Before I list the benefits, I want to briefly explain what JavaScript sites and applications mean.
Web developers have been building websites using server-side technology for at least the past decade. These dynamic runtime engines can do everything. They fetch data. They provide web service endpoints. They are often rendering or “composing” front-end HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and sending it to browsers.
This model is effective and has many benefits. However, it has its drawbacks.
The server is responsible for much of the UI rendering. Everything must be “baked” at one place (the server), and then shipped to another place (the browser). It’s similar to trying to cook dinner in a restaurant, then bringing the plates home. You will cook dinner faster and hotter if you do it in your kitchen.
The server is no longer needed to render front-end content using the “JavaScript” approach to development (sometimes called “HTML5”). However, it’s still required for data persistence and services. A JavaScript layer that runs in the browser, which receives data from server, handles all logic and front-end rendering, is replaced by a more sophisticated JavaScript layer. This term is also called “apps”, as it can be used to create new “packaged apps,” which free HTML and JavaScript from the confines the browser.
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This is the definition. The new JavaScript approach has five advantages over the traditional server-side model of development.
1. Rapid and responsive
Performance is everything. The fastest car. The fastest blender. The fastest search results. We want the best experience possible, especially when it comes to software.
JavaScript development is all about speed.
Network latency is a major bottleneck in modern web development. Page load time can be greatly affected by the time it takes to request the server and receive the results. This problem is compounded with mobile internet. Every bit of data that is sent from browser to server matters. Users will notice a faster application if it can do more with less bytes from the server.
JavaScript development allows you to send JSON (or sometimes XML), data to your client, instead of sending a mixture of data and markup HTML. The browser renders HTML, so communication with the server is kept to a minimum. You can see how fast Kendo’s UI grid displays data from remote JSON data services using this approach.
JavaScript development allows for changes to the UI that do not affect the data without any additional communication. The Kendo UI chart can easily be modified from a bar to a line without having to communicate with the server. Now, the application can respond immediately to user input.
2. Universal Front-End Platform
PHP. Ruby. Python. Rails. ASP.NET. Java. JavaScript and HTML5 are both great options for rich front-ends, regardless of the technology used on the server. This makes front-end development easier and more resilient to changing server environments. It also allows you to optimize server-side code for “backend” tasks.
ASP.NET, for example, may make front-end tasks “drag and drop easy,” but it may not offer the best platform to provide raw service performance (too many overhead). Perhaps a lightweight NodeJS server could be a faster, simpler service provider.
You can easily test the server-side performance of JavaScript/HTML5 front ends and choose the right platform to do the job. Your front-end will be covered as long as JSON is sent to the browser.
3. Tablets, phones, and devices
The next generation of rich mobile experiences will not be powered by plug-ins. The plug-ins will not be able to reach the required uniform distribution because there are too many platforms and devices.
This could also be true for native apps. It is not worth the effort to rebuild an app three to five times to make it available on mobile devices. This is a common problem for today’s tablets and phones, largely because of the app store distribution model. However, there is increasing momentum suggesting HTML5 could be the new standard in “native” app experiences.
With support technologies like SVG and Canvas, standards-based developers are poised to be able to do everything a native app or plug-in cannot do. They have all the reach native apps don’t have, as well as all the convenience native apps lack.
You can certainly use server-side runtimes for HTML5 to target these platforms. But, can you package server-produced HTML5 and “install it” on a mobile device. It is unlikely. JavaScript is the best choice. It offers four benefits.
4. Offline Support and App Stores
This is the main reason JavaScript/HTML5 development is preferred to traditional server-side development.
Web development must replace desktop platforms. It must offer experiences that work with or without Internet access. The classic scenario requires that the apps work on a plane ride, not a fancy plane equipped with WiFi.
Server-side development is a crippling requirement that the server be contacted after all user interactions. If you remove the server, your site or app becomes a mere paperweight.
Apps can be used and responsive even without an active Internet connection with JavaScript/HTML5 programming. JavaScript front-ends built with Kendo UI can use locally cached data for drawing and refreshing the app until connectivity is restored. A KendoUI DataSource, which tracks changes to objects and persists them to the server later, will be useful.
This makes it ideal for mobile app packaging. A JavaScript/HTML5-powered app can be made indistinguishable to a native app by having a UI that runs on any device. A JavaScript front-end is able to get you there.
5. Industry Momentum
Although JavaScript development is not the most beneficial, it should be taken into consideration the industry momentum behind JavaScript/HTML5. JavaScript is the most widely used programming language in the world. This universal approach to development has been supported by Microsoft, Apple, Google and Google. JavaScript developers are seeing new tools, frameworks and money-making opportunities at an alarming rate.
JavaScript/HTML5 development is a great choice for developing new HTML applications or improving existing ones. It will be much easier to find talented developers (again, they can be found in any “developer camp”), and the platform has an increasing reach, including Microsoft Office extensions (?!). Mobile phones and traditional websites that are faster, more responsive, and better than mobile phones.
Do not dismiss the coming wave of JavaScript/HTML5 developers like desktop developers did. We all know the ending.
But is that it?
It is not. Although JavaScript/HTML5 has many other benefits, this article will help you to think critically about the limitations of traditional server-side development of front-end UI. Although server technology is essential, the purpose for which it is needed is changing rapidly. If you want to target mobile, build offline-enabled websites/applications, or just create faster websites, you should seriously consider JavaScript development.