20 December 2021
Backend technologies play a primary role in the development of any software product. Whether you’re a startup founder, IT executive, or a decision-maker, choosing the right technologies is crucial for your project. Well-chosen backend technologies can guarantee good scalability, speed, and quick response to customer requests and needs. Server-side programming languages, frameworks, and additional instruments are the means of implementing business logic and ensuring the product’s overall functionality.
Today, there are plenty of technologies and tools available for backend development. The usual tech stack includes programming languages, frameworks, databases, development platforms, and much more. Each tool, however, is purpose-specific and should be perfectly matched with the particular objectives of the project. The Rocketech Team is sharing our insights on the top-backend technologies to trend in 2022 based on our experience and expertise.
#1 PHP: The Big Blue Elephant
PHP is number one on our list as it’s impossible to imagine the entire World Wide Web without it. PHP (which stands for Hypertext Preprocessor) is a popular general-purpose scripting language designed to generate HTML pages on a web server and to work with databases. The majority of hosting providers today support PHP. It’s a part of LAMP, a standard set of instruments for web development that comprises Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP (Python or Perl, in some cases).
78.1% of all websites use PHP as a server-side language. It’s an integral part of the content creation ecosystem and one of the essential tools in web development. The world’s dominating content management system, WordPress, is written in PHP.
Some Facts
- PHP allows programmers to create quality web applications quickly, easily modify them, and support the products after launch.
- Although PHP is easy to learn, it’s widely used by seasoned professionals for solving complex tasks.
- The language is simple, fast, multi-paradigm, highly functional, and cross-platform.
- PHP has its own mascot, a big blue elephant named elePHPant.
Who Uses PHP?
This language is literally everywhere on the Internet. Corporate giants from various industries use PHP to create and maintain their websites, including Facebook, Wikipedia, Drupal, Flickr, Tumblr, Baidu, Etsy, and Slack.
#2 Python: The Most Popular Programming Language
Python is a high-level, general-purpose interpreted programming language. Code written in Python is processed by an interpreter without preliminary compilation. It’s one of the most popular, powerful, and universal programming tools perfect for many tasks — from web development to machine learning. Python is platform-independent, simple, versatile, and consistent. Moreover, the great variety of open-source frameworks helps developers save time and makes the development process more cost-efficient.
Python is one of the most-loved and popular programming languages worldwide. It’s ranked #1 by the PYPL PopularitY of Programming Language Index in December 2021 after growing the most in the last five years. Python got a #1 position in the latest TIOBE index (December 2021), where it jumped from #3 in December 2020. The 2021 Stack Overflow Developer Survey named Python the most wanted language for its fifth year.
Some Facts
- There’s a list of 20 guiding principles of programming in Python. The 19 of them make up the so-called Zen of Python. This philosophy promotes code’s simplicity and aesthetics and fun while coding.
- A program written in Python runs uniformly in any operating system.
- Python is famous for its clear and easy-to-comprehend syntax — some call it the simplest programming language that people can read.
Who Uses Python?
Examples of companies using Python include many well-known global manes like Google, Amazon, Instagram, Netflix, NASA, Dropbox, Reddit, Spotify, and Lyft.
#3 Java: The Top Pick of Big Enterprises
Java is a general-purpose, object-oriented programming language dominating web and Android development, especially at the enterprise level. Java’s code is first translated into a platform-independent bytecode that is then executed by the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). It’s a language’s key feature distinguishing it from standard interpreted languages like PHP. Another significant advantage is Java’s powerful memory management.
Java is a well-established and highly demanded language with its large ecosystem and extensive documentation. In the 2021 State of the Octoverse, Java is #3 in the top languages over the years’ overview. Java had steadily held the second position between 2014 and 2018 and was then replaced by Python. Similarly, it follows Python in the IEEE Spectrum’s Top Programming Languages 2021 — #1 and #2 respectively.
Some Facts
- Creators developed Java under the famous slogan “Write once, run anywhere.”
- The language was created for smart-home appliances, but large companies quickly started using it for developing their products due to its flexibility, safety, and convenience.
- Java is universal and omnipresent, from smartphones, laptops, and game consoles to data centers and scientific supercomputers.
Who Uses Java?
Nearly every successful large company that needs to scale massively uses Java. Airbnb has its backend written in Java. Google Web Toolkit and Gmail contain Java code. Other famous examples include Delivery Hero, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Bitpanda, Glovo, eBay, Revolut, N26, Square, Canva, and BlaBlaCar.
#4 Node.js: Powerful & Awesome
The list of effective backend instruments is not limited to only programming languages. We picked Node.js as one of the most powerful and popular instruments for app development. Node.js is a cross-platform, open-source, backend runtime environment that transforms JavaScript from a highly specialized web tool into a universal programming language for building cross-platform applications. It lets developers enjoy all of JavaScript’s benefits without browser limitations and independently from external web servers.
