When we use applications like Ola, Uber or Zomato we see a map. In the case of Ola we can track the current location of our driver.But, does Ola have a satellite in space which tells the current location of the person in the map. The answer is a big NO!!! These applications are using the map services provided by the Google Maps Application. But, Ola can not directly access the data of google maps because of security reasons. That’s why Google has kept a security layer in between which is known as Google Maps API. So, to access google maps data and services Ola will access this API. On account of this, we can think of API as a messenger which delivers data from one place to another.

In this Blog, we will talk about API their types, architectures, roles and future.

What is an API?
API stands for Application Programming interface which is an intermediary software that allows two applications to share data and services. It’s a set of rules and definitions for creating and integrating software applications. Every time you use Instagram, Facebook, and Zomato you are using an API.

In other words, API gives us the answer of What and not How. To understand this statement let’s take a real life example. When we go to a restaurant we see a menu and order the food according to it and the waiter works as the API and goes to the kitchen counter and requests for the dish we ordered and if that dish is present it brings our order otherwise tells us that the dish can not be served. Likely, When an application will send a request to an API asking for some data, the API will then send this request to its server and then the server will either accept the request and send the required data to the API or will reject the request and will send the corresponding error. Consequently, the API that gets the data from the server will manipulate it in the required format and then will send the data to the application or will return the error which it received from the server.

When you browse web pages over the internet, the same type of request/response cycle works.You send a request using the browser the browser then requests the server for data and then sends the response it got from the server. The only major difference in case of web pages is the data returned is in HTML, CSS, or JavaScript format and in the case of an API it will be in raw format i.e JSON or XML.

Let’s see some examples where you can use an API

• An iPhone app which needs camera access to take photographs(Like Snapchat or Instagram): To provide the camera feature to your app you don’t have to write the code to integrate it. Rather, you can use the camera API provided by the iPhone operating system.This promotes the rapid development of your application and avoids doing everything from scratch.
• A website with a login feature: To provide the logic feature to your website to make your application secure and reliable instead of making it from scratch you can integrate APIs offered by Google and Facebook to provide features like Login with Google or Login with Facebook. This helps you with two things.Firstly you don’t have to write the login feature code from scratch and secondly it saves you from the tedious job of checking the authenticity of the user, as now it is Google and Facebook’s job.
• A website with a payment gateway: If you are making an eCommerce website and you want to have an option for online payment you can use the API offered by PayPal and give the option to Pay using PayPal to make online payments.

What are the types of APIs available?
On the basis of access and scope of use, APIs can be categorized in 4 types.

1. Open APIs

Open APIs are also known as External API or Public API and as the name suggests they are open to use means they are accessible by any developer to use and integrate in their application. Since they are open they provide less authentication and authorization measures.

2. Partner APIs

Partner APIs, as the name suggests are those APIs which are shared among business partners with mutual decision. Because they are available to only authorized clients they are safer as compared to Open APIs.

3. Internal APIs

Internal APIs are those APIs, which are unlike Open or External APIs not available to other users and can be used by 3rd parties. They are made to use in a company to streamline the process of sharing data among the employees of its company only.

4. Composite APIs

Composite APIs combine various APIs, allowing developers to combine calls or requests together and obtain a single unified response from multiple servers. A composite API is used when you need data from multiple apps or data sources.

What are the various kinds of API architectures that are currently in use?
The rules that govern what information an API can share with clients and how it communicates data constitute an API’s architecture. The most widely used API architectures nowadays are REST, SOAP, and RPC.

1.  REST

REST stands for representational state transfer and is a set of rules for making APIs that are scalable, lightweight, and simple to use. A REST API (or “RESTful” API) is a data transmission API that meets the REST standards and is used to send data from a server to a requesting client. Client-server isolation, a consistent interface, a stateless, layered system, and cacheability are all guidelines to follow.

2.  SOAP

SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a network data transmission protocol that can be used to create APIs. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has standardized SOAP, which uses XML to encode data. SOAP specifies how messages should be sent and what information must be included. SOAP APIs are therefore more secure than REST APIs, despite the fact that the strict rules make them more code-heavy and difficult to implement in general.

3.  RPC

The RPC protocol (Remote Procedural Call) is the simplest of the three designs. RPC APIs, unlike REST and SOAP, which permit data transfer, invoke processes. To put it another way, they run scripts on a server. In its calls, RPC APIs can use either JSON (a JSON-RPC protocol) or XML (an XML-RPC protocol). Although XML is more secure and flexible than JSON, the two protocols are otherwise very comparable. The RPC protocol is a reasonably simple and easy technique to run code on remote networks, despite its strictness.

What role do APIs play in the growth of digital businesses?

APIs are the primary integration mechanism in the distributed cloud-native development environment, offering developers and the applications they produce a number of benefits, including:

• APIs simplify otherwise complex connections, allowing developers to adapt rapidly to changing requirements and shortening the development cycle.
• Because of their low cost and simplicity, APIs foster experimentation and innovation.
• APIs simplify communication between applications and services, eliminating the need for manual processes, phone calls, faxes, and time-consuming point-to-point connections.
• API designs can be reused as building pieces, increasing scalability and accelerating the development process.

