What is a Web Application?

Definition of Web-application
A web-application is an application program that is usually stored on a
remote server, and users can access it through the use
of Software known as web-browser.

Another definition
It is a type of computer program that usually runs with the help of a web
browser and also uses many web technologies to perform various tasks on
the internet.

A web application can be developed for several uses, which can be used
by anyone like it can be used as an individual or as a whole organization
for several reasons.

In general, a web application can contain online shops (or we can also say
them e-commerce shops), webmail's, calculators, social media platforms,
etc. There is also some kind of web application that usually requires a
special kind of web browser to access them. We cannot access those
kinds of web applications by using regular web- browsers. However, most
of the web applications available on the internet can be accessed using
a standard web browser.

If we talk about the web application in general, a web application usually

uses a combination of the server-side scripts such as PHP, ASP, for
handling the information/ data storage and retrieval of the data.

Some of them also use the client-side scripts such

as JavaScript, HTML to represent the data/information in front of the
users, and some of the web applications are also using both server-
side and client-side at the same time.
It allows the users to communicate with the organization or companies by
using the online form, online forums, shopping carts, content
management system, and much more.

Apart from that web applications also allow its users to create documents,
share them, or share the data/ information. By using the web application,
users can collaborate on same projects by event when they are not
available on the same geographical location.

After knowing that what a web application is, there may be a question
hitting in mind that how it will work.

Let's understand the working of the web-application.

How does a web- application work?

In general, web-application does not require downloading them because,
as we already discussed, the web application is a computer program that
usually resides on the remote server. Any user can access it by using one
of the standard web browsers such as Google Chrome, Safari,
Microsoft Edge, etc., and most of them are available free for everyone.

A web application are generally coded using the languages supported by

almost every web-browsers such as HTML, JavaScript because these are
the languages that rely on the web browsers to render the program
executable.

Some of the web applications are entirely static due to which they not
required any processing on the server at all while, on the other hand,
some web applications are dynamic and require server-side processing.

To operate a web- application, we usually required a web server (or we

can say some space on the web-server for our programs/application's
code) to manage the clients' upcoming requests and required an
application server.

The application server performs the task that requested by the clients,
which also may need a database to store the information sometimes.
Application server technologies range from [Link], ASP,
and ColdFusion to PHP and JSP.
A standard web application usually has short development cycles and can
be easily developed with a small team of developers. As we all know, most
of the currently available web applications on the internet are written
using the programming languages such as the HTML (or HyperText
Markup Language), CSS( or Cascading Style Sheets), and
Javascript that are used in creating front-end interface (Client-side
programming).

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To create the web applications script, server-side programming is done by

using programming languages such as Java, Python, PHP, and
Ruby, etc. Python and Java are the languages that are usually used for
server-side programming.

The Flow of the Web Application

Let's understand how the flow of the typical web application looks like.
 1. In general, a user sends a request to the web-server using web
browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, etc
over the internet.
2. Then, the request is forwarded to the appropriate web application
server by the web-server.
3. Web application server performs the requested operations/ tasks
like processing the database, querying the databases;
produces the result of the requested data.
4. The obtained result is sent to the web-server by the web application
server along with the requested data/information or processed data.
5. The web server responds to the user with the requested or
processed data/information and provides the result to the user's
screen .

Benefits of a web application

Let see some of the significant benefits offered by a web application:

o Any typical web application can run or accessible on any operating

system such as the Windows, Mac, Linux as long as the browser is
compatible.
o A web application is usually not required to install in the hard drive
of the computer system, thus it eliminates all the issues related to
the space limitation.
o All the users are able to access the same version of the web
application, which eliminates all compatibility issues.
o It also reduces software piracy in subscription-based web
applications, for example, SAAS (or Software as a service).
o They also reduce the expense for end-users, business owners
because the maintenance needed by the business is significantly
less.
o Web applications are flexible. A user can work from any
geographical location as long as he has a working internet
connection.
o It just takes a moment to create a new user by providing a
username, password, and URL, and it's all.
 o After the availability of the cloud, storage space is now virtually
unlimited as long as you can afford it.
o A web application can be programmed to run on a wide variety of
operating systems, unlike native applications that can run on a
particular platform.
o Any standard web application is developed with some basic
programming languages like HTML, CSS that are compatible and
well known among the IT professionals.

