Unlike popular belief, programming languages for back-end development aren’t chosen only upon the expertise of the developers in the team, but on the project’s foundational code, as well as flexibility. Ever since computers came into being, mankind has been on the quest to develop more advanced programming languages with which newer technology can manifest. In the last two decades, many new programming languages have been born – some of which are tectonic in their usability and have changed the way the world works currently. However, that doesn’t mean that the new programming languages have decimated the use of the old ones, especially for enterprise servers that require more afterthought than just the popularity of such languages.
First things first, it isn’t by a random Twitter poll or trending topics on YouTube that a programming language grows in popularity in the first place. Instead, more people use a specific programming language and contribute to its growth by creating and sharing coding projects with it. As newer ones come, the more choices a developer has to choose from the bouquet of languages. However, things get a bit different when it’s on the enterprise servers. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?
Understanding Back-end Development in an Enterprise: Things Lesser Known
An ‘enterprise’ is any business that develops applications for its operational scope, or delivers services to external clients. Under such situations, there are two possibilities:
- Enterprises have data on the cloud (can be public, dedicated, or private)
- Enterprises have data onsite (mainframe)
Under both cases, the architecture of the application looks something as illustrated below:
Credits: IBM
While the user only engages with the front-end, the back-end requires solid programming to deliver user requirements and thus manages it all. Since the backend runs the whole show, it also gives flexibility to the developer/enterprise to choose a language based on its supporting APIs (in the case of the cloud), for instance, the front end can be programmed in Javascript Training in Manila while the backend is done in C++. In certain cases, the choice of cloud providers can also influence the selection of programming language, such as Microsoft Azure that interests C# programmers.
On the other hand, if the enterprise has a lot of assembly programming done in traditional scripts such as PL/I, then they’d also need more programmers aware of these older languages, instead of the modern ones. Then they’d also need to figure out a way to leverage most of their COBOL, CICS apps by using modern languages like Node.js, Swift. Today, JavaScript continues its ninth year in being the most commonly used programming language, followed by HTML/CSS and Python – as per the 2021 Stack Overflow survey reports.
Most Preferred Backend Languages for the Modern Enterprise
Few people know that many programming languages aren’t available on the server platforms, and instead, on a mid-server, that can lead to a slower response of the application. The thumb rule for optimal functioning of your apps is to have the backend hosted where the data is – a cloud on cloud or mainframe on the mainframe. Furthermore, for large enterprises sometimes there are legacy systems involved, which creates a need for modern languages to take the center stage. Starting with-
JAVA
Because of its ‘write once, deploy anywhere’ policy, Java has been in the market for over 20 years now with the efficiency and performance flexibility of C. With the simple, object-oriented approach, portable and dynamic delivery, Java has matured over the years in aspects of security, framework, and performance. A household name when it comes to the enterprise application environment, JAVA compiles in portable bytecodes, making it easier to program, test, and deploy as and when required. As said earlier, the popularity of any programming language comes from its usage and community – something that JAVA stays unbeatable over the span of two decades and counting.
Swift
Started by Apple in 2014 and then introduced to the open-source in December 2015 – Swift is one of those languages that has an ecosystem of different web frameworks written in it, e.g. Vapor, Perfect.org, etc. Because it is a language that is statistically compiled, and has similarities to C, despite being a relatively new language, it has been received well as per the RedMonk ranking reports in June 2021. It also renders a ready-to-run, executable file, with a mature LLVM compiler, that delivers a strong performance. Furthermore, Swift is also designed with the least verbiage and quick error-detection while compiling, leaving less ground to make errors, instead easily allocated and managed.
SQL
A universal, staple language preferred by developers to extract and add new data records in the database which is especially required in the back-end development. Designed originally for databases like IBM D2, today it is supported by AWS RDS, Google Cloud SQL, and other relational and nonrelational cloud databases.
JavaScript
Initially limited to the usage of native app functionalities in-browser apps such as Google Docs, today JavaScript languages such as Node.js have become essential in the server-side runtime environment. Thanks to its open-source community that provides a module management system uniting developers together, it’s one of the most scalable real-time network applications in the current era. Leveraging these community modules in the Node Package Manager(NPM), developers can quickly assemble any application. The programming paradigm of Node.js supports an asynchronous I/O framework, tapping into non-blocking, event-driven I/O support in the OS, causing multiple connections to work smoothly in a high transaction demand environment – with the least overhead. And since it’s all a single-threaded event loop framework, any possible complexity of concurrency, thread safety, are eliminated completely.
Several other programming languages for backend development include PHP, Python, Ruby, C++, etc – each of which delivers unique functionality (including higher productivity, better ROIs, etc).
Today, the backend developers have access to an abundance of the best programming languages that are not just safer for the enterprise DevOps cycle but are easier to learn, use, and maintain. The polyglot ecosystem on the server platforms as well as the demand for modernization has paved the way for newer programming languages to the surface, promoting seasoned developers to embrace these promising frameworks. If you’re amongst the growing population of young developers who want to do more in the current scope of the modern enterprise, here are a few recommendations that can be your next career leap:
Volopay, Bangalore
A fast-growing startup that brings automation into accounting corporate bill payments, reimbursements, approvals – all at one place, they’re backed by tech giants like Google, RazorPay, etc. Currently seeking junior backend engineers in Bangalore, with expertise in Ruby on Rails, they can be a great place to start for developers interested in fintech.
UBS, India
A leading wealth, asset, and investment management corporation, they’re one of the most trusted names in expert financial services. Currently hiring Java Backend Developers in Pune, they’re looking for candidates having hands-on working experience in Core Java, React JS, Spring, and other technologies. You’re welcome!
CodeClouds, Kolkata
An award-winning eCommerce, web design, and development agency, their 500+ industry experts have worked with thousands of successful brands worldwide for decades. Always on the lookout for fresh skills, if you’re looking for web developer jobs in the area, you know the drill.