Why does it appear like APIs are the way of the future?

Developers nowadays primarily use APIs to connect across services, create integrations, and send data to third-party customers. APIs will become increasingly crucial in the future.
It was good a few years ago if your application had a public API; now it is virtually a requirement, and in a few years, it will be required. APIs are a terrific way to transfer information between different programmes as they become increasingly integrated.
It doesn’t matter if the app you need data from is written in PHP, NodeJS, Go, or C#; as long as it has an API, getting the data you require is simple.

Conclusion
When we approach APIs not only from the perspective of software development but also from the perspective of business collaboration, they play a far larger role. These resource-exchange machine-readable interfaces are similar to delivery services that operate behind the scenes and provide the necessary technological connectivity.
In the current condition, digitally aware firms rely largely on private, public, or partner APIs to function. APIs produce 50 percent of income for Salesforce, 60 percent for eBay, and 90 percent for Expedia. As a result, infrastructure service providers must fully utilize the capabilities of an API-powered infrastructure platform to stay ahead of the market and competition.

Startxlabs, one of India’s top digital transformation service providers. Launched in 2014, Startxlabs aims in innovating a digital future by developing technology for the web and mobile platforms. From our beginning as a technology development company, we’ve tried to stay true to our core beliefs and to deliver exceptional services to our clients. Whether it’s people we work for or people who work for us, we value honesty, passion, and the desire to explore. We have expertise in website development, android app development, iOS app development, Flutter, React Native app development, UI/UX design, and marketing strategy. With the engagement of our highly technical team, we have delivered over 110+ projects providing a positive impact on the users.

Django is an open-source web development framework. It was developed in 2003 by Adrian Holovaty and Simon Willison when they were working at the Lawrence Journal-World newspaper. Since then Django has been used in the IT industry by large companies to develop highly scalable, reliable, versatile, and secure web applications. Moreover, In the last decade with python gaining its popularity in different sectors ranging from web development to social networking sites, and scientific computation applications, Django is in-demand.

In this blog, We will have a look at top 10 products developed using Django. But, before that lets first check out questions like: Why should one choose Django? What are its features? What makes it different from other frameworks available in the market?

What is Django?
Django is a web development framework based on the Python programming language. It follows the MVT(Model-View-Template) architectural pattern which is one of its key features.

Django offers many different features some of them are

• Scalability : Django is exceedingly scalable and implies that it can swiftly switch from modest to large-scale projects.
• Security : Django takes security as its priority and allows users to use in-built classes and middleware to reassure security of applications.
• Versatility: Django is an extremely versatile framework that can be used to build anything from simple apps with no database to complicated projects with large databases.
• Rapid development: Django is fully loaded with inbuilt functionalities like administration site, authentication system and many more which allows rapid development of web applications.

Learn more about Django features here.

How can Django prove to be a better choice for your project?

• It is based on the Python programming language which is very easy to learn compared to any other programming language.
• Its documentation is well-organized and simple to understand
• It has a huge community support.
• It can be used to design web applications that are SEO friendly.
• To make the application more flexible, it includes an inbuilt authentication and administration system.
• It enables the construction of complex projects at a rapid pace.

Now, We’ll look at the key advantages of using Django by looking at the following products made using this framework.

1. 1. 1. Bitbucket
      Bitbucket was launched in 2008 by Jesper Nøhr. Later, It was acquired by atlassian. It is a cloud-based git source code repository hosting service specially developed for professional web developer teams to manage git project repositories during the software development cycle.It is developed using Django, a python-based web development framework. The reasons Django is used by Bitbuket are firstly its vast community support, secondly its in-built functionalities, libraries and modules offered for rapid development of projects.Bitbucket is used to manage git repositories of our projects and its main features include:
      • Pull requests and code reviews
      • Branch comparison and commit history
      • Unlimited private repositories for free (for up to five users)

1. 1. 2. Disqus
      Disqus is one of the major projects developed using Django. It was launched on October 30, 2007 and was developed by Daniel Ha and Jason Yan. Later, it was acquired by Zeta Global on December 5, 2017. It enables you to add commenting and discussion features to your website, as well as monitor user activity and customize ad serving.Django, a python-based web development framework, was used to build Disqus. Djnago was chosen for its magnificent features like exceedingly scalability, rapid development using inbuilt functionalities .Disqus offers features like
      • Easy-to-use plug-in for comments.
      • Advanced analytics tool and configurable ad serving.
      • Easy to integrate

1. 1. 3. Dropbox
      Dropbox is a famous cloud based storage application. Dropbox is founded by Drew Houston and was launched in 2008. It allows you to store files such as documents, video graphics and many more. The files are accessible anywhere at any time when the device is able to access the internet.Dropbox is developed using the Django framework based on python programming language which makes its development so fast. Dropbox is currently using Python 3.5 version.Django is used to develop both the backend server and client side of this application. Different types of files can be stored synchronized and shared using functionalities of Django.Dropbox offers features like
      • Cloud Storage
      • File sharing
      • Productivity tolls
      • Content Collaboration