Disadvantages of the Web Applications

As we all know, there are two sides of anything; if something has some
advantages, it may also have limitations/ disadvantages. Consider the
following disadvantages of the web applications.

o Internet connection is necessary to access any web application, and

without an internet connection, anyone can't use any of the web
applications. It is very typical to get an internet connection in our
modern cities, still rural area internet connectivity not so well.
o Several people in business believe that their data on the cloud
environment is no that secure and likes to stick with old methods;
they even don't want to use new methods.
o As we all know that many users like to use different web browsers
according to their needs and choices. So while creating a web
application, you must remember that your application must support
several web browsers, including new and old versions of browsers.
o Speed-related issues are also affecting the web application's
performance because there are several factors on which the
performance of a web application depends, and these all factors
affect the performance of the web application in their own way.
o If a user's web application faces any kind of issues, or if he does not
have a good quality corporate website, his web application will not
be going to run correctly, smoothly.
o A user must have to spend enough money to maintain the good
condition of his web application, provide an update whenever an
issue occurs, and make an attractive user interface, which is not so
cheap at all.
 o A web application must be programmed/ coded in such a way that it
will be run regardless of the device's operating system.
o A web application may face some issues while running on Windows,
Android, or several other operating systems if it is not responsive.

There are several advantages and disadvantages of web applications; it is

impossible to discuss them all at once. So in the above, we only discussed
some critical and useful points that may help you quickly understand the
pros and cons of the web application.

Web Application Framework or simply “web framework” is a

software framework that is designed to support the development of
web applications including web services, web resources, and web
APIs. Frameworks are, in short, libraries that help you develop your
application faster and smarter!
Nowadays, the number of Web Frameworks has increased greatly.
To help you pick up the most suitable one for your Web Application,
we have a list of 10 best frameworks available online, in your
preferred language.

1. Ruby on Rails

Ruby on Rails is an extremely productive web application

framework written by David Heinemeier Hansson. One can develop
an application at least ten times faster with Rails than a typical Java
framework. Moreover, Rails includes everything needed to create a
database-driven web application, using the Model-View-Controller
pattern.

Advantages of Ruby on Rails

Ruby on Rails offers several advantages. It promotes rapid development with
its convention-over-configuration approach and extensive libraries. RoR
emphasizes code simplicity, resulting in cleaner and more maintainable
applications. It also benefits from a strong community, extensive
documentation, and a wide range of open-source gems for added
functionality.
Pro #1: Time efficiency
Although it is relatively easy to learn the basics of this framework, it will take
some time for you to unlock its true potential. However, if you’re ready to
invest some time in this, you will definitely be amazed at how fast and
effective you’ve become.
Furthermore, there are hundreds of tools that can both accelerate and simplify
your overall coding experience, as well as spare your time from simple, yet
time-consuming tasks.
Basically, this means that you can make more money in the same amount of
time. That’s probably why there are so many schools, online and offline
courses that are dedicated to Ruby on Rails. This also means that the
community is getting even bigger – which means there will be even more
efficient and helpful tools! Yay!

Pro #2: A great number of helpful tools and libraries

There are hundreds of different helpful community-created “gems” and
libraries that you can use as a part of your own software. However, you can
find even more helpful tools among them. They influence not the content of
your code, but your software design experience as a whole.
Some of them can help you in debugging, some are a great help in
optimization, and some are related to the testing stage of your work.

Pro #3: Huge and active community

There is a huge community of RoR developers on GitHub. And, it is really
active – there are many snippets of software with specific functions. You can
easily use these snippets, better known as “gems”, as a basis for your own
project – so you can focus on more difficult tasks. Plus, this means that you
can always ask for help if you’re just getting started.
There have been more than 5000 contributors to the Rails code and the stats
are growing.
Pro #4: Strong adherence to standards
One of RoR’s advantages is a strong backing of web standards for every part
of an application, from the user interface to data transfer.
Applications that are made with Ruby on Rails are expected to follow
established software design paradigms, such as “coding by convention”
(developer needs to specify the app features that are unconventional), “don’t
repeat yourself” (encouragement to avoid code duplication and to create
abstractions instead) and “active record pattern” (specific way of accessing
data in the database).
So, why all of these are considered to be such an advantage for RoR?
Well, there are multiple reasons:
 First of all, it makes the language much easier for novices to learn
and much more enjoyable for professionals to use.
 Secondly, it leads to better code readability, which is great both for the
cooperation among developers and for large projects overall.
 Finally, it minimizes the amount of code you need to write to
implement a feature.

