4 Trends In Software Development You Should Be Aware Of

The landscape of software development is constantly changing. It seems as if every week there is something new to learn. As we transition from 2019 into 2020 there are several trends to watch. The development scene for the web is seeing a shift from languages like Java and C# to something more modern like JavaScript. Additionally, GraphQL is starting to gain popularity over traditional REST API architectures.

Artificial Intelligence

With the assistance of Artificial Intelligence, companies are beginning to train computers to think like humans. Such programs help us collect data, analyze information, and help solve challenging problems that would otherwise take hundreds of man hours to solve. We are starting to see AI implemented in hardware and software such as Amazon’s Alexa, Siri, and Cortana. Most notably, Flint Hills Group created a solution for Alyss Analytics, a data analytics company. Alyss wanted to scale up its offering and had devised a game-changing candidate vetting and screening service technology concept. The idea behind the software was that Alyss’ Artificial Intelligence model would analyze the specific data points within the footage and audio to determine each candidates ‘soft skills’ and offer a rating score based on facial mapping, content, and delivery. The success of such a venture would reduce the amount of time it would like for human resources professionals to screen candidates before a face-to-face interview. Ultimately, this solution would cut down on the time spent in the screening phase and help companies hire faster. Flint Hills Group worked closely with Alyss Analytics to produce a successful AI product that performed all of the required functionality. The project took five months to complete and even exceeded the project budget goals while only using 87% of the project budget.

JavaScript

JavaScript continues to dominate the software development landscape. Google Chrome runs on the JavaScript V8 engine, making it the language of the internet. Because of this, it just makes sense to write your websites — and even desktop applications — using JavaScript. There are a multitude of libraries and frameworks to help developers get up and running quickly to build an impressive array of products. JavaScript is also being continuously innovated upon with new features and enhancements arriving every year. JavaScript is proving itself to be flexible enough to create native desktop applications using a framework called Electron. Many desktop applications like Visual Studio Code, Slack, Skype, and Mailspring use Electron to provide a desktop solution using JavaScript.

React

React is the most widely used JavaScript library currently in use by professional software developers. It is openly maintained by Facebook along with a large community and company support. The great benefit of using React is that it only updates components where data changes, which means your application only updates what is needed. Think of React as the view layer of an MVC (Model View Controller) application. React allows you to use the whole library, or just a small piece, to build your app. React is the ideal solution to create single-page applications as well as mobile apps using React Native. Performance within React is second to none as React uses the Virtual DOM to generate an HTML tree. Every time the application state changes, a new HTML tree is generated. Instead of writing a new tree, React only writes the difference between the new tree and the old tree. In addition, React is responsive, meaning it will conform to mobile, tablet or desktop formats instantly. If you would like to learn more about why you should be using React in your development process, we recently published an article about it.

GraphQL

GraphQL is a revolutionary way to think about APIs. The major benefit to using GraphQL is that you only have to make one request instead of rigid, server-defined endpoints that the REST methodology uses. Are GraphQL and REST really that different? Not exactly, but the developer experience with GraphQL is much more enjoyable. When using GraphQL, we use a schema rather than a URL to define an entity that is available via an API. It uses two different initial types — a mutation or a query — to retrieve or modify data. A mutation would be an equivalent to something like an UPDATE call in REST, and a query resembles that of a GET or POST request. One big advantage to using GraphQL over REST is that you make one request for data. That data is then sent back with all the relationships you defined in the GraphQL schema. If you were using REST, you would have to make many different API calls to do the same job. Flint Hills Group has capitalized upon this using GraphQL over traditional REST architecture concepts.

Let us help

Not sure if you should hire a software development agency? Check out these 5 benefits to hiring an agency. Our hand-picked, US-based software developers can give your business what it needs to thrive in a rapidly evolving tech world. Browse what Flint Hills Group can provide for your business. When you choose Flint Hills Group, you choose a dedicated team of experienced US individuals whose focus is delivering a high quality and reliable product. Flint Hills Group uses a modern front-end development stack that utilizes JavaScript, React, and GraphQL. We believe it is important to use these modern technologies to be competitive in a constantly changing development climate.

We can provide you with outsourced developers or an entire software team with a project manager. Be sure to read our reviews on Clutch, an independent platform for rating agencies. You can then review our process, and request an estimate for your project.