1. 1. 4. Eventbrite
      Eventbrite is an event management platform which works as a ticketing service. It was founded in 2006 by Kevin Hartz and Julia Hartz and Renaud Visage. Users can use the service to search for, create, and promote local events.It is developed using Python and some inhouse frameworks but later it switched to Django to make the application more scalable and interactive.Now, it can be scaled to manage the huge number of users and can be constantly given new updates using Django functionalities.Eventbrite offers features like
      • Automated Reminders
      • Online payments
      • Surveys and audience polls
      • Bar-code scanning

1. 1. 5. Instagram
      Instagram, one of the most well-known and rapidly-growing social media platforms. It was founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. In April 2012, Facebook (now known as meta) acquired it. Instagram is used to form a network with people all over world and share photos and videos with them and like,share or comment on the items shared.It is another website developed with Python and the Django web development framework.
      Instagram deals with a lot of data and user activities. The Instagram team handles all of this with Django, as well as take use of in-built tools that allow them to focus on UI and UX without having to worry about the technology that makes them function.Instagram offers feature like
      • Live video streaming, IGTV, Story sharing
      • Push Notifications for Your Favorite Accounts
      • Photo and Video Filters using machine learning techniques
      • Hyperlink Username and Hashtags

1. 1. 6. Mozilla
      Mozilla, one of the most popular browsers, can handle hundreds of millions of inquiries per month. It was founded in 1998 by members of Netscape later Mozilla 1.0, the first major version, was released in 2002. The Firefox web browser, Thunderbird e-mail client and others are among Mozilla’s current products.Mozilla was originally built with PHP using Cake PHP web development framework but to make the application scalable and versatile they switched to Python using Django framework. Django now powers the Mozilla support website as well as all of their browser add-ons.Features given below are offered by Mozilla Firefox are
      • Page Actions menu: Bookmark, snap, save or share
      • Private Browsing with Enhanced Tracking Protection: Browse fast and free
      • Keep your Firefox in sync
      • Customize the menu or the toolbar

1. 1. 7. Pinterest
      Pinterest is an image-sharing and social media service that uses pin-boards to allow users to save and find content on the internet using photos, animated GIFs and video.
      Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra, and Evan Sharp established the site, which had over 430 million global monthly active users as of February 2022. Now, Pinterest, Inc., based in San Francisco, runs the site. Pinterest users can subscribe to other users and share their boards using this framework.Django is a popular choice among social networking networks because it can manage large amounts of data and thousands of user interactions every second.
      Pinterest needs to provide exceptional performance and the capacity to scale effectively while maintaining performance with 250 million monthly active users.Pinterest offers features like :
      • Creative sharing of content or blog
      • Free to use
      • Send pins to friends

1. 1. 8. Spotify
      Spotify is a large database that allows users to listen to music on any device. It was founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. Spotify, like iTunes, revolutionized the way consumers listen to, share, and buy music. You may access your music library from anywhere and on any device when you use it.
      Spotify employs a mix of Java, Python, and C++ and Django to make a backend that is fast and allows options for machine learning to present consumers with personalized auto-generated playlists.Spotify offers features like
      • Find music with Spotify’s recommendations
      • Ability to download songs, albums, and podcasts for offline listening
      • Pin content in your library for easy access

1. 1. 09. The Washington Post
      The online app for The Washington Post, one of the world’s most influential newspapers, is one of the best Django application examples of this type. The Django framework is used by the Washington Post to handle high loads and provide quick and efficient website performance.The Washington Post, The Guardian, The New York Times, and other newspaper websites that use Django are now highly scalable and capable of handling massive volumes of data supplied by their daily audiences.The Washington Post website, which is entirely developed in Django, received 172 million monthly visits in March 2019.

1. 10. YouTube
   YouTube is a free video-sharing website that makes watching online videos simple.
   You can even make your own videos and post them to enjoy with others.
   YouTube, which was founded in 2005, is currently one of the most popular websites on the Internet, with over 6 billion hours of video watched each month.It was originally designed in PHP, but due to rapid audience growth and the need to quickly incorporate new features, the team decided to join the Django community.
   And the decision was well-founded, as audience growth hasn’t slowed, and new features come on a regular basis.YouTube offers features like
   • Channel dashboard and Analytics
   • Likes, Comment Share and Save video
   • Search engine optimization tools

Final Thought
We’ve only shown a few examples of popular Django-powered apps.
There are a lot more Django apps available. Django is an excellent choice for both small and large businesses that want to offer products as rapidly as possible and at a low cost..
You may use this framework to not only build a website, but also to enhance it with new features and updates, as well as scale it for a wider audience.