Disadvantages of Ruby on Rails

Of course, just as with any other programming language or framework, there
are some negative aspects to RoR, and pitfalls that you can fall into during the
development process.
Here are some of the drawbacks of using Ruby on Rails:

Con #1: Shortage of flexibility

When it comes to basic tasks and features, RoR is almost unchallenged.
However, because there is a lot of default, set objects, there is not a lot of
room for creativity. So, before you make your decision about the framework
you want to use for a particular project, you need to think about its basic
elements and whether they are standard or more unique.

Con #2: Continuous evolvement

It is hard to say where you should put this point in the list of pros and cons of
Ruby on Rails and Ruby language. Obviously, when something changes for
the better, it’s great, and it’s a natural process, especially for a language with
such a big and vocal community. However, it is something that can be very
difficult to adjust to, especially for newcomers and beginners.
In addition, the overwhelming changes happen not only to the framework itself
but to the tools and libraries developed by the community. Not only do they
improve and add new features but new ones are constantly being created.

Con #3: Performance time

This con of RoR is always debated and it is a subject for discussion and
comparison with other web application frameworks. The boot time of the
framework is quite long, especially when you work with a massive project, but
does it also concern the runtime speed? Well, a lot of developers would argue
that this is not the case for apps with proper optimization.
However, if you compare the waiting time with other frameworks such as
[Link], you will definitely see the difference. However, this difference is not
that significant – it can definitely be overlooked due to all the great stuff Rails
has to offer.

Con #4: Price of a mistake

The price of a mistake in developing with Ruby on Rails is heavily connected
to the performance time. If you’re able to be thorough and pay attention to all
the small details during the development, Ruby on Rails will definitely be your
helpful friend.
However, if you make some wrong judgment during the beginning of the
development, it can easily slow down your whole application significantly,
cause problems with the connection between different parts of your software,
and lead to unintended consequences.

Who uses Ruby on Rails?

Often corporations with professional analysts make good decisions about the
tools they use for their projects. This is why such tools often get an
indisputable reputation for being solid and reliable.
Ruby on Rails has definitely earned such a reputation as there are a lot of
really massive projects that still use it.
Find out more: What is Ruby on Rails used for?
Which companies use Ruby on Rails?
 Twitch
 GitHub
 Airbnb
 Shopify
 Bloomberg
 Etsy

What is Ruby on Rails?

Ruby on Rails, also known as RoR and Rails is a web framework that is one
of the most popular tools in web development. Just like most application
frameworks, RoR was built with the Ruby programming language for a specific
task its creator had during his work in a web application development
company.
Ruby on Rails was built on the basis of the Ruby programming language
which was originally meant to be a technology for fast software
development. That is why Ruby on Rails is often called a “startup technology”.
It was created to guarantee quick launches.
Rails was the first framework of its kind. It operates on the MVC (Model-
View-Controller) principle:
 Model is responsible for relationships between objects and the
database.
 View is templates (commonly made up of a blend of HTML and Ruby
code) that are utilized to build the data users of web applications.
 Controller binds together models and view.

2. Django
Django is another framework that helps in building quality web
applications. It was invented to meet fast-moving newsroom
deadlines while satisfying the tough requirements of experienced
Web developers. Django developers say the applications are
ridiculously fast, secure, scalable, and versatile.

Advantages and Disadvantages

of Django
Firstly, we will discuss some advantages of using the Django
framework.

1. Benefits of Django Framework

Django alone has lots of advantages but we will be looking at
some major ones which also differentiates Django from other
frameworks.

1.1. Implemented in Python

If you have learned Python, or have seen the Python code, you
will also observe that Python is very easy to read, and that’s the
main design philosophy behind the creation of Python.

Also, Python is quite powerful and is used in the implementation

of scientific computations and high-level Artificial Intelligence.
So, what’s not to like about Python and the Django Framework is
implemented using the same language, so that gives it immense
support in backend while compromising nothing in front-end.

