Technology Archives - Page 14 of 21

Android 11 | The update we didn’t know we needed

Posted on October 8, 2020October 10, 2024 by galaxy-admin

Google with its Pixel event and launch of two new phones, started rolling out the latest Android 11 OS. Like always, the Pixel phones are the first ones in getting an update and the rest of the devices will get the updates based on their OEMs and how they optimize the new OS for their respective devices.

The update does not have many head-turning features like Android 10 but it sure does an amazing job in elevating the overall user experience. Like the message bubbles, new notification categories, limiting app permissions, among others.

So let’s explore these and the other new features of this update.

Categorized Notifications

Android 11 will make your life easier by categorizing notifications into Conversations, Alerts, and Silent. This enables you to prioritize your ongoing conversations, be it on WhatsApp, Instagram, or similar messaging apps.

The other two categories keep all your notifications aligned with your needs. You are kept in the loop with the alerts you opt-in, such as news updates. You can mute the ones that nudge you a bit more than it needs to.

Furthermore, in line with keeping conversations more accessible, the ‘chat bubble’ makes a comeback this year. This works the same way as Facebook’s Messenger floating chat button and lets you reply quickly to your current conversations.

Built-in screen recorder

A long awaited feature, in-built screen recording has finally found its way in this update. Screen recording was possible via third party apps, but there was always some restriction or modifications required for accessing the device’s internal audio settings.

What more, you get this functionality right in the Quick Settings menu. You are getting the option to record audio via microphone or use the device’s audio, record the screen taps or not, etc at last.

Changes in App Permissions

The apps will now have one-time permission to your sensitive information like location, messages, contacts, etc with the help of the ‘While using the app’ option. Once you close an app, the permissions are revoked and need to be requested again.

Access to information all the time will not be present for a majority of the apps. And just in case you haven’t selected this option when you are not using an app for a longer duration, the permission gets ‘auto-reset’ and your data remains safe.

More options in Power Button Menu

The long press action on the power button now gives you smart device controls and GPay shortcut. One can add up to six devices for easier control. The need of opening separate apps for these devices gets eliminated here.

However, there is no compulsion put by Google on the device manufacturers to imply this feature. So we will have to wait to see how this plays out.

Media Controller Widget

The media controller is moved to the quick settings menu (from the notifications bar). This ensures that the ‘clear all’ action of notifications does not pause the song or podcast you are listening to. Plus you can go back to the media that you had paused earlier without opening the concerned app.

Other Notable Features

Apart from the ones we have already covered, here are a few more interesting features:

You can see notifications from the past 24 hours via history. So in case, you dismissed any notification accidentally, you can go through them again. However, this is not a default setting, so you would need to change that.
You can now resize the picture-in-picture window according to your convenience and avoid any obstruction with your work.
You can now schedule your dark mode. It can be set as per sunrise/ sunset or to your own time.
‘Dynamic Meterdness API’ will detect if you are on a 5G network and will then show you the best quality of videos, graphics, etc.
Google’s Voice Access will now be more conversational and simple for differently-abled users.
There are 117 new emojis from the Unicode Emoji 13.0 set.

Google has paid attention to many features that were long overdue in this update. Given that it will be rolled out a bit late for the majority of android users nonetheless we are excited about how it fares against the last version.

Our Android team is also excited about the possibilities that Android 11 brings to the eco-system and challenges that they can solve with the new functionalities. If you’re looking for Android development in Mobile, Wearables, TV, and other hardware, feel free to reach out us.

Effective Scaling Of Applications – Tips and Tricks

Posted on September 18, 2020October 10, 2024 by galaxy-admin

Before jumping into making a plan for scaling your application, ask yourself what attracts your user now more than ever before?

No! Not the discounts or free offers.

It’s the flawless experience that draws more and more users’ attention that leads to conversion.

Rather than playing the “wait and watch” game, now is the right time to scale up your application. As the demand grows, it should be able to handle multiple requests and an increase in user traffic.

There has been a significant surge in the use of e-commerce apps, online learning software, video conferencing tools, virtual tutoring, or language apps since the outbreak of COVID-19 around the world. Many of the web and mobile offerings were not prepared for this sudden increase in user traffic and faced performance and scalability issues.

In this blog, we will explore the various ways and means to scale applications effectively.

1. Distribute Traffic with Load Balancing

Say, your application runs on one server and that can no longer sustain the current load. We recommend adding an extra server or servers to handle the required amount of throughput for your application.

To evenly distribute traffic across the servers, we use load balancers.