Startxlabs, one of India’s top digital transformation service providers. Launched in 2014, Startxlabs aims in innovating a digital future by developing technology for the web and mobile platforms. From our beginning as a technology development company, we’ve tried to stay true to our core beliefs and to deliver exceptional services to our clients. Whether it’s people we work for or people who work for us, we value honesty, passion, and the desire to explore. We have expertise in website development, android app development, iOS app development, Flutter, React Native app development, UI/UX design, and marketing strategy. With the engagement of our highly technical team, we have delivered over 110+ projects providing a positive impact on the users.

We are living in an era where data is considered as the new currency. The more data you have the more rich you are. And, the amount of data available is increasing day by day.To store data available databases are used. Many different types of databases are available now. In this blog, we will learn about one such database PostgreSQL and why it is best choice to use with Django while developing a web application.

Contents

1. Django – Introduction, Features, and Architecture

2. Why do we need a database?

3. PostgreSQL – Introduction, Features and Companies using it

4. PostgreSQL with Django

5. Final thought

What is Django?

Django is an open-source web development framework used to build web applications for different business problems. It is based on the Python programming language. It follows the DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) principle to avoid the repetition of unwanted code which the development process to maintain the optimization of code. Django comprises different components like authentication system, Content Management System, database interactions and many more.

It offers features like

• Rapid development
• Security
• Scalability
• Versatility
• ORM ( Object Relational Mapper)

Learn more about Django features here.

One of the most important features amongst these is object relational mapper. The ORM helps developers to map data between the models and the database tables without writing any SQL queries. This allows developers to build applications quickly eliminating the time wasted in writing complex queries by using Django inbuilt functions according to their requirements.

It works on the MVT Model View Template architectural pattern for developing web apps.

• Model: In Django, each model is a class that represents a table in the database and every attribute in the class represents a field in the corresponding table. Models are denied in the models.py file.
• View: In Django, the view is a function that works as the controller and takes a web request and sends the web responses like HTML pages, XML documents, images, a 404 page not found error, etc.
• Template: In Django, the Template folder contains all the client-side files like HTML, CSS, and javascript files and keeps the code clean by keeping the backend and frontend code separately.

This MVT structure help developers to keep the codes separately and enable them to change the frontend part of web application without changing the backend business logics.This is especially beneficial while interacting with database.

Why do we need a database?

Nowadays, having a web application for your business is a necessity. Having a database for your web applications makes them more versatile, scalable, and interactive. A database allows you to create, store, read, update and delete data whenever needed. For example, If you have a shopping website you will need to store the products details that you have and the order details etc, If you have a social media website you will need to store all the data of all the users what they post, what they like, their comments and many more items or if you have a simple website that shows your company details you must have a page which has a contact form which people can fill and contact you for that you need a database.

Specifically talking about Django, It offers a default SQLite database when you start building an app but it is meant for small projects and it is not too much scalable which is not something you want. That’s why we tend to use different databases with Django to achieve the ACID principle and maintain the scalability of our web application. The Django web framework supports multiple databases. Examples include MYSQL, MongoDB, PostgresSQL, MariaDB, and SQLite.

The Django official documentation preffer PostgreSQL.The Django supports POstgreSQL 9.5 and higher version It uses django.contrib.postgres module to make database operations.Now lets us learn about PostreSQL.

What is PostgreSQL?

It is a powerful open-source relational database. With the support of more than 20 years of community development, it is a highly stable database management system with high levels of reliability, integrity, and correctness. A lot of web applications, mobile applications, geo-spatial applications, and analytics applications use PostgreSQL as their primary data store or data warehouse. Currently, PostgreSQL 12 is the latest version. It is also known as Postgres.

Scientists from the University of California at Berkeley created PostgreSQL. It was originally known as Ingres. The creators of this application gradually added more features and improved it over time. As a result, the name was changed to Postgres95 and finally to PostgreSQL.

Features of PostgreSQL

• It allows the development of a fault-tolerant environment by administrators to maintain data integrity.
• It is compatible with all major programming languages and middle ware.
• It supports a multi-version concurrency control system
• It supports client-server network architecture
• It support both relational(SQL) and non-relational(JSON) querying.
• It is completely ACID(Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability.
• It is compliant with the ANSI SQL standard

Giant tech companies like Apple, IMDB, Instagram, Reddit,Skype, Spotify uses it. International Space Station also utilize it to store the data on the orbit and then replicate that database on the ground. PostgreSQL is widely used in the Financial Industry, Government GIS data, Manufacturing, Web technology and many more domains.