1.2. Better CDN connectivity and Content

Management
CDNs are nothing but Content Delivery Networks, as from the
name, they are special servers having the multimedia and
content which sites as Netflix and Amazon Prime uses for
streaming. These servers only contain the multimedia and
resources for your webpage, as they are geographically located
near the client, so they can serve the content more rapidly and
thus, increasing client satisfaction.
Django provides libraries and developers to use it as a CMS
(Content Management System) due to its great Admin
Interface, which makes it rather easy to set up and run CDNs.
Sites highly use CDNs by they which deliver you the multimedia
content, like YouTube, Instagram, Google, etc.

1.3. Batteries Included Framework

Django is made by web-developers for web-developers, so
of course, it will resolve the general issues and problems that
developers face.
Django Framework, comes with so much functionality, you may
not even need to create anything other than your own unique
application, and that’s what Django’s design philosophy is DRY
(Don’t Repeat Yourself).

The Django Developers have done all the boring part of web-
development themselves so, you get the fun part.
1.4. Fast Processing
This advantage is decent over other frameworks as Django’s
Architecture is different from all other frameworks in the
industry.

It means Django uses the MTV architecture which makes the

whole process of transmitting over the Internet easier and faster
as the resources can be put on a CDN. Django server handles
things pretty well, while also maintaining the Speed.
The Django Architecture provides substantial differences with
other frameworks.

1.5. Offers Rapid-development

The reason to fast development speed is that the Django’s MTV

Architecture implements with the philosophy of loosely coupled
components. It means that we can work on different components
parallelly and then can integrate much more easily.
This feature of Django makes a great difference from other
frameworks and currently, Django is the best for rapid
development in Industry.
1.6. Scalable
Django has been made in such a way that it will be able to handle
any kind of hardware additions. This advantage is the main
reason as to why the busiest sites of the world like Instagram,
Pinterest, Disqus, etc use the Django framework.

Django is based on loosely coupled architecture, which

provides it the functionality to add hardware at any point of
components as they will manage that change. And, will have little
to no effect on other components, which is seriously not the case
in other frameworks.
1.7. Security
Django framework is made by world’s best web-developers who
have a great experience and knowledge. So, that leaves a very
small possibility of security loopholes in Django, even in the user
authentication system.

Like Laravel Framework in PHP transmits data via GET

Method and even the passwords which we enter are visible
which is a very high risk, but Django takes care of this in-built. It
also uses the Get Method to transmit the data but the passwords
and all the important information automatically encrypts with a
long security key. Even in the Django database, we cannot see
the password.
2. Limitations of Django Framework
Django has all the functionality you may ever need on the web.
But still, every technology has some disadvantages and Django is
no exception to that. Although these are not on a performance
basis rather, they relate to design.

2.1. Django is Monolithic

Well, this is also a feature for some but for some, it is a
drawback. Django has a certain set of files and pre-defined
variables. And, you need to learn about those before you

Django framework has a certain way to define and perform tasks.

It is a logical file structure and easy to learn. But, that also
makes it mandatory that you can’t use your own file structure. It
is because the framework has a way, popularly known as “The
Django way” of doing things. If you don’t follow those rules, you
may not be able to deploy anything using Django.
Django framework and server looks for information in these files
and will not change that.

Therefore, lots of developers prefer flask than Django, but for

that framework, you need to know, backend quite well. Also, you
need a lot of time and knowledge to make your own structures
and server patterns which are not being done in Django. Here,
you only need to spend more time on your unique project rather
than other things.

2.2. Not for smaller projects

All the functionality of Django comes with lots of code. It takes
server’s processing and time, which poses some issues for low-
end websites which can run on even very little bandwidth.
Also, Django is scalable and makes the developer’s work easy. It
means that Django has to provide the unique functions and
features otherwise what’s the difference between Django and
other frameworks.

Why Use Django in Web-

Development?
We should use Django in web development because Django is
made for rapid-development. It is indeed one of the best features
of Django, that backs up by the power it provides to the
developer without compromising on any functionality and
security issues. All that in the simplest and one of the most
powerful languages of the world, Python.
Django framework is the framework of the future which provides
integration with most of the current technologies. Also, the
community is constantly developing new and interesting features
and functionalities while debugging the project.