There are various methods that a load balancer can route traffic between the servers. One of them is round robin, which sends requests to the servers on a cyclical basis.

For example, if we have 3 servers, then it would send the first request to server 1, the second request to server 2, the third request to server 3, and so on. However, the most efficient method is when the load balancer would send the request only if the server can handle it.

This is how we increase request processing capacity by deploying more server instances on load-balanced computing resources.

But what if this load balancer dies out? Then we would not have a backup!

To overcome this issue, we can set up two or three load balancers where one would be actively routing the traffic and the others would be backup.

The load balancers can be a tangible piece of hardware, or they can simply be software in one of the servers. The cloud services are rampantly available, making it a relatively cheap and easy way to establish a load balancer.

2. Do Not Make Your Database a Bottleneck!

As you grow the number of deployed servers, you might increase the request load on your database. At some point, database accesses will start to incur more latency when it reaches saturation.

For example, having more than ten million users query from the same database is not good. The database would take time to search for a single user amid ten million users.

The solution is to increase your database’s capacity to scale further. You can try to optimize your queries, add more CPUs and/or memory. Perhaps replicate and/or shard your database.

Sharding is used to increase database efficiency by having two or more databases so that queries could be split between them. This will ensure that the queries are executed in minimum time.

One more way to reduce the load on your database is to avoid accessing it whenever possible. This is where caching comes in.

In-memory data caching can be one of the most effective strategies to improve your overall application performance and to reduce your database costs.

Caching can be applied to any type of database including relational databases such as Amazon RDS or NoSQL databases such as Amazon DynamoDB, MongoDB, and Apache Cassandra.

3. Monitor the Performance

Imagine you want to test an existing deployment to see if it can still provide fast response times if the database size grows by 10x. You first need to generate a lot of data, which ideally echoes the characteristics of your data set and relationships. You need to also generate a realistic workload.

You then need to load and deploy your data set and run load tests, probably using a load testing tool.

This is a lot of work!

The alternative is monitoring. Simple monitoring of your system involves making sure that your infrastructure is operational. If a resource is running low, such as memory or disk space, or remote calls are failing, you should be alerted so that remedial actions can be taken before things go south.

There is a myriad of solutions and cloud-based monitoring available for monitoring. They allow you to capture metrics about your system’s behavior and present these in a unified dashboard to support both the monitoring and analysis of your performance.

When you need to scale your system and tune performance, the data you capture guides your efforts and experiments.

Being data-driven in your system evolution helps ensure you invest your time modifying and improving the parts of your system that are fundamental to supporting your performance and scaling requirements.

Understand your company’s scalability needs and implement the same. What works for other companies may not work for you. Reach out to us if you want to be amazed by the results you achieve after scaling your application with expert developers and testers.

UI Best Practices – Designing buttons that score clicks!

Posted on September 15, 2020October 10, 2024 by galaxy-admin

User Experience Design is one of our core competencies. In this blog, we will share with you the best practices of designing buttons for your user interface that will attract maximum clicks. These UI button practices will help your users prioritize tasks by removing friction on-screen while sticking to the basic principles of UX elements for web/mobile applications.

Many designers take inspiration from various new UI designs and apply in their applications like this:

But what’s wrong with this elegant on-hover and click state button?

Unfortunately, it’s lacking the very first basic rule of button design – “Make it look clickable”.

UI/UX designers should pay much attention to button designs to make buttons stand out, and read numerous articles, analyze and share ways, secrets, and principles to set the color, shape, position, size, and more factors.

Use those designs that follow basic ground rules of UI design. Especially ones that can not only lead users through a website/mobile app effectively but can also entice them to click for better sales.

And as a designer, you always need new clues, ideas, or inspiration to make a unique and useful button for your web/mobile apps.

So here are 5 latest and best button practices that you cannot miss out in 2020. And hope they can inspire you somehow:

1. Eye-Catching Hover Effects

This Framer button uses a very appealing hover effect. When users move over or across the Play button, the whole button bounces out with a cool 3D Gradient design. Once users move the mouse cursor away, the hover effect will suspend completely. Such designs are eye-catching and interesting.

Video showing buttons in UI — Edoardo Mercati

What can you learn:

You can add various hover or interaction effects to optimize your button designs in your app or web design. They could be very useful to entice users to click and go to the next stage, such as playing a podcast, buying a product, filling contact information, or reading more details, etc.

You can add some changes in colors, shadows, shapes, texts, opacity, frames, and animations of a button according to your action requirements to make it more attractive for users.

