of contents, control and editing of those contents, as well as several important functions for the maintenance of the web. This is achieved by presenting the user not having a technical background with an interface that does not need the user to have prior knowledge about programming or markup languages and hence can use the tool without knowing these, for the purpose of creation and editing of contents. The contents created can also be published through the availability of the publishing engine by the WCMS. The validity of the contents is also checked using an approval process maintained by the tool (What is Web Content Management (WCMS), 2011). Web Apps: Including JavaScript and its Libraries: A web application refers to an application that is made available to the users who can use them over a network which can be either the internet or the intranet or any other network. A computer software application may also be referred by this. In this case the application would be coded in a programming language that is supported by a browser, like the JavaScript, or may be merged with a markup language delivered by a browser, like the HTML. The web browsers being present almost everywhere, the web apps have become highly popular among its users. Also the use of the web browsers is highly convenient for its users. The capability to bring up to date and uphold web applications with no dealing out and installation of software on impending several of client computers is a major basis for their attractiveness, as is the intrinsic support for cross-platform similarity. Web applications that are most common in use include webmail, online retail sales, online auctions, wikis and other functions (Web Apps, 2013). The Web Apps may also be explained in terms of the use of JavaScript and its libraries. Dart is a project that enables web developers to create apps that are high performance in nature providing high productivity in the present times. New features are used by the Dart with languages that are familiar to the developers and include libraries, a package manager, and tools including full-featured editor. With the Dart web project, “developers can use Pub to get packages for JavaScript interoperability, a web UI framework, a unit testing library, libraries for game development, and much more” (Technical Overview, n.d.). Thus Web apps can be used in association with JavaScript and its libraries as well. WYSIWYG: The full form of WYSIWYG is What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get. It is a program or web development tool that enables the web developed to detect the end result of a program while the program is being created. Conventional methods of programming do not allow the developer to get the results unless the program is run. Thus this tool proves to be highly beneficial and effective for the developers, since the results can be seen immediately at the interface of the program. An HTML WYSIWYG editor allows the developer to focus on the outcome of the program being created. Thus he is able to realize the content that would be created exactly considering the program that he is creating. This would also mean that in case of any problem detected in the outcomes, the developer would be able to alter and modify the program at a much initial stage of programming. One of the negative aspects of this tool is that at times, the markup code is used by the tool on its own without considering the need of the program or the instructions of the developer. In such a case, the developer would have to go back to the source code to change the necessary parts of the program in order to achieve the desired outcomes. Thus for use of this tool, a developer would require having the necessary knowledge in dealing effectively with the markup codes (WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), 2013). Search Engine Optimizations: Search Engine Optimization or SEO refers to a process that assists search engines to search and rank particular websites over other websites. It performs this task on request o the user. Thus the technique enables getting passage from the search engines. The technique performs through the texts that are provided to them as instructions. There is software that allows the tool to act and search over the entire web to find the sites as well as to move from one page to another. The tool searches the page, then studies it contents particularly to retrieve the parts requested by the user. The relevancy of the process is determined by several algorithms that are part of the technique. Then finally it determines the results. Considering different search engines, although the basic functioning may be the same, yet there are certain differences depending on different factors that the search engines may be dependent on. Examples of search engines include Yahoo! and Bing, as well as sites on Google (Introduction – What is SEO, 2013). Open Source vs. Closed Source of Web Development: Considering the development in the web industry, web development agencies are continuously focused on determining new means and techniques of web development that can enable websites to not only look more attractive but also be manageable by its users. An open source would mean that there are several people working on the program or the web project. Thus several individuals are together responsible for the validity of the codes and to make the tool easy to use by the users. In this case, the documentations can be easily obtained and the web designs are easy and fun for use. Also, with open source web development tools, an user can modify the use of the tool depending on the particular need. The open sources are very popular and hence people are also more comfortable with the use of these tools, example CMS based on open sources (Wehr, 2011). Magento, osCommerce and Zen Cart are three popular open source web development tools. These tools are well structured and allow better collaboration and smoothness for the developers and designers to work on them. On the other hand, closed sources are better than the open sources in regard to the security and the support that they provide to the users. The time required by the developers to secure the codes is hence lesser in case of closed sources as against the open sources. Thus time and cost are both saved if closed sources are used for the purpose of web development. However, it is difficult in the initial stages in case of the closed sources since there are significant barriers for entry. Since lesser number of people is involved in this case, thus the knowledge sharing and experiences of the team are less. This might lead to greater costs of the web developers (Wehr, 2011). Considering the current trends of web development where closed sources have taken a major place in the industry it would be necessary to learn about the advantages and disadvantages associated with the open and closed sources of web development. The benefits of open source CMS include the following (Two Contrasting CMS – Open Source & Proprietary, n.d.): The working team is large and hence several people take the responsibility of the accuracy and validity of the codes. Open source CMS can be used by any business enabling them to manage their contents on their websites. Open source allows the user to learn how the software tick was developed and the requirements may be altered by the user depending on their needs. Several documentations are made available to make it easy for the user in case he encounters any trouble while handling the tool. The product allows regular updates thus making it further easy for the user. The advantages of the closed source CMS include the following (Two Contrasting CMS – Open Source & Proprietary, n.d.): Since the codes are not made, greater security of the codes can be ensured. Although it provides security and support, it may at times fail to prove itself to be foolproof. However in case of any problem encountered by the user, the web development company takes the charge of helping them out. Proper documentation is provided along with the tool. Updates are also provided enabling the users to get regularly updated. A well organized panel of admin is in charge of the closed sources web development tools making them easier to use for the users. Although there are several advantages of both the types of web development measures, there are certain disadvantages of both of them as well. In case of the open sources, the codes being open to the public, they may be easily hacked. It needs to be ensured that there is no interference of the third party while the web is being designed. With open source, the time consumption for the development of the codes and hence the tool may be several years. Moreover, there are several things associated with these tools that may not be needed by the user. In case of closed sources, the cost is a factor since these tools are more expensive than the open sources. If the user encounters any difficulty with the use of the tool, the company needs to come up for help. If it does not, the user might be in trouble. The updates received are not frequent in nature and are much slower in pace. Moreover, a user cannot modify the codes just the way they feel like and thus has to depend on the codes prepared by the web developers (Two Contrasting CMS – Open Source & Proprietary, n.d.). Conclusion: From the above study, it can be concluded that with the gradual development in technology and web development the current trends reflect on significant developments in the creation of new web development tools for its users. With this in focus, the study obtained that there are a number of open sources of web development tools that have emerged in the recent times and are expected to have significant positive effects in the coming years. With products like the HTML5, CSS3, and others, the web development tools are bringing to their users new means of usage such that they can achieve their needs and works based on these tools. However, at the same time, a comparison is still made between the open sources and closed sources of web development tools. The closed sources too had several advantages of their own particularly considering their security availability. However, with the ease that the open sources are providing the users with, it can be said that the open sources would better emerge in the coming years. Moreover, since the open sources allow the users to modify the codes and the uses of the tools depending on their needs, hence they would naturally be more preferred than the proprietary ones. However, considering the current trends in the web development, it can be said that whether to choose the open sources or the closed ones, would actually depend on the needs and preferences of the user individuals or the user groups, considering factors of security as well as of the ease of using the products. References AngularJS (2012), Angularjs, Retrieved on April 3, 2013 from: http://angularjs.org/ ASP.Net Overview (2013), MSDN, Retrieved on April 3, 2013 from: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/4w3ex9c2.aspx Grannell, C. (2013). 20 Top Web Design and Development Trends for 2013. 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