So, Django is crowd-tested technology which has been

implementing and working on Global-scale applications like
Instagram, Pinterest, Disqus, etc.

If you are a professional developer or even a beginner who wants

to display improve skills in Python with web-development, then,
Django framework is the answer.

3. Angular(Also, know as Angular JS)

Angular is a framework by Google (originally developed by Misko
Hevery and Adam Abrons) which helps us in building powerful Web
Apps. It is a framework to build large scale and high-performance
web applications while keeping them as easy-to-maintain. There
are a huge number of web apps that are built with Angular.

AngularJs Advantages
There are certain features in angular which makes it
favourable for use. Following are the benefits of AngularJS, let’s
discuss them one by one:
1. Open source
2. Easy to extend
3. Easy to test
 4. Great MVC
5. Google supported
6. No Pre-requisite knowledge
7. Easy to customize
8. Single page application (SPA)
i. Open Source
Angularjs is an open source JavaScript MVC framework,
therefore, at affordable costs custom application can be available
to anyone. Since it is an open source, therefore, It provides the
advantage of easily changing the source code to provide
clarification. We can make any changes to satisfy the customer
requirements. It can add employment or delete employment.

Various features an open source application can posses are as

follows:

 Customization character
 Interpreted collaboration
 Powerful supportability
 Open source technologies are group oriented
 Vulnerability
 Interoperability
ii. Single Page Application (SPA)
Single page application means only a single HTML web page is
loaded and further updation is done on that single page only.
Since it is mostly used to create single page application and
single page application works fast as well as it is user-friendly.

Applications that are built using angular technology are as

follows:
 Malhar-Angular-Dashboard, Viktor
 NV-1 (open source musical instrument)
 Taiga (Project Manager application for agile developers
and designers)
 ProtonMail (Encrypted Webmail Interface)
 DuckieTv (web app for tracking tv shows)
 Aislel (e-commerce market place)
 SoundNode (Sound Cloud for desktop )

iii. No prerequisite knowledge

HTML, CSS and JavaScript are to work on AngularJS. So, there is
no need to learn any other scripting language. So if you want to
learn angular, it is a plus point for you as HTML, CSS and
javascript are simple easy to learn (in case you have no
prerequisite knowledge of it)and if you are familiar with this
languages then its quite easy task for you to learn angular.

iv. Easy to extend and customize

Due to certain built-in attributes, it is easy to extend. These
attributes make it possible to extend the functionality of HTML
by attaching a specific behavior with it. One can create its
own directives too in it therefore it is customized.
Customized means adding or removing features or functionality,
which is done to satisfy the specific needs. Also, customized
software consist of user-friendly features rather than
unnecessary elements as it is purely according to individual
needs.

v. Google supported
AngularJs framework is supported by a large community, Google.

The various advantages of Google supported sites are:

 Regular updates are done.

 For distributed or remote users, the anywhere/anytime
access capability to the corporate intranet by google
supported sites.
 It provides a capacity to work across the operating
system.
vi. Great MVC
As we know there are three components of MVC
architecture (Model, View, Controller) so in many frameworks,
a programmer has to split the code into multiple MVC
components. Also, after that programmer has to code again to
combine the code of these three parts. While in angular it is
being done automatically. Angular strings the code together and
hence saves the time of programmer too.
vii. Easy to test
Angular is JavaScript framework and JavaScript is dynamically
typed language. Angular posses great power of expression. But
there is no help of compiler in angular. Therefore, it is necessary
to write strong test code for it. As there is an in built dependency
injection comes in it, which makes it easier to test individual
components of the code. Both unit testing and integration testing
is supported by angular.

Also, there are some other tools are too available that will make
testing more easier such as:

 Jasmine – It is a behavior driven development

framework for JavaScrip. It helps in keeping tests
structural and documented is vital.
 Karma – It is a command line for Javascript. It load a
source code of an application and run our tests.
Latest Career Opportunities in AngularJS

3. AngularJS Disadvantages
Even angular is not like a silver bullet. It also have some
limitations. Here, we will talk about the limitations of AngularJS.
Due to JavaScript, some of AngualrJs limitation occurs.