2. Microinteractions for Delete Button

You can show the functions of buttons more vividly by using “button + animation ”. Once users click a button to delete, the action gets depicted by an animation showing the file getting shredded. This is a vivid and imaginative way to showcase the “delete button”. It is an effective way to engage the users while they delete multiple files.

Animation showing button in UI — Aaron Iker

What can you learn:

In your button design, you can add vivid animations to your buttons based on different scenarios, features, and labels to make your buttons outstanding and appealing. Overall, this is excellent to improve user experience.

3. Provide Feedback with the Button States

You should always let users know that the command was registered and promptly. This requirement isn’t about how the button initially looks to the user; it’s about interaction experience with the UI element. A good way to make sure nothing is lost in transition is to define the button states in your button design.

Image showing different types of UI buttons — Ryan

What can you learn:

Usually, a button isn’t a one-state object. It should change its state to let the user know that appropriate action is being taken. It becomes essential to provide visual feedback to users to indicate the current state.

4. Buttons with Shadows and Highlights

Drop-shadows make the element stand out against the background. They also highlight it as a clickable or tappable element. Objects that appear as raised give the impression that they could be pressed down. They’re also useful for improving the visibility of light-colored design elements, especially text. Even with flat buttons (almost flat, to be exact), they give subtle interactive cues.

What you can learn:

Shadows are key entities in telling your users which UI element they are looking at. Users understand that the element is interactive if a button casts a subtle shadow.

5. Floating Navigation Button

The tooltip uses a very cool floating button that attracts users’ attention and extends the functions of the web/mobile app. It is eye-catching and useful for your users and allows them to easily switch and choose other parts of the web/mobile app. And in this way, such floating buttons can be really interesting, attractive, and impressive for users.

Animation of buttons in UI — Milan Raring

What can you learn:

In your mobile or web app designs, you can create similar multifunctional navigation buttons floating in an interface to extend the functions of a mobile/website app. You can also customize a special way to expand the functions, options, or menus based on users’ interaction with these floating buttons.

Conclusion

Buttons are going nowhere! They will further evolve and get more interactive. Plan them with the utmost consideration, so that your users can enjoy the micro-interactions. Make them flashy, make them intuitive, and make them useful – and let users engage with your application.

Top iOS 14 features you MUST know!

Posted on September 4, 2020October 10, 2024 by galaxy-admin

Apple unveiled the latest version of its iOS operating system, iOS 14, at the WWDC keynote in June 2020.

iOS 14 is one of Apple’s biggest iOS updates to date, introducing Home screen design and widget changes, picture-in-picture, Siri improvements, updates for existing apps, and many other tweaks that streamline the iOS interface.

Apple has seeded a total of seven betas yet of upcoming iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 updates to developers for testing purposes.

Let’s look into some major UI updates and features that stole the spotlight.

Widgets

‌iOS 14‌ introduced a redesigned Home Screen that supports widgets on iPhone for the first time, breaking up that stagnant tiled-grid-of-apps look. ‌Widgets‌ have been redesigned and can now be customized in three sizes through the new ‌widgets‌ gallery.

Widgets provide more data than ever to provide more functionality, and Apple redesigned its widgets for default apps like Weather, Stocks, and Calendar. There are also new widgets for Apple News and Screen Time.

Widget Gallery will comprise all of your widget options — by long pressing on the display, choosing “Edit Home Screen” and then tapping the “+” button.

These suggestions are based on what users are installing the most, and third-party app developers can create new widget experiences for their apps.

Widget Smart Stacks

You can stack up to 10 widgets on top of one another to better utilize space and can swap between them with a swipe, both in the Home Screen and Today view.

There’s a separate Smart Stack feature that’s different from widget stacking. A Smart Stack is a widget stack, created in the Widget Gallery view, that automatically surfaces the best widget option based on activity, location, and time – making sure you’re looking at what’s most relevant.

You can, of course, swipe through the Smart Stack yourself.

App Library

App Library is a great new feature that shows all of the apps you have installed in an organized, simple-to-navigate view that’s similar to the app list view on the Apple Watch. That is categorized into Health and Fitness, Social, Reference and Reading, Productivity, Utilities, Education, Games, Creativity, and Lifestyle.

Compact UI

In the previous version, there are plenty of apps and actions that just unnecessarily take up the entire screen. Now they are all fixed.

Incoming phone calls no longer take up the entire screen in iOS 14 and instead show up as a small banner at the top of the display that you can easily hide, ignore, accept or reject based on your preference.

This also applies to Siri, FaceTime calls, and third-party VoIP calls.

While doing a FaceTime, you will experience a Picture-in-Picture UI that you can easily swipe up, go home, and do other things without pausing the video.

