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eCommerce sites were quite rare back in the day. They aren’t uncommon anymore now. Along with that, there has been an exponential increase in eCommerce platforms; both paid and free. We have also seen a rise in demand for open source development services over the past couple of years.
The popularity of a programming language is not just defined by how big its community is or how many developers adopted it. Its overall presence in projects, the number of projects that demand specific knowledge of a language, the software development needs etc. all factor in to make a programming language popular. In this blog, we will be exploring 5 popular programming languages that have made their mark across companies providing open source development services.
But before we begin, here’s a brief definition of an open source programming language.
To be termed ‘open source’, a programming language needs to meet certain requirements.
That said, here are 5 great programming languages that match the criteria above and are preferred by almost every leading software development company across the globe.
PHP is one of the oldest web-based programming languages in the world having been around since right after the web revolution. It became an instant winner with an easy-to-learn syntax making it a great option for small and medium-sized projects. A big chunk of almost all websites is driven by PHP frameworks.
Each new version of the language far surpasses its predecessors when it comes to web and stand-alone application development. PHP is also popular for its CodeIgniter and Laravel frameworks and its CMS solutions such as WordPress, Drupal, Magento, OpenCart etc. The language is backed by a large, thriving community full of developers and open source enthusiasts.
Python was originally designed as a simple language to learn computer science. The language that’s also known to have an easy coding process is used across a number of domains including desktop applications and even science calculations. Its most popular frameworks include Django, Pyramid, Flask, and Tornado. Python can be combined with popular technologies like JavaScript, HTML/CSS, SQL, C/C++ etc.
Ruby is a rival to Python when it comes to simplicity but is known to be more elegant than its arguably more popular rival. The syntax of Ruby is such that even one line of code can do a number of actions. The open source language is also known for easy maintenance and its support for big programming paradigms such as OOP. Its most popular framework is Rails.
JavaScript is arguably the most used programming language in this list. It basically has a monopoly on the web’s client side owing to the fact that the most popular browsers only support JavaScript. It can be also used as a back-end engine to create a full stack web application. GitHub Statistics claim that JavaScript is the top language based on the number of pull requests alone. It’s most popular frameworks are React, Angular, and Vue.
Go, also known as Golang, is the youngest language in this list and was designed to make C obsolete. The biggest benefit of this promising language is its performance. Despite being as simple as C, Go has no OOP at all. With a multithreading core, Go is also highly scalable. Its only demerit is a relatively smaller community. However, the community is slowly growing bigger as Go turns more heads each year. Its most popular frameworks include Gin, Echo, and Beego.
Many companies offering both application development and application management services rely on open source tools and technologies for cost savings without compromising on the quality of their services. The languages mentioned in this blog are generally the most preferred among such companies and startups. Despite changing tides due to technological advancements, all 5 of these languages still retain their ranks as reliable assets to develop trendy, robust digital solutions.
After its release, it didn’t take long for PHP to be considered as one of the most reliable open source technologies in the world. As a matter of fact, PHP stands at the forefront among companies offering open source development services. With great overall reliability and a huge community backing it, PHP is now a widely used server-side scripting language.
Complementing its many benefits is the presence of a broad range of tools – both free and premium that enable developers to get creative with the language.
In this blog, we present to you a list of a few great PHP tools that web developers would never regret using.
PhpStorm is a widely popular commercial IDE for PHP that can help streamline application development considerably. It offers integration with various popular PHP tools as well as relational databases, and supports widely used PHP frameworks and CMS solutions including but not limited to WordPress, Drupal, and Magento.
The PHP developer community welcomed the NetBeans Bundle for PHP with open arms. The bundle includes a plethora of great features – from semantic analysis with parameter highlighting to Symfony, Zend, and Yii framework support. In addition, it also supports code debugging with xdebug and unit testing with Selenium.
DebugBar is a PHP testing tool capable of identifying both HTML and JavaScript bugs. In addition, the tool is also capable of monitoring network traffic, evaluating JavaScript code, and inspecting CSS elements.
phpDox is a great solution for developers who require quick API documentation for a PHP application. The tool comes with a search feature and also offers information on code complexity and code coverage. In addition, developers can augment its functionality by adding more plugins.