Advantages of using PostgreSQL with Django

• Django supports richest set of features offered by PostgreSQL.
• Django has django.contrib.postgres to make database operations on PostgreSQL.
• Django provides a lot of data types that are only supported by PostgreSQL like ArrayField, HStoreField, and PostgreSQL-specific aggregation which can be used for both general-purpose data aggregation and statistical analytics. The JSONField stores JSON encoded data.
• As a result of PostgreSQL specific database constraints, developers can specify what kind of data can be inserted into the database. This increases the accuracy and reliability of data in the database.
• Using the “django.contrib.postgres.forms” module, the Django framework provides form fields and widgets that are specific to PostgreSQL.
• You must utilize PostgreSQL if you are creating a map-based application or storing geographical data, as GeoDjango is only completely compatible with PostgreSQL.
• Database functions such as TranscationNow, which return the date and time when the current transaction started on the database server, are specific to PostgreSQL.
• PostgreSQL specific lookups extend this functionality beyond what is provided by Django’s built-in lookups. There is an unaccent lookup feature available in PostgreSQL, which enables accent-insensitive lookups. PostgreSQL also supports migration of Django Database extensions to PostgreSQL.
• Additional validators that are specific to PostgreSQL are provide by the “django.contrib.postgres.validators”.
•  Full-text search functionality is supported by PostgreSQL database which allows searching natural language documents using Django.
• In addition, PostgreSQL-specific indexes like BrinIndex, BTreeIndex, GinIndex can help users effectively manage large datasets with advanced indexing functionality.

Some special cases when PostgreSQL is the best database choice for Django 

• To store geographical data: If you are using maps in your application, the best choice would be PostgreSQL, since it is completely compatible with GeoDjango.
• To provide Procedural language support: Python and many other programming languages an be used as procedural programming languages in PostgreSQL.
• To use JSON: jsonb were added in Postgres 9.4. So it doesn’t require extra NoSQL DB.
• Data type changes: You can alter the data type of a column in PostgreSQL without having to rewrite the table. Since Postgre 9.1, changing the data type has been faster.

Final Thought

Any company’s data is a valuable asset. How you input, access, and utilize that data can either be a time-consuming expense or a game-changer in terms of your company’s efficiency and cost-cutting. After deciding on a framework for developing your business’s application, the next most daunting challenge is deciding on the finest database for the job. In this blog, we learned why PostgreSQL is the finest database to utilize with Django development to create a solution to your business challenge.

Startxlabs, one of India’s top digital transformation service providers. Launched in 2014, Startxlabs aims in innovating a digital future by developing technology for the web and mobile platforms. From our beginning as a technology development company, we’ve tried to stay true to our core beliefs and to deliver exceptional services to our clients. Whether it’s people we work for or people who work for us, we value honesty, passion, and the desire to explore. We have expertise in website development, android app development, iOS app development, Flutter, React Native app development, UI/UX design, and marketing strategy. With the engagement of our highly technical team, we have delivered over 110+ projects providing a positive impact on the users.

In this tech-savvy generation having a web application for your business is a necessity. It allows your business to reach a huge target audience and gain skyrocketing popularity. The best method to attract new users is to create smart and intuitive websites.

In order to simplify the web development task and build a robust, scalable, flexible, and secure web app quickly multiple frameworks have been invented. Some have been in use for decades. However, others have gained popularity in recent years.

In this blog, We’ll learn about the top 10 most popular web development frameworks for both backend and frontend development.

What is a Framework?
A web framework is a software platform which acts like a skeleton of the website which you utilize to build a web application quickly using the available tools and features and then further extend it to meet the requirements. There is no better way to create rich and interactive online applications than to use frameworks, which have been endorsed by thousands of developers worldwide.

Why do we need a Framework?
If there are no frameworks available the software engineers have to make all the things from the scratch like database setup, business logic, security option, etc. Web development frameworks simplifies these tasks.

Some major reasons we use framework are:

• Higher Performance
  Web frameworks are loaded with inbuilt features and tools to ease up the development task and increase the performance of the application.
• Faster development
  With Inbuilt features, ready-made components, libraries, and highly efficient tools for integration purposes, Web frameworks ensure the rapid development of web applications.
• Reliability and security
  Web frameworks consist of ready-made components or features that are thoroughly tested by a large development community and ensure that your project won’t get stuck if any error comes up. And web frameworks are often designed in such a way that they prioritize the security of the application in all cases.

What are the types of Frameworks?
A web application is made of two components the server-side i.e the Backend and the client-side i.e. The Frontend and to make the development process smooth we have web frameworks available for both backend and frontend development. Nonetheless, some special web Framework like Django supports both backend and frontend development.

There are two types of Frameworks:

• Frontend Frameworks
  They are responsible for building the client-side i.e the user interface. They are based on frontend programming languages such as HTML,CSS, Javascript, etc. They deal with the UI/ UX design of the web application.
• Backend Frameworks
  They are responsible for building the server-side i.e. the backend of the application like database setup, business logic, etc.They uses backend programming languages such as Python, Java, Ruby, PHP, Javascript etc.

Source : Github

There is a vast choice of web development frameworks available today. Listed below are the top 10 web development frameworks which are most trendy in the IT industry.

