Top Programming Trends for 2020

Cache Merrill -

Technology is evolving faster than ever in this digital landscape. To maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace, it is essential for enterprises to keep themselves up-to-date with the latest trends. In this article, we are going to list out the top programming tech predictions for 2020 that will drive disruption and improve business opportunities.

# 6. Rust

Rust is the system programming language that is empowering developers to build efficient and reliable applications. Syntactically, Rust is similar to C++, but it provides better memory security and higher performance. According to StackOverflow, Rust is the most loved programming language.

(image source: StackOverflow)

Why choose Rust as a programming language?

  • Usually, the programming language performance depends on the data structure and algorithms used by the developers. However, it is believed that Rust performs better than other Just In Time (JIT) and interpreter languages.
  • Rust has a very precise and accurate compiler that checks every variable, memory address and reference in the code. This ensures memory safety throughout your code.

Business use case for Rust

Libra, Facebook’s new programming language environment and global cryptocurrency, is built on Rust. Because Rust is an extremely fast, robust, well-designed language that makes the project development fun, it was a good fit for the project.

# 5. Progressive web apps (PWA)

Progressive Web Applications (PWA) combine modern technologies with best practices for building top quality applications.

These applications:

  • Are reliable and have a significantly reduced loading time.
  • Never breaks, even in uncertain network conditions.
  • Quickly respond to the user’s request or actions.
  • Have a great user experience.

PWA Google trends report shows an amazing growth of PWA from the year 2014 to 2019.

(https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?cat=5&date=today%205-y&q=%2Fm%2F011spz0k)

PWA: The future of applications

  • In traditional native applications, users are required to go into the app store, find an app, accept permissions and wait for the app to download. This process consumes so much of the users’ time. Whereas, with PWA, users are only required to go to Google, search and find the website. And the application is immediately launched into your PWA.
  • With PWA, JavaScripts and Service workers run separately from the main thread, allowing PWA to load instantly even in poor network connection. PWAs provide smooth navigation, animations, and scrolling within the web pages.
  • PWAs are safe and secure. Your customers’ sensitive information, including debit card and credit card details, are secure with PWAs.

Business use case of PWAs

The following industries have implemented PWAs and have seen a remarkable increase in their sales and revenue:

# 4. GraphQL

GraphQL is a query language for APIs. It offers a complete and precise description of the data in API. It is considered a much better approach than traditional REST APIs. Unlike traditional REST APIs, GraphicQL loads all the data required by your app in just a single request.

Companies that used GraphQL

  • Facebook, GitHub, Pinterest, Intuit and more

GraphQL Google trend
In order to fetch the data, you just need to send a GraphQL query to API. GraphQL always gives predictable and accurate results. Let’s have a look.

Code snippet: To fetch the data (name, height, and mass), GraphicQL sends the query to API

{
hero {
name
height
mass
}
}

Code snippet: Result returned by GraphicQL displaying the name of the person, his height and mass

{
"hero": {
"name": "Luke Skywalker",
"height": 1.72,
"mass": 77
}
}

# 3. WebAssembly (WASM)

In layman language, WebAssembly is the binary format that takes code (written in any programming language) and runs that code in a web browser. It is the compilation target for high-level languages, such as Rust, C++, C and more. The term “compilation target” here means-

  • Developers write the code in any language.
  • And the code will be compiled into WebAssembly and run on the web browser.
  • In the web browser, the code will be translated into native machine code.

With WebAssembly, the code executes at high speed.

Areas where WebAssembly is used

  • Image and video editing
  • Live video augmentation
  • Image recognition
  • CAD applications
  • Developing tools (compiler, editor, debuggers)
  • Native apps on mobile devices
  • Server-side applications
  • Scientific visualizations

WebAssembly makes applications run faster

Some business cases of the companies that used WebAssembly to make their applications faster:

# 2. React

React is the most popular JavaScript library built by Facebook. It is used for building user interface (UI) components for web applications. It enables developers to create amazing interactive UIs seamlessly. With React, you are just required to design simple views for your application. Everything else, such as updating and rendering the right components whenever data changes in your application, is managed by React. Also, React makes your code easier to test and debug while making your code more predictable.

According to the npm survey, React currently has a 60% market share. Have a look.

Industry giants who are using React

  1. Facebook
  • Facebook has used React to build its webpages. Also, its mobile app is built using React Native (a version of React).
  • The ReactJS library was initially created by Facebook only.

2. Instagram

Instagram has implemented React in almost every feature and component of it, including search engine accuracy, Google APIs, geolocations and more.

3. Netflix

  • Netflix has used React in its platform called Gibbon (a rendering engine by Nextflix that is used to craft high-performance TV UIs).
  • In one of the blog posts of Netflix, one UI engineer says, “our decision to adopt React was influenced by a number of factors, most notably: 1) startup speed, 2) runtime performance and 3) modularity”

# 1. JavaScript

JavaScript was developed by Brendan Eich in 1995. It has become an ECMA standard (a standard for scripting language) in 1997. JavaScript is the most popular scripting language for web-based applications. It is an interpreted, lightweight or just-in-time compiled programming language that is packed with a wide variety of functions and libraries.

According to GitHub repositories, JavaScript has the most contributors in private and public repositories across the world.

(image source: octoverse.github.com)

Some examples of applications or things that you can build using JavaScript:

  • Web applications
  • Virtual reality
  • Drones
  • IoT applications
  • Gaming applications
  • Mobile applications
  • Web server

Why JavaScript?

  • Strong community support
    JavaScript has a huge and robust community that assists in the development and maintenance of the software.
  • Rich library
    JavaScript has a rich library packed with amazing features that helps developers build amazing applications while speeding up the development process.
  • Exceptionally fast
    Applications built with Javascript are exceptionally fast. JavaScript ensures a great user experience by rendering the features of the applications (including animations, UIs) quickly.
  • Easier testing and debugging
    Being an interpreted language, JavaScript makes testing and debugging fun. In JavaScript, it is easy for the developers and testers to find the defect in an application, debug it and test it again.
  • Cost-effective
    Most of the JavaScript frameworks are open-source (no licensing fees required to use it) and available for free. This, in turn, eliminates the cost of product licenses and subscriptions.

Companies that used JavaScript

  • Microsoft: Microsoft used JavaScript to build its Edge web browser.
  • PayPal: PayPal used Javascript in its online payment interface.
  • Netflix: A huge portion of the Netflix interface is running on JavaScript.
  • Google: Google used Javascript in its Google Docs and Gmail applications.

Zibtek is always on top of the latest trends. Our engineers deploy across 75 programming languages and care constantly retraining. For more information about tech trends and how emerging technologies can work for your business, contact us today.