1. Less secure
2. No specific way
3. JavaScript-Based
4. Not supported everywhere
5. Memory leakage
i. Less secure
There is no server authorization and authentication in angular.
Authorization means granting permission for data access and
identifying a user by validating credentials. AngularJs can’t
provide both the features, that’s we call it less secure.

ii. Only emphasize on JavaScript

AngularJs, totally depend upon JavaScript. If these scripts will
hide, the resultant pages seem like a basic page.

iii. Memory leakage

Also, it is a framework of JavaScript and there is an issue of
memory leak in JavaScript. We can define memory leak as the
memory requires by application anymore and due to some
factors, it will not return to the pool of the free memory. Memory
leak leads to various other issues too such as slowdowns,
crashes, high latency.
Do you know the major directives for Angularjs HTML
DOM?
iv. No specific way
It is very vast and complex. In angular, there are many ways to
perform the same task so it is difficult to predict which is the
most optimized way to perform a certain task.

v. Not supported everywhere

Internet Explorer 8.0 doesn’t support AngularJs

4. [Link]
[Link] is a framework developed by Microsoft, which helps us to
build robust web applications for PC, as well as mobile devices. It is
a high performance and lightweight framework for building Web
Applications using .NET. All in all, a framework with Power,
Productivity, and Speed.
 Language: C#
 Latest Version: [Link] 5 ([Link] Core 1.0)
 Framework Link: [Link]
Websites using [Link] are GettyImages, TacoBell, StackOverflow,
etc.
5. METEOR
Meteor or MeteorJS is another framework that gives one a radically
simpler way to build realtime mobile and web apps. It allows for
rapid prototyping and produces cross-platform (Web, Android, iOS)
code. Its cloud platform, Galaxy, greatly simplifies deployment,
scaling, and monitoring.
 Language: JavaScript
 Latest Version: Meteor 1.2.1
 Framework Link: [Link]
 Github Link: [Link]
Websites using Meteor are HaggleMate, WishPool, Telescope, etc.
6. Laravel
Laravel is a framework created by Taylor Otwell in 2011 and like all
other modern frameworks, it also follows the MVC architectural
pattern. Laravel values Elegance, Simplicity, and Readability. One
can right away start learning and developing Laravel with Laracasts
which has hundreds of tutorials in it.
 Language: PHP
  Latest Version: Laravel 5.2
 Framework Link: [Link]
 Github Link: [Link]
Websites using Laravel are Deltanet Travel, Neighbourhood Lender,
etc.
7. Express
Express or Expressjs is a minimal and flexible framework that
provides a robust set of features for web and mobile applications. It
is relatively minimal meaning many features are available as
plugins. Express facilitates the rapid development of [Link] based
Web applications. Express is also one major component of the
MEAN software bundle.
 Language: JavaScript
 Framework Link: [Link]
 Github Link: [Link]
Websites using Express are Storify, Myspace, LearnBoost, etc.
8. Spring
Spring, developed by Pivotal Software, is the most popular
application development framework for enterprise Java. Myriads of
developers around the globe use Spring to create high performance
and robust Web apps. Spring helps in creating simple, portable,
fast, and flexible JVM-based systems and applications.
 Language: Java
 Latest Version: Spring 4.3.0
 Framework Link: [Link]
framework/
 Github Link: [Link]
framework
Websites using spring are Mascus, Allocine, etc.

9. PLAY

Play is one of the modern web application framework written in

Java and Scala. It follows the MVC architecture and aims to
optimize developer productivity by using convention over
configuration, hot code reloading, and display of errors in the
browser. Play quotes itself as “The High-Velocity Web Framework”.
 Language: Scala and Java
 Latest Version: Play 2.4.6
 Framework Link: [Link]
 Github
Link: [Link]
Websites using PLAY are LinkedIn, Coursera, LendUp, etc.
10. CodeIgniter
CodeIgniter, developed by EllisLab, is a famous web application
framework to build dynamic websites. It is loosely based on MVC
architecture since Controller classes are necessary but models and
views are optional. CodeIgnitor promises with exceptional
performance, nearly zero-configuration, and no large-scale
monolithic libraries.
 Language: PHP
 Latest Version: CodeIgnitor 3.0.4
 Framework Link: [Link]
 Github Link: [Link]
Websites using CodeIgnitor are Bufferapp, The Mail and Guardian,
etc. Apart from these 10 frameworks, others
like Symphony , [Link], [Link], [Link] are also worth
mentioning.