1. 1. 1. Angular (Frontend)
      Angular is one of the most important frameworks used for frontend development by numerous companies. Its first version which was based on javascript was developed in 2009. Later in 2016, it started using Typescript in place of Javascript. It is used to develop client-side dynamic web pages. It is comparatively harder to learn compared to other programming languages as it has many components like libraries, controllers, directives, and many more. It is based on MVC (Model View Controller) architectural pattern. It can be used to develop high-quality single-page applications, mobile-web, native mobile and, native desktop applications. Companies like Google, Microsoft, and Paypal Upwork, Lego, Netflix use it.Advantages
      • It contains numerous Angularjs development services.
      • It is based on MVC architecture.
      • The rapid development of web applications can be achieved.

      Disadvantages

      • It is large in size which causes slower processing.
      • The learning curve is very steep.
      • Its documentation is not well organized and can be hard to follow by beginners.

      

   2. 2. React(Frontend)
      React is an open source Javascript library introduced by Meta(earlier known as Facebook). Even though it is a library, it still can work as a framework and is used to develop efficient single-page web applications. Moreover, it also supports the development of mobile applications which is not the case with other frameworks.
      It interacts with other libraries to provide features like API integration, state management, SEO optimization etc. Companies like Facebook and Instagram use it.Advantages
      • It offers rapid manipulation in HTML documents because of its virtual DOM feature.
      • Integration with other libraries is very easy and helpful.
      • It also supports mobile application development.

      Disadvantages

      • Its documentation is not well organized.
      • It has a complicated structure that can be difficult to work on.

1. 1. 3. Vue(Frontend)
      Vue Js is another open-source web development framework for frontend development of single-page web apps as well as user interfaces for web apps. It is based on highly adaptable MVVM structure. It is lightweight and can be used to create functional user interfaces with numerous tools and features available. It can be easily integrated with 3rd party tools and it is very easy to use and learn. It is a perfect fit for developing single page and dynamic applications.Companies using it are Gitlab, Behance, Grammarly, 9GAG and many more.Advantages
      • It is easy to use.
      • It is lightweight.
      • It is easy to integrate with 3rd party solutions.

      Disadvantages

      • Its tools are not very stable.
      • It is not supported by big enterprises such as Google and Microsoft.

1. 1. 4. Jquery(Frontend)
      Jquery is another javascript library that is open source and can be used for building web apps user interfaces. It is popular for its schematic approach and cross-browser compatibility. It provides easy integration between DOM elements and its syntax structure. It is trendy because of its exceptional ability to create effects and animations in Web apps. It is small in size and has numerous plugins to provide functionalities whenever needed.Advantages
      • It is easy to use.
      • It supports multiple libraries.
      • It is open source.
      • The documentation is easy to follow.

      Disadvantages

      • Its javascript file needs to be included in the app to make it work.
      • Very few functionalities are included in its framework.

1. 1. 5. Laravel(Backend)
      Laravel is a web development framework based on most popular programming language PHP. Taylor Otwell developed Laravel in 2011. It is based on MVC( Model View Controller) architectural pattern. It supports API development and has numerous packages that make the framework more efficient. It is used to develop the backend of web applications. It can be used to build mid-range web applications. It can be easily learned using its tutorial website Laracasts which has numerous helpful videos. Companies like Neighbourhood, Travel, Deltanet, Lender are using it.Advantages
      • It has a good documentation.
      • It has the latest features of PHP.
      • It has integrated mail services and cache facilities.

      Disadvantages

      • It does not support payment gateways.
      • It is not suitable for mobile application development.

1. 1. 6. Express(Backend)
      Express is an open source Javascript-based Node JS API. It is highly efficient and prominently used in large enterprises because of its flexibility. It provides multiple built-in features and functionalities such as third-party integration, routing, server-side scripting, and many more. It can be used to create web applications, APIs and mobile solutions. It is used by companies like Accenture, IBM, Uber MuleSoft, Myntra, and Myspace.Advantages
      • It is highly flexible.
      • A good tool for developing APIs.
      • It is fully loaded with features and functionalities.

      Disadvantages

      • High learning curve.
      • Monotonous call back.

1. 1. 7. Spring(Backend)
      Spring is an open source Java-based web development framework. It was invented by Pivotal Software. It can be used to develop enterprise-level applications. Since, it is based on Java language which is used by major enterprises it will not lose its populartiy in the coming years. It lets you scale your project quickly. Websites like Wix, TicketMaster, Deleokorea, Intuit, Zalando, MIT, Zillow and BillGuard are users of this framework.Advantages
      • It is lightweight.
      • It has a vast supporting community.

      Disadvantages

      • Steep learning curve, especially if you don’t know java.

1. 1. 8. Rails (Backend)
      Ruby on Rails(Rails or ROR) is one of the oldest open source web development frameworks for backend development. It is based on the Ruby programming language and follows MVC architecture. It supports complex algorithms usage for building solutions to complicated business problems. It can be used to create cloud-based applications using its powerful libraries and tools.It has a vast community that can help anytime you get stuck while creating a robust and high speed solution to your business problem using its incredible features. Airbnb, GitHub, Hulu,GroupOn and Shopify are primary users of Rails.Advantages
      • It allows the rapid development of web applications.
      • It provides numerous tools and libraries.