Picture-in-picture has been widely supported throughout the entire OS. So, if you are watching any video in Safari or a movie on Apple TV or an app, you can shrink the video in a picture-in-picture window while getting other things done in the background.

Siri Search Updates

Like before, Siri does not take up the whole screen in iOS 14 now. You can call Siri long-press the power button and can see a small animation at the bottom of the screen. It pop-ups an answer at the top of the screen. (But it doesn’t let you interact with anything underneath directly without exiting Siri- if you want to).

Unique iOS 14 Accessibility Features

These upgrades may look minor for iOS 14, but they will be immensely helpful for visually and hearing-impaired users.

Within the new update, you’ll be able to set up your iPhone to listen out for specific noises such as a siren or fire alarm or even a cat. If the phone hears the noise, it’ll notify the user.

According to Apple, it won’t be sending any of your data onto the internet to allow for this feature as this is all done using on-device technology.

Another unique feature in accessibility settings is that you can now map double-tap or triple tap on the back of the phone to a shortcut like Siri, mute, volume down/up, lockscreen, and others.

There are so many other minor changes that have been made in each beta version. ‌iOS 14‌ and ‌iPadOS 14‌ are available to registered developers and public beta testers at this time. Stay tuned to find out which features we are finally going to see in the iOS 14 final release this month.

How OpenAPI and Swagger helps in developing RESTful APIs?

Posted on August 31, 2020October 10, 2024 by galaxy-admin

We are all aware of how APIs connect different devices and applications and allow us to place an order, book a flight, or make a reservation.

Since software products are becoming more and more about a bunch of micro-services and third-party APIs mashed together, it is critical to get their structure in order. Plus, as the number of APIs continues to rise, the lack of global API standard risks slowing down innovation and limiting collaboration.

That’s where specification comes in the picture.

An API specification is a document that describes an API.

It is stored in a machine-readable form such as JSON or a YAML file and can be converted to human-readable API documentation.

What is Swagger and OpenAPI Specification?

Swagger is a tool for designing, building, documenting, and mocking APIs. It uses the OpenAPI Specification (also known as OAS) to describe requests, responses, and any other details about your RESTful APIs.

(RESTful APIs enable web applications that are built on various programming languages to communicate with each other.)

Swagger and OpenAPI specification lets developers design and develop REST APIs seamlessly and effortlessly. These specifications help in describing the structure of a REST API so that machines can read and mock them.

For instance, to access a REST service, the client needs to know the REST API of that particular service. You would also need to write the code according to that documentation.

With OpenAPI, this step is automated.

There exists a machine parse-able file that explains to computers how a REST API works. It tells code what replies to expect and what requests exist. To quote from the OpenAPI description:

“The OpenAPI Specification (OAS) defines a standard, language-agnostic interface to RESTful APIs. This can be used by documentation generation tools to display the API, code generation tools to generate servers and clients in various programming languages, testing tools, and many other use cases.”

. . .

Developing APIs with Swagger and OpenAPI

The Swagger toolset includes a mix of open source, free, and commercial tools, which can be used at different stages of the API lifecycle while using OpenAPI spec.

These tools include:

Swagger Inspector: API testing tool that generates OpenAPI definitions from an existing API and lets you validate your APIs.
SwaggerHub: API design and documentation, built for teams working with OpenAPI.
Swagger Editor: Swagger Editor lets you preview documents in real-time, and edit OpenAPI specifications in YAML inside your browser.
Swagger UI: Swagger UI is a collection of CSS, Javascript and HTML, and assets that dynamically generate beautiful documentation from an OAS-compliant API.

And others…..

For instance,

Writing your first specification?
You can use editor.swagger.io which loads petstore samples.

The left side shows OpenAPI specification and the right side shows OpenAPI documentation which is generated based on spec. Initially, developers used to create documentation from the code.

Adding a step of specification while creating an API helps in sharing it with different teams who are going to work on these APIs or use these APIs in their application. That’s when the design and documentation of APIs come in handy.

So if you have an OpenAPI implementation and an OpenAPI description file of a REST API, you can feed that description file to the OpenAPI implementation.

And this implementation now knows how to use the REST API, it can even auto generate code to use the REST API in different languages or can generate human readable documentation for you.

. . .

Why OpenAPI Spec for developers?

As shown above, many developers find it valuable to work with a specification to automatically generate and improve their documentation, as this improves consistency and saves time.

Also, it enhances the developer experience as it makes it easier to try out and explore an API. As it helps other developers to consume your API, and having a well defined/documented API will have a great impact on it. You can focus on the API consumers need beforehand.