RIPS originated as an open source tool but now is one of the leading security analysis solution for PHP. It’s a premium tool that offers consistently better threat analysis without false positives. RIPS code analysis is preferred by many developers to detect unknown security issues.
New Relic is a great alternative to the already popular Retrace. It comes with thorough applied intelligence-powered performance monitoring capabilities in addition to infrastructure monitoring and user data analysis. Developers can use it to understand app performance dependencies and bottlenecks.
Aptana Studio claims to be the world’s most powerful open source web development IDE, and it has loads of features to back that claim. What’s so great about Aptana Studio is that it runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It has a built-in PHP server and debugging tool to build and test apps in one environment.
Unlike most other tools in this list, Sublime Text is just a text editor. But a good one at that. The go-to-anything feature is what makes Sublime Text a winner for our developers. The text editor lets developers quickly locate lines of code, and allows simultaneous editing – change multiple code instances at once. It’s not a free tool though. But a one-time fee of $80 makes it a wallet-friendly tool for developers.
There aren’t many developers out there who haven’t heard about Selenium. It’s a lightweight, open source testing framework compatible with the most popular browsers. Selenium allows users to create their own custom UI tests in any language and can also automate certain web-based administration tasks. It’s also a favorite for many companies offering Agile software development services.
There seems to be an abundance of open source PHP solutions that developers can choose from. We know that this list above is not complete, and requires quite a few other mentions. We simply wanted to keep things short and mention the ones that we personally know are worthwhile. We are sure the tools mentioned in this blog can aid any software development company specializing in PHP development.
What was once simply considered wild imagination is now a possible reality thanks to Augmented Reality. AR is basically a complex computer-produced vision that augments real environments in captivating ways. It’s redefined software and app user experience today. AR software development is a booming industry as we speak. It isn’t easy to master the technology however.
Businesses that realized the potential of AR in enticing their customer base have started investing in AR-powered apps, and developers are looking for the best approaches to mastering the technology. This is where open source comes in.
The gaining momentum of AR led developers to seek out open source technologies that could help them effectively leverage the technology to build AR apps. That said, here are the 4 most popular open source AR software development kits that have impressed AR app enthusiasts across the globe.
Right at the forefront is Google’s ARCore. Launched in 2018, the SDK is open source under Apache 2.0 license and is designed to bring sensational AR experiences to Android devices.
ARCore enables developers to build AR apps that utilize the features of the mobile device to sense and augment real world environments transforming them into interactive, creative AR scenes that serve multiple purposes. The popular platform also features a multitude of APIs. Some of these APIs are available on iOS as well supporting shared AR experiences. The three most important capabilities of the ARCore are motion tracking, light estimation, and environmental understanding.
DroidAR was initially developed in 2010, and is known as the only open source AR exclusive to Android. The SDK supports image tracking, location-based and marker-based AR app development. However, it lacks a Unity plugin. DroidAR is a simple SDK licensed under GPLv3 – an ideal option for those looking for a free kit to deliver top notch location-based and marker-based AR experiences.
Licensed under MIT, AR.js is a JavaScript-powered SDK that enables developers to incorporate AR experiences to web browsers without installing an app for it. What makes AR.js unique is the fact that it runs very fast – fast enough to hit 60 fps on older smartphone models. AR.js can be used on all popular mobile platforms such as Windows, Android, and iOS.
ARToolKit stands next to Google ARCore as one of the most widely used AR open source technologies. With this SDK, developers can overlay virtual imagery on real environments while delivering a fast and intuitive user experience. ARToolKit is also cross-platform i.e. you can use it on Linux, Android, iOS, and Windows.
Its primary capabilities include tracking the user’s viewpoint and physical position to draw the imagery, tracking of planar images, Unity plugins support, and camera orientation tracking support.
As Augmented Reality expands its boundaries and crosses over to various industries including healthcare and fashion, the open source SDKs mentioned in this blog could be the game changer for developers who wish to utilize AR in the most effective manner.
Share your thoughts below on AR and AR app development.