2018 Node.js User Study revealed a positive impact on developers’ satisfaction and productivity. The study found that the instrument increases the latter by 68%. Moreover, participants mostly described Node.js as ‘easy’, ‘flexible’, ‘fast’, ‘powerful’, and even ‘awesome’ and ‘fun’.
Some Facts
- Node.js runs on Google’s open-source, high-performance V8 engine that compiles the code directly into the machine code and provides a faster implementation.
- It has an extensive ecosystem, a large community of developers, and a lot of open-source libraries.
- Node.js provides easy product scalability vertically and horizontally — developers can either add new resources to the existing node or scale the app by adding new nodes.
Who Uses Node.js?
Many global corporations use Node.js to achieve various goals — from improving app performance and database access to lowering startup and loading time. Some examples include Netflix, NASA, PayPal, Trello, Groupon, Medium, Yahoo, Uber, Twitter, Walmart, LinkedIn, and Spotify.
#5 NestJS: Doing More in Less Time
NestJS is the most popular progressive Node.js framework for creating reliable, efficient, and scalable server-side applications. Developers use Nest.js to write scalable, testable, and loosely coupled applications. It provides the right balance of structure and flexibility to manage code in large projects.
In the 2020 State of JavaScript Survey’s satisfaction, interest, usage, and awareness ratio rankings, NestJS took a leading position in interest with 72%. The framework also was ranked #2 in awareness with 93% following its older competitor Express. It also has 42.9K GitHub stars as of mid-December 2021, and this number is growing each day.
Some Facts
- NestJS is highly popular among professionals as it combines features of functional programming, object-oriented programming, and functional reactive programming.
- It provides framework APIs that help developers learn about various third-party modules available for any platform.
- NestJS provides an easy way to work with innovative concepts like domain-driven design, event sourcing patterns, and microservice architecture.
Who Uses NestJS?
NestJS is popular among both large companies and organizations and innovative startups, including Roche, Adidas, Capgemini, Decathlon, Autodesk, Neo4j, ArchitectNow, Vue Storefront, and Global CTO Forum.
Our Expertise
The Rocketech backend developers have a proven record of various successful projects in different niches across industries. Our experts know that well-built backend architecture provides a product with three crucial features:
- Flexibility: you can easily add new features and develop existing ones.
- Scalability: you can scale up your product to meet increased traffic and workloads.
- Tech support: you can efficiently handle user issues, installation errors, and other technical problems.
We are proud to have worked on many projects with complex backend architectures and often challenging tasks.
Dice Chess
Dice Chess combines chess and a game of chance with extended functionality. Our team joined the project to improve an already-existing gaming product and transform it into a well-developed web app that could compete with Chess.com. Our backend specialists scaled the app up to 10,000+ requests per minute and added new essential features, including:
- In-game chat;
- Admin panel with analytics functionality;
- Payment module integration;
- Tournament table;
- Rake system.
Backend tech stack: NestJS, Node.js, PHP, Mongoose, Express.js, RabbitMQ, MongoDB.
FlyDesk
FlyDesk is a cross-platform service that connects individuals and teams with coworking space providers. Users can find temporary premium workspaces near a given location and easily book a coworking desk or a meeting room. Our task was to create a mobile app for the online service and synchronize the existing WordPress-based web version with the app’s backend. We successfully implemented many complex features crucial for the company, including:
- In-app booking, inquiries, and payments;
- Check-in from the app;
- Sign-in with Google, email, LinkedIn, AppleID, Facebook, or Office 365;
- User profile, analytics, and history;
- Google Maps integration.
Backend tech stack: NodeJS, GraphQL, Nest.js, Mysql, WordPress.
Akler
Akler is a user-friendly language-learning app for improving vocabulary and getting the basics of a new language. Our team developed an original product idea into a well-structured educational application with a potentially unlimited number of languages and user flow to add. For this project, we designed some purpose-specific features:
- Vocabulary management for words and phrases;
- 4-step exam at the end of each lesson;
- Visualized statistics of user’s daily performance;
- Apple’s voice assistant Siri integration;
- Role management and configuration for content managers and translators;
- Vocabulary import from .CSV files;
- Easy further scaling-up through the admin panel.
Backend tech stack: Node.js, Express.js, NextJS, RESTful.
Final Thoughts
The backend is invisible to users. However, it is that integral part of any software product that provides its main functionality — from Google Maps integration and built-in payment systems to complex AI-based performance analytics. At Rocketech, we understand the importance of well-designed backend architectures and follow the main trends in backend development. Do you have an idea for a complex product? We can bring it to life together.