      Disadvantages

      • Its documentation is not very good.
      • It experiences slow processing.

1. 1. 9. ASP.Net (Backend)
      ASP.Net is a popular web development framework that is used to develop dynamic desktop and mobile web applications. It was developed by Microsoft to allow developers to build magnificent web application and services. It is based on C# programming language.Asp.net core is a version of Asp.net which is popular for its speed, power and productivity. Some famous companies using ASP.NET are TacoBell, GettyImages, StackOverflow.Advantages
      • It is lightweight.
      • High performance.

      Disadvantages

      • It doesn’t support many platforms like Java.
      • It doesn’t support many CMS.

1. 10.Django (Backend + Frontend)
   Django is one the best framework among all these framework as it supports both backend and frontend development of incredibly scalable, secure, and flexible web applications. It is based on Python programming language and follows MVT (Model View Template) architecture for developing efficient web apps. It has numerous key features such as messaging, authentication system, caching, administration panel, and many more. It can be easily used to build large and complex enterprise projects.It is used by companies like Google, Youtube, Pinterest, Disqus, YouTube, Spotify, and Instagram.Advantages
   • It allows the rapid development of complex projects.
   • It supports an inbuilt authentication system to make the application secure as Security is Django’s priority.
   • Its documentation is well organized and is very easy to follow even for beginners.
   • It has huge community support.
   • It can be used to create SEO optimized web applications.

   Disadvantages

   • Its processing can sometimes be slow.
   • Its learning curve is very steep.

   Learn more about Django and its features here

Conclusion
A web framework plays an integral and indispensable role in the software development process. All the above mentioned frameworks have their own features, advantages and disadvantages.

It is highly recommended to utilize the most suitable framework to build your web application because it can save you from the hustle and bustle of building every features and architecture from scratch.

The 10 best web development frameworks are listed above to help you create a spectacular online presence for your business, and you may choose the one that best suits your needs. Developing websites with these popular frameworks can substantially speed up the process.

Startxlabs, one of India’s top digital transformation service providers. Launched in 2014, Startxlabs aims in innovating a digital future by developing technology for the web and mobile platforms. From our beginning as a technology development company, we’ve tried to stay true to our core beliefs and to deliver exceptional services to our clients. Whether it’s people we work for or people who work for us, we value honesty, passion, and the desire to explore. We have expertise in website development, android app development, iOS app development, Flutter, React Native app development, UI/UX design, and marketing strategy. With the engagement of our highly technical team, we have delivered over 110+ projects providing a positive impact on the users.

What is Django?

The Django web development framework is based on Model View Template (MVT) architecture and written in Python to enable the rapid development of web applications. Once the client’s requirements are gathered, it is very easy to create a scalable, secure, and SEO-friendly web application.

Django is an open-source web framework that is highly in demand in the IT industry worldwide. The question that must be striking your mind now is why, after all, this framework is getting so much attention, what exactly makes it unique and the best for web development, so that it has become so popular lately.

So, Let’s dive in to find the answers to these questions. The following blog will introduce you to the features that make Django a powerful and unique web development framework. After reading it, you can decide if it fits your project needs.

Features of Django

1. Open Source 

   Django is an open-source web development framework which means that it is freely available over the internet and the users can download and successfully use all its features without paying any cost. Using an open-source framework to build a web application automatically reduces the cost of development. Also, Its source code can be very easily downloaded from the public git repository or by writing this in the terminal.

   git clone https://github.com/django/django.git

   Or it can be installed directly in your project by just writing the given code inside the terminal.

   pip install Django

2. Outstanding documentation

   One of the most essential characteristics of Django is its comprehensive documentation, which makes learning and mastering the framework a breeze. The documentation is very efficiently created using a modular approach in which the architecture on which Django is based, MVT, is kept in different components such as the Model has a different module and view and template has different modules, as well as many other important aspects of Django such as forms, Admin, Security, and Development process, have different modules, making it easier to navigate to the desired topic. There are also modules such as getting started tutorials for beginners and advanced tutorials for advanced users in the documentation.

   This exceptionally well-organized documentation acts as a resource for developers, allowing them to quickly find answers to their questions. As a result, the amount of time spent searching queries has decreased significantly. In comparison to other open-source frameworks, Django has the best documentation.

3. Rapid development

   Django’s tagline is “The web framework for perfectionists with deadlines.” which means that it is made to develop projects rapidly. Django has become extremely popular as a result of one of its primary features: rapid development. Django has capabilities that eliminate the need to create server files, files to connect to the server, and writing queries to create read, update, or delete database entries, allowing users to construct web applications at a rapid pace. It helps us construct web apps more quickly by reducing project implementation time.

4. DRY: Don’t Repeat Yourself

   Django is known for its rapid development, as stated above, but how does it do so? The DRY concept, which underpins Django’s rapid development, stands for “Don’t Repeat Yourself.” Most of the time, developers spend the majority of their time managing the programs they’ve developed or rewriting various parts of the code. However, Django provides us with capabilities that eliminate unwanted repeats, allowing us to keep our code clean and manageable.

