The user experiences delivered by a software application nowadays directly influence its popularity and profitability in the long run. The user experience delivered by an application depends of its accessibility, functionality, performance, usability, searchability, and security. Hence, while developing a custom software application, the developers have to focus on many aspects in addition to the business requirements. At the same time, they also need to deliver the software within a stipulated timeframe to beat competition.
That is why; no developer can build custom software applications quickly and efficiently without using robust frameworks. Based on his precise needs, each developer has option to choose from a wide range of micro and full-stack frameworks. Some of these frameworks are open source and free, whereas others are licensed and commercial. But each framework simplifies and speeds up custom software development by providing several features, modules, libraries and tools. That is why; many programmers consider frameworks as new programming languages.
However, each framework is written in a particular programming language. Also, each framework helps programmers to write applications efficiently in specific programming languages. For instance, web frameworks like Laravel, CakePHP, Yii, Zend, CodeIgniter, or Symfony help programmers to write web applications in PHP quickly and rapidly. On the other hand, ASP.NET, a widely used web framework, allows programmers to write code in C#, J#, or Visual Basic. Likewise, Node.js enables programmers to write server-side code in a widely used client-side programming language like JavaScript.
As a collection of programs or prewritten scripts, frameworks enable programmers to accomplish a variety of tasks without writing additional code. But the programmers have to follow the syntax rules and language features of a programming language to build custom software efficiently and customize the framework according to their precise needs. That is why; programmers have to use programming languages to communicate with the device and get the instruction executed. They still need frameworks to accomplish a variety of programming tasks quickly and efficiently.
Why Each Programmer Nowadays Uses Software Frameworks?
Curtail Development Time
While developing a custom software application, developers have to focus on both business requirements and user experience. Hence, they have to write longer lines of code to create an application that meets all predefined business requirements while delivering optimal user experience. As a collection of prewritten scripts, frameworks enable programmers to accomplish common tasks and add functionality to the software without writing lengthy and complex code. The features provided by a framework further help developers to build custom applications within a stipulated amount of time.
Focus Only on Business Requirements
While writing a custom application, developers have to put extra time and effort to create or customize the development environment. As they have to spend time on creating custom development environment, the programmers often find it daunting to focus extensively on business requirements. A framework enables developers to focus on each module of the software by providing standard working system. It further helps programmers to focus only on business requirements by providing customizable development environments.
Maintainable and Structured Code Base
Nowadays, enterprises update their software applications frequently to keep users engaged and beat competition. Many businesses even require programmers to keep the source code of their software structured, readable, and maintainable. The developers find it difficult to keep the application code clean and maintainable without using frameworks. As most frameworks support model-view-controller (MVC) paradigm, it becomes easier for developers to build and maintain custom software by keeping its user interface and business logic layers separated. At the same time, the frameworks also help programmers to keep the source code maintainable and extensible by following certain coding conventions.
Predefined APIs
The pre-built and pre-tested scripts provided by a framework help developers to deliver reliable software applications. Likewise, the developers can also take advantage of the predefined application programming interfaces (APIs) provided by the framework to enhance the application’s functionality and performance without writing longer lines of code. The APIs further enables various developers to communicate with each other without any hurdle or ambiguity. Nowadays, a developer can easily build custom software with these predefined APIs despite not knowing the syntax rules of the associated programming language.
Facilitate Software Testing
In an agile development environment, the developers and testers work as a single team. Hence, the developers often need to write test cases, and test the software continuously. Many developers use test automation tools to execute the tests repeatedly. Many software frameworks enable programmers to perform a variety of tests through widely used software testing tools. For instance, most web application frameworks enable developers to assess the quality of individual components of the application or individual units of the source code by using open source unit testing frameworks.
No Project Overheads
Often programmers explore ways to reduce development time without increasing project overheads. The frameworks enable developers to build custom applications rapidly. The developers can further avoid incurring additional expensed by opting for free frameworks. Most widely used frameworks are open source and free. Likewise, the community editions of specific proprietary framework can also be used without paying licensing fees. Hence, the developers can use these frameworks to build custom software rapidly without increasing development cist.
Community Support
Based on the precise needs of each project, the developers have option to choose from a number of open source frameworks. They can use the frameworks without increasing development cost. Also, they can customize the framework according to their specific needs. Each framework is also supported by a large and active community of developers. The users can avail the assistance and support of the large development community to resolve new problems and performance issues while working with the open source framework.
On the whole, a programming language and a software framework complement each other. Each framework is written in a specific programming language. It further helps programmers write applications in a particular programming language. That is why; developers nowadays use frameworks to build custom applications rapidly, and make them deliver richer user experience. However, the web application programmer must know the syntax rules and language features of the programming language to take advantage of the software framework fully.
