Application Development
Searching for the best application developers for mobile apps, software and websites? GCG provides access to top development companies and programming resources. Call 877-708-8900 to speak with an App Dev expert.
App development means the process of designing, creating, testing and finally launching an app that is meant to satisfy the need of many users. App development does not refer strictly to smartphone mobile applications. It can also include developing new types of applications for computers or other electronic devices (such as car navigation systems).
Web development covers a multiple set of tasks, functions, operations and design, whereas an application (for computers or mobile phones) usually involves one or a few functions and is created after an extensive research that led to the idea.
Software programming, sometimes called software engineering deals with writing code to create a software program. A software programmer needs to know coding and excel at developing algorithms, always run tests to make sure all the codes are correct and fix bugs. Along the way, software programmers may decide to make some changes to the software and adds documentation within the code itself.
Types of Application Development
Application Development
This is the “original” type of programming. These are ‘standard’ Windows (or Mac, or Linux) applications that perform their duties on traditional desktop operating systems. It’s often considered a programme, executed on demand by the user, that shows up its interface in the confines of the OS that it’s running upon.
Languages of choice: Java, VB.NET, C/C++,C#, Python.
Mobile Development
Mobile Development better described as “App Development” (there’s the contraction) and involves creating anything to run on mobile devices, such as iPhones, Android devices, and recently, the Windows 10 platform. Most popular OS’s offer their own programming languages but some traditional languages can be used as well.
Languages of choice: Android, Swift (for iOS), Objective C, HTML5, Java, C#
Web Development
Web development today is exploding thanks to the emergence of new web technologies and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) which let websites “plug in” to other useful features. The Web today can deliver ‘apps’ that feel native because browsers now are so much more than an URL bar and an Ad-blocker these days. Hyperion’s part-time online course in Full Stack Web Development is one of the most popular courses in Africa if you’re looking to get started as a web developer!
Languages of choice: multitudes including HTML, Javascript, Django, C/C++, ASP.NET, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rails etc.
Backend Development
These are the programs and the development that goes on behind the scenes to make sure the front-end program churning away does so without bringing half your computer to a standstill.
It’s more than just OS system development, however. Linux servers often need customized scheduling for tasks they perform, and for this, a special scripting utility called cron is used. Cron Jobs are scripted by developers to allow scheduled maintenance or background utilities to run, but they’re in fact versatile enough to automate essentially any task on your choice of Unix-like OSes.
Finally, database management is a prime candidate for back-end development. Database development is literally the backbone of any system that holds large amounts of data to be organized.
Languages of choice: C and C++; Linux scripting for Cron; also (my)SQL, dBase and Oracle for databases
API Development
This is the art of building something extensible. Developers build programs that act as puzzle pieces, across different operating systems, on a desktop, mobile, and the web. They allow 3rd-party (read: “other”) developers to interact with the tools or functions the API relates to. It’s the laying of a foundation of standard procedures, types, tools, GUI interaction methods, database access rules and so on that programmers building other applications that make use of that API can use.
Languages of choice: APIs are written for specific platforms or functions, and each API will have the programming language of the platform/device/site/service it’s designed for.