How Important Is Front End and Design for Your Web Application?

“First impression lasts long! When a user lands to any web application, the first page or landing page should not only be informative but also attractive to make the user stick to the application; else it may result in a bounce. So, your website must be attractive enough with proper colour combination, back-grounds, images and visual effects for excellent web experience. In the competitive environment, where there are millions of websites available in internet why does a user visit your page? An obvious reason could be his interest to seek information. At the same time, he can get it from other resources as well. The only way to bind your visitor and engage him with your application is through awesome browsing experience and of course valuable information”.

Front end for visual appealing web application: As told above, a web application must be visually attractive enough to attract its users; else the effort is useless. In fact, front end developers plays an important role in creating awesome web application and helping the back end developers by morally supporting them in terms of more numbers of visitors. They make the effort of back end programmers fruitful by giving better look and feel to the web application along with attractiveness.

Front end for interactive web page design: Interactive web application is gaining popularity in the industry. User wants to interact with the web page effectively and as a web developer its our duty to provide user focused data to the web browser. This is possible with front end design using JavaScript- the superfast and awesome programming language. It reduces the burden on the server by eliminating unnecessary stuffs from the web page. It only displays what the user wants to or needs. By this process, the web application becomes more users friendly and interactive. With functions like onClick(), hover and others the page becomes interactive and gives more control to the end user to choose the data to be rendered on the page as per his wish.

Front end for lag free application experience: Lag during browsing makes the whole experience damn horrible. Imagine you have developed a great website with lots of information but, the web page loads slowly or even sometimes crash in low bandwidth. It is really a nightmare experience for the user and he is supposed to leave your application. On the other hand, if your front end developer is highly energetic and crafts an awesome web application that will not only load faster but also never lags; then? The result is awesome. It will improve the overall user experience to a large extend. It can be possible with different front end techniques that we are going to discuss latter section of this article.

Front end for visual graphics: Without visual effects, a web page looks dull and boring. So, we must create a web application that is highly energetic with prominent visual effects and graphics. Add some graphics to your website through images, gif files and embedding videos on the page to make it attractive enough. Still is your website getting slow due to weight of these high impact graphics? Don't worry!! HTML5 and CSS3 are there to help you out. You need light weight graphics; done with HTML5. You want to play video files without that old and heavy flash plug-in? Granted! Do it with a simple <video> tag. Want to give control to user, do it with "controls" attribute of <video> tag. For attractive visual effects for your different sections of your web content can be done with CSS3 transition and other elements. What type of spice you need to attract your user? Everything can be done by the front end developer.

Front end for responsive web application: Growing trend of smart phone industry is simply beyond our imagination. Who predicted such high volume of smart phones in the industry within just a decade of time? None other than the fate of smart phone!! Now, smart phones are the most trusted and user friendly destination for all types of web browsing purpose! Any website would have getting more hits from smart devices than that of desktops and it's absolutely true; no inflation at all. So, web application i.e. not intended for smart browsers can make you fall in trouble in no time. Your business may shrink if you could not able to catch the trend of the industry. So, ready and craft your business web app fit for those small yet tiny dynamites to sustain in the industry. Responsive web design by a front end web developer can save you. It is the technique by which your web application will impart similar user experience irrespective of device screen size and resolutions.

Front end for fluid design: Fluid design is probably one of the most gossiped terms used in front end development process after responsive design! Fluid design means the components of a web application will get transformed into different sizes with respect to the screen size. Here the front end developer will keep all the components and elements of the web page in percentage instead of that old fashioned pixel (px) or em or even pt. This helps in rendering the contents in different sizes so as to fit into the screen and then the user from the smart phone will interact with the page by zooming or double tapping. Though it is not a fully optimized process; still you can manage or handle multiple device browsing support with fluid design. For better user experience, you should take the help of media queries to make the page transformed into a responsive page and contents will render differently in different screen sizes without hampering the user experience.

Smart apps with front end developer: Smart apps are the next generation web application. Every web application is now crafting their new version to fit with the smart devices. So, a front end developer or designer can create awesome smart app for your old era website with the same essence intact to the application. After all, we have to step ahead with the future demand!

Pure native app with front end HTML5 and CSS3 and JQuery! With front end technologies like HTML5, CSS3 and jQuery you can design any native app. If you want to make it data driven; that can also be possible with JS frameworks like AngularJS, nodeJS and backboneJS etc. The best part is that, your application is not going to lag in any manner rather it will be superfast with the power of JavaScript and future ready single threaded Asynchrounous multiple request handling concept.