   In a broader sense, Django divides the project into three modules: Model, View, and Template, with Model containing the database tables, View containing the data manipulation functions and acting as controllers, and Template containing the frontend parts such as HTML pages. Keeping our code as clean and manageable as possible.

5. Fully Loaded

   Django is loaded with modules and libraries that make developers’ lives easier by handling most web development tasks, such as the authentication system it provides or the content administration system, which is the website’s administration site that can be built with just a few lines of code and makes the application very handy. It also lets us build our own URLs for our web pages and offers a variety of techniques for creating site maps, RSS feeds, and Atom feeds.

6. Reassuringly Secure

   Another remarkable characteristic of Django is its high level of security. Big organizations like Instagram and Bitbucket, which require a high level of security to protect user data, rely on Django, which excels in this area. SQL injection, cross-site scripting, cross-site request forgery, and clickjacking are all examples of errors that developers make which it always prevents. It has various classes that allow developers to create an authentication system with a few lines of code and manage user accounts and passwords. It has inbuilt classes like Securitymiddleware that increase the security of WebApp.

    

7. Exceedingly Scalable

   A web application’s scalability refers to its capacity to function effectively as its size and volume grow to meet the needs of the client. Django is a scalable programming language that is currently used by companies such as Instagram, National Geographic, Spotify, Bitbucket, Eventbrite, Prezi, The Washington Times, and many others. Companies such as Disqus, Instagram, Pinterest, and Mozilla have been using Django for many years with no glitches or errors. Furthermore, data show that Django-powered websites have received up to 50 thousand hits per second, indicating Django’s scalability. Django’s versatile nature implies that he can swiftly switch from modest to large-scale projects.

   The number of active users on platforms like Instagram is enormous, and all of those people are creating terabytes of data on a daily basis, which needs to be handled with precision, and Django’s use demonstrates that it is capable of doing so.

    

8. Incredibly Versatile

   Django is a web development framework with a lot of flexibility. It may be used to create everything from simple apps with no database to complex applications with large databases. Django is now being used to create a wide range of web applications, including content management systems, social networking sites, and scientific computation applications. Instagram, National Geographic, Spotify, and Bitbucket, for example, are all from different domains, yet they all utilize Django currently.

    

9. SEO optimized 

   Django’s SEO-optimized nature is another fantastic feature that sets it apart from other web frameworks.

   SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and as the name implies, it involves adding features to your projects and optimizing them so that they appear towards the top of search results. As we all know, search engines employ algorithms that don’t always work well with site developers. Because we are developing our website in a human-readable format, they must add it to the server in URL format so that it may be recognized by search engines.

   Django clarifies this notion by keeping the website using URLs rather than IP addresses on the server, making it simple for SEO engineers to add the website to the server while the web developer does not have to translate the URL into numeric code.

    

10. Vast and Supported Community

    Django is one of the most popular web frameworks. It has a large and friendly community as well as channels for sharing and connecting. Django has been around for 13 years, which means it has been used by millions of people and improved by tens of thousands of programmers. It’s really easy to find a community of developers who are well-versed in Django and have coded with it.

    Django has a large community that responds quickly to bugs and fixes them. Django is constantly improving as an open-source framework with the addition of new libraries. As a result, all of your questions are only a click away.

     

11. ORM ( Object Relational Mapper)

    SQL (Structured Query Language) is a programming language that allows a web application to create a database and perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, and Delete) operations on it.

    Well, in Django, we have ORM to do the job; each class in the model represents a database table, and we don’t have to write SQL queries to manipulate the database, making life easier for developers with limited SQL knowledge.

     

12. Admin Interface and Packages

    Another two important and handy aspects of Django are its admin interface and inbuilt packages.

    Django’s Admin Interface helps the clients to manage their applications without getting their hands dirty with the code. Django Packages supports the development process and makes our work easier. For example, Django-rest-framework helps us to easily build and use REST APIs.

     

    Conclusion

    After reading this blog post, you must have a good idea of the most important features of Django and whether or not they meet your requirements. Django is the best for everyone, whether you’re a developer or a client. We learned about some of Django’s features today, but these aren’t the only ones. “The sky’s the limit,” as they say. Django provides a lot more functionality, making it a good choice for your needs.

    Startxlabs, one of India’s top digital transformation service providers. Launched in 2014, Startxlabs aims in innovating a digital future by developing technology for the web and mobile platforms. From our beginning as a technology development company, we’ve tried to stay true to our core beliefs and to deliver exceptional services to our clients. Whether it’s people we work for or people who work for us, we value honesty, passion, and the desire to explore. We have expertise in website development, android app development, iOS app development, Flutter, React Native app development, UI/UX design, and marketing strategy. With the engagement of our highly technical team, we have delivered over 110+ projects providing a positive impact on the users.