Tag: Starting Out

The Process of Developing a Web Application

A three-tier model is a useful overview of the process of developing web applications. Each tier represents an essential part of the overall process. Developers have labeled them in many ways, but for a summary, a useful description is the user tier, the business tier, and the information tier.

The information tier is the data used to carry out the jobs that one designs the web application to do. It can be a data warehouse that stores things, or a database that must interact with variables to produce results. The business tier is the purpose of the application, the logic of the interactions comes from purposes. In a sales environment, the purpose is to match search queries with items, then orders with inventory or supplies. The final layer is the user tier consisting of the arrangements for access by browsers and interaction with consumers.

In outline form, the development process for applications flows from making a concept or vision, devising a project plan, implementing the plan, and testing the system. The planning stage involves determining the problems the application must solve. The plan requires a functional analysis of the parts of the application, for it establishes how they will look and interact. This part of the effort establishes the data variables, entities and coding procedures for the remainder of the project. For example, in a sales situation, an order would be an entity. This analysis guides the plan including selecting a language for writing code such as Python or Ruby on Rails.

The code must be able to handle the parts and interactions required by the functional analysis. The project plan then can detail timelines and schedules for producing code. There are many programs available to shorten the tasks of producing code, some work automatically so that non-programmers can create useable code. Testing is crucial to the effectiveness; the application must work under a variety of conditions. Server integration is another factor in application development and the choices include Microsoft Windows frameworks that on the server-side use leading languages like PHP and Ajax.

The three tiers form the overall framework for application development. The database tier contains the entities and elements. The business tier provides the ways in which entities must interact as required by the business logic. The user tier is critical to success because it is where consumers must engage and carry out the business purposes, such as sales of merchandise. The user interface must be simple, quick, and reliable, but at the same time, unique and not a carbon copy of the competition.

Current trends in application development require additional tiers due to increased complexity. Developers often need to use a multilayer approach that makes additional divisions in the business logic grouping, or that link directly to the database for various forms of search or scalability. Cloud computing has changed application development as it presents applications in Software As A Service format. Referred to as SaaS, these applications require software for licensed browser access.

Is Learning to Code Difficult?

Learning a new skill can be a challenging thing to accomplish. With anything in life, it takes time to truly learn something new. Learning any language can take a lot of time out of someone’s life. However, Learning new languages a skill that can truly benefit someone for the rest of the life. Learning a new language opens up opportunities for not only travel, the potential business opportunities. Learning languages can gives someone a very good competitive edge. Languages are the gateway to communication, and communication can truly open many doors in life.

Learning code is exactly like learning a language. Depending on what style of code that an individual wants to learn, this is a type of language they’re going to want to become proficient in. For example, learning C++ could be like learning German, while learning JavaScript could be like learning French. Deciding what code you want to learn will help you narrow down your learning and become a master at that type of coding. There many websites, universities, and technical schools that will teach programmers how to code. These classes are offered all over the world and are accessible to many different types of individuals.

One question that arises is the difficulty of learning code. How difficult is it to write code? Is learning code only for the computer elite? Is it only for those that can understand the most dynamic syntax patterns? It may seem intimidating for those who have never programmed  before to learn code. The difficulty level may seem high for those that have never tried coding before.

The truth of the matter that is that coding can be quite simple to learn once you understand the basics. With the proper teaching environment a student can learn all of the ins and outs of coding. Like any language, coding has certain patterns that can become recognizable. Just like fluency in any language, by immersing oneself deeply into code an individual can become fluent in any style of coding.

For some individuals coding might come much more naturally. For others it might be slightly more difficult to grasp the basic concepts of coding. Is never too late for an individual to start learning code, and is also never too early for an individual to start learning. Each individual has to learn at their own rate, but with enough persistence and determination anyone can truly learn code.