Mindfire Solutions has an experienced HTML5 application development team that has designed highly interactive web applications for quite some time now. If you are interested to avail the front end development services of Mindfire Solutions, please send in your requirements to sales at Mindfire Solutions dot com.

10 Python Language Features developers May Not Know About

“Python as a high level programming language undeniably simplifies the process of code readability and syntax for users far and wide. Its design philosophy and support for multiple programming paradigms further help work both on a small and large dimension. After Google's blessing touch it has seen a tremendous growth in the industry; yet many features are hidden and you a smart Python developer must aware of them”.

1. Python’s built-in method type () is relatively a less known function which basically enables developers to check the type of object. Along with this, developers should give a try to set/frozenset (it actually integrates some highly efficient binary operators). Well, before using them the developer must be aware of their exact use and intention. Set is nothing but just a group of elements or components that we need to keep in an object in Python. Usually a set contains interrelated components or elements just like a group of city name or a group of userIDs etc. The Python developer can make many types of arithmetic operations with set() i.e. Add, delete or modify etc. On the contrary, frozenset() is immutable i.e. non-editable. If the developer wants to modify it then it will give error. But, using frozenset() in proper place can increase the performance of the application and decreases the overhead of the application.

2. The programming language provides these unique ‘namedtuple’ and ‘counter’ components from stdlib’s collection modules. These are not much used in developing web applications, but, for core Python programming, they have quite significance. Suppose you have two files with some components and you want to manipulate with their data using set feature. You can count using counter and namedtuple. The background concept is to optimize the manipulation process and nothing else. In cPython Tuple is faster whereas in PyPy namedTuple is better. Although it is not a core language function, it allows users to experiment with their tasks and reinvent the wheel (should they plan to) still as a smart developer you should possess some brief idea over these functions.

3. Often, any object built within a function breathes its last as soon as the function call comes to an end. But, Python treats functions as objects – as a result of which, if the developer defines any specific object, it will continue to exist. Yes, this is an awesome and useful feature of Python. Once you complete all your actions with an object; the object does not move to garbage rather it still exist within the application and the developer can reuse it at any moment of time without any fail. Though hardly any developer uses it; still he must be aware of this fact and should try to implement it in application if required. The best part is that, it will not hamper the speed or efficiency of your Python application in any manner.

4. Developers may not be aware of that the ever-present ‘else’ in Python can also be used with ‘try.’ This might appear useful for testing code that helps send emails without calling for any setup of an SMTP server. Also, users can commence a simple HTTP server in absolute no time and even keep a tab on which IP is accessing what on their server. It will improve the overall efficiency and speed of the application and at the same time, the developer can use it as a development debugging tool that comes in-built with the language itself.
5. How many developers are aware that you can implement imaginary numbers in Python just like i, j etc. You will be astonished to know that Python supports it! The framework even enables support for imaginary numbers, a function that most of us would not be aware of. The programming language’s imaginary numbers’ support use ‘j’ instead of ‘i.’ For example, >>> x + 3j + 6 or >>> z . imag. This is highly useful if your application is dealing with some mathematical operations that need imaginary numbers to be used in the application.

6. Python __slots__ is yet another little known feature that could be of great assistance in projects’ development. The mechanism could be used to implement a fixed set of properties for a class. Since Python’s dynamic nature may look counter-productive at times, this feature definitely helps in imposing a fixed set of properties. This prevents the misuse of any class that is highly sensitive and its data should not be modified by the developer. You can compare it with Private class concept though; but, it is more than that in real time Python application development.

7. Python is clearly a high-level language that follows aphorisms like – complex is better than complicated, explicit is better than implicit, and readability counts. The program benefits from its dynamic typing and lends support to map (), reduce (), and filter () functions as well. Its unique combination of cycle-detecting garbage collector and reference counting further add up to its usability as a programming language. All these are nothing but the performance booster for the programming language for which it has god reputation in the industry. It makes a Python application not only efficient enough but also faster and well maintainable in a single shot.

8. FLOSS seems to be the root inspiration for Python though! The platform follows the footsteps of Free and Open Source Software – owing to which, developers can without any restraints hand out copies of this software. Python even lets users freely read the software’s source code & incorporate its elements in new free programs. In simple word, Python is Open Source technology and a developer can modify its source code without any glitch as when required by the application.

9. Now I am going to discuss one of the amazing features of Python that a Python developer supposed to be unaware of. Do you know that, developers can even run their important codes quickly by writing that piece of code in C. After this all they have to do is merge that particular code with their Python. That means you can test your Python code in C platform!!

10. The free, open-source platform further helps developers steer clear of premature optimization and less-cluttered grammar as part of its philosophy that discards exuberant syntax. One can also insert Python into their C/C++ program (which helps have scripting capabilities).

Mindfire Solutions, a 16 year old offshore software development company from India has been building quality software applications using Python. Go on take a look at the Python development projects that they have executed over the years and then decide whether you would want to hire the services of this expert software development company. If you would like the idea of outsourcing your software development part then do send in your requirements to sales at Mindfire Solutions dot com.

Hiring Freelancers vs. Outsourcing to a Company

Many readers think freelancing is similar to outsourcing. Yet both the words are very different in usage. When a person is freelancing, he is not part of any company. They might be a single person or a group of individuals; whereas outsourcing requires multiple employees working in a company hired by a third party.

In a way it can be said that freelancing is a part of outsourcing. The major difference between the two is based on the type of work they do. Freelancers usually perform tasks that are simple and can be done by one person. However, outsourcing is of more than one type, and all of the different types involve doing complex task. Freelancers usually work for a short time but outsourcing firms are under contract for a longer time. While freelancing, individuals are usually asked to do work which can be done without further research whereas outsourcing requires additional learning and research.

Outsourcing can be done in two ways. An organization can either use near shore outsourcing method or offshore outsourcing. Near shore outsourcing is when the organization uses the services of firm which is located close in terms of geographical location whereas, offshore outsourcing is using the services of firm situated overseas.

While freelancing provides easier communication methods, outsourcing can be used to significantly reduce the overall costs. However, it is based on the skilful use of outsourcing. Both the methods, if not used in the right way, can cause serious problem to the respective firm. The damages associated with outsourcing are far more than those which could arise due to poor freelancing usage. Therefore, it is important to differentiate both the methods on the basis of when and where to use them. Freelancing is a good choice when the work is tedious and can be completed by a single individual. Such a work is usually home based and does not require primary research. But in situations where entire operational units need to be built or a lot of primary research is required, outsourcing is the appropriate way.

Another differentiating point is the cost associated with the both the methods. Freelancing is a relatively cheaper option, as compared to outsourcing and can be used when the organization feel like reducing cost in the short run. However, if the organization wants to reduce their overhead costs in the long run, outsourcing, either by near shore and off shore, is the best solution. The key however, is to find the ideal software development partner.

Today as globalization increases, organizations are fast adopting outsourcing to achieve economies of scale. Through the use of economies of scale, the firm can then allow its customers low prices. Therefore, all of this adds to up to increased customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. However, this does not mean that freelancing is not a good option. For organizations looking for creativity and innovative thinking, freelancing is a good choice. Since freelancers are able to give their entire attention to the work they are doing as it allows them to produce quality content.

It would not be wrong to say that both the methods are useful, but it depends on the way they are used. For a firm looking to reduce operational costs, freelancing is not an appropriate solution. Yet for a firm who is looking for fresh and creative content, outsourcing would be an inappropriate choice. They would get the job done, but at very high price as compared to freelancing. So for any firm deciding between whether to use freelancing or outsourcing, they must look at the work at hand and make a judgement call as to which method to be adopted.

Mindfire Solutions has been providing unparalleled offshore software development services for the past 16 years and has been constantly delighting its clients ever since. If you are looking for an expert and reliable offshore software development company look no further than Mindfire Solutions dot com.

PHP or ASP .NET, Which Is Better?

“No programming language is the best- it’s the programmer who constructs and adds value to an application! It’s not just about PHP or ASP, it holds good for every technology of the industry. Wise people understand the fact that, every technology comes with some advantages and disadvantages; still the debate continues among themselves as well! Why? This is yet madness for their love and showing patriotism to their beloved technology. Now, we are asked to plot a comparison between PHP and ASP .Net and provide a conclusion for the better one of these! ”

Better- The term itself perplexing for an IT professional! Everybody knows Java is super fast; but JavaScript is blazing fast with many drawbacks against Java- still we compare. Everyone knows Ruby on Rails is a framework and hence helps in creating awesome web apps on the fly that is never possible in a language. Still, we compare RoR with PHP! We dare to do this, knowing the fact that it is really not going to finish off anything. The reality is that every language or technology comes with some immense features along with few loopholes. Again, every language seems to be perfect from an angle of prospective and necessities; whereas it falls far behind the client’s demand from another angle. So, no one is the qualified person to judge any technology without knowing the prerequisite of the developer. Here we are daring to compare PHP with ASP .Net on the basis of few eminent circumstances of the client or the developer.

PHP for cost sensitive projects; ASP .Net for quality oriented web applications: PHP and ASP .Net both are web domain specific technologies and serving the industry for more than a decade with uninterrupted enhancements in their features. The most important difference that strikes to a tech savvy guy is the cost of development in both technologies. PHP is an open source language with enormous features to contribute in blending awesome web applications; on the contrary, Microsoft demands some premium from the developers to get the charm of awesomeness and the secured web environment. Due to open source nature PHP is undoubtedly a first preference for low cost web application development projects; because the cost of development is directly proportional to the cost of software, cost of application developer, cost of server and infrastructure cost. Along with that, the time of development also affects the cost of project, which is less with PHP as compared to ASP .Net. Hence if your budget is limited then you can definitely go with PHP web application development; on the contrary, if you want life-size features and superior quality web application at the cost of your hard earned money, then choose ASP .Net.

Development time is a criterion: Though, development time comes at the second position while choosing any technology, but for me it is a silly stuff to discuss at this point. You may ask why? PHP is a web domain language that helps in crafting beautiful web applications with its core features and libraries whereas ASP .Net is a fully loaded framework for .Net developers. It needn’t to portray that a framework helps in diminishing the programmer effort as well as project duration as against any language. In fact, frameworks are made to make the development process easier and quicker with the inbuilt classes, modules and libraries that are used to make the code length smaller yet efficient. Hence, with ASP .Net, the development time of any web application will be definitely lesser as compared to PHP if both the applications are of equivalent standard. But again, if you can compromise on the quality of the application, then the development time of PHP will drastically decrease over ASP .Net. So it depends upon the clause that you must aware of before choosing the technology.

Achievement of scalability should be considered: Are you looking for a highly scalable web application? If yes choose ASP .Net blindly. For most of the top notch web applications, scalability plays an important role in the development process, whereas it is absolutely ignored for low cost or static web applications. Scalability is the nature of the web application that enables it to accustom with the ever changing demands of the industry. So premium websites are developed with scalability as the biggest priority and the choice is ASP .Net.

Are you looking for availability of free and open source resources! We can’t neglect the potential of free and open source technology in the form of availability of resources over the web. In fact, many developers rely on these resources in order to make the development process not only quicker but also efficient enough. With a little tweak in codebase of these free resources, a smart web developer can easily make it fit to be integrated with his web application. In this process, the time of development decreases significantly and hence the productivity increases. We must aware of the fact that this is only possible with an open source language like PHP. So, the PHP developer can take the help of third party software tools and modules in designing his web application on the fly. On the contrary, for ASP .Net developers, the resources are quite limited. In reality, Microsoft never encourages ASP .Net developers to rely on any third party free codebase at any cost.

Performance with ASP .Net mostly takes over PHP: ASP .Net is quite popular in the industry for its highly optimized libraries and modules that are already available within the framework. These libraries and modules are highly optimized to make the application not only faster but also stable. On the contrary PHP as a language provides only the core functionalities and hence not as much helpful as ASP .Net in crafting high performance web applications. Though a smart PHP developer can also develop enterprise standard high performance web solutions; but he has to put a lot of effort as compared to that of an ASP .Net developer.

Security with ASP .Net is better; but it all depends how the programmer codes: As a compiled language, ASP .Net stands over PHP while we consider the security level of the language. Complied languages are by default provides additional boost to the security of the application due to their binary code conversion during the compilation process. On the other hand PHP, an interpreted language can never achieve that level of securities as that of any compiled language like Java or ASP .Net.

From above discussion, we can come to a conclusion that PHP is for those who want a quick and low cost web application that doesn’t require so much power and securities; whereas ASP .Net is for everyone who don’t care much for the development cost over the quality of the end product.

Mindfire Solutions has been providing offshore software development services in both PHP and ASP.NET with equal competence and delighting customers nevertheless. If you have a software development task that needs expertise in PHP or ASP.NET or both then send in your requirements to sale at Mindfire Solutions dot com.