Secondly, it enables independence between teams, e.g, QA, Backend, and Frontend engineers know how the API is supposed to do, so they are all aligned on it.

Removing these dependencies speeds up the release process because different teams can do their tasks at a much faster pace.

Conclusion:

The OpenAPI Initiative is part of the Linux Foundation, which makes it a bit more trustworthy and at least looks like it won’t go away soon.

Whereas, Swagger tools are convenient because you can manage files in the repository and send it out as specifications with one command.

Whatever your approach to building APIs, we can help you in having a trusted and consumer friendly tool to orchestrate your API lifecycle, which can be a crucial game changer in your application development.

CPaaS and UCaaS | What is the difference?

Posted on August 27, 2020October 10, 2024 by galaxy-admin

The current times have brought with them a paradigm shift in the way we communicate and conduct our business. Companies are starting to migrate from on-premise to cloud-based communication technologies. The question remains, as with other technologies; what and how to build an effective communication stack?

The choices:

An allrounder off the shelf communication solution such as UCaaS.

CPaaS for building new and highly specific functionality into existing technology.

UCaaS or Unified Communications as a Service comes neatly packed under a single ready-to-use toolkit. Via UCaaS, business owners like you can select the desired tools and features suited for your business model.

These can include messaging services, voice and/or video calling, setting the lower and upper limit of attendees, etc.

CPaaS or Communications Platforms as a Service takes a different approach here. CPaaS offers flexibility to business owners via handing them the Software Development Kits and the required communications APIs, which they can build upon or configure with their existing business model.

From this point onwards, it’s on the inhouse development team to build their own real-time communications platforms for being in touch with their stakeholders around the globe. CPaaS gives the option to start from level 1 instead of scratch in case you opt for it.

I would like to point out here that UCaaS comes in the category of SaaS whereas CPaaS comes under PaaS. They both have some shared features and some distinct set of benefits. Let’s focus on the similarities first which will then be followed by the differences.

Shared Benefits of CPaaS and UCaaS

Now that we have introduced both the platforms, let’s look at some of the legit commonalities that the two share:

Variety of Customization options

Both are cloud delivery models and can be highly customized based on business requirements. You may opt for audio calls only, add extra security layers for internal and external communications, set up passcodes for meetings, etc.

Cost Efficient Solutions

You don’t have to pay for the features that you know are of no use to you. Perhaps you are looking for a solution for a small team of 15-20 members. You don’t have to shell out extra dollars for a higher number of attendees if that is not your current need.

Easy Scalable Models

All cloud based models come with great flexibility, UCaaS and CPaaS are no exceptions. You can scale up or down as per your requirements. You can configure chatbots, team messaging and collaboration options, embedded communications, etc all on the cloud which can eliminate the need for internal infrastructure and its maintenance.

Enhanced Connectivity

Since both these models are cloud based, they can connect your teammates anywhere anytime and with any device. This ensures that devices, geographic proximity, and even network bandwidths are not an issue for smooth collaboration.

So, how do these two differ?

Well, to begin with, UCaaS represents the plug and play model whereas CPaaS requires custom development before you can reap its benefits.

The UCaaS model offers two options namely Single-Tenancy model and Multiple-Tenancy model. In the Single-Tenancy model, every customer can customize the solution as per their needs. And in the Multiple-Tenancy model, multiple customers use the same software making this model a little less reliable.

The CPaaS leaves the development and deployment to the clients and lets them work with the SDKs and APIs as per their needs. Clients can add features according to their requirements.

Another point here is that UCaaS does not necessitate skilled and experienced developers whereas if you are to work with APIs and SDKs, this is a default requirement.

UCaaS completely focuses on leveraging cloud infrastructure. CPaaS can be used as an extra layer of features to complement the on-premise systems.

So what’s the ideal scenario for using these technologies?

Experts believe that these technologies can be used complementary to each other. When your business needs are highly customizable, you can opt for CPaaS, but you need to have the expertise to customize it. CPaaS also lets you secure your communications in your way. You also have the option of integrating AI and ML into your products.

For more generic communication (mainly external ones) with stakeholders where the plug and play option suffices, you can go for UCaaS. It is more time saving and you need not hire highly skilled developers for its implementation.

So here is a summarized version that you can present to your team for making the right decision.

UCaaS and CPaaS are certainly not the different sides of a coin, rather they both have their respective places in the industry. In case you are looking for further clarity on these said models or wish to opt for one, we can help you with it. Feel free to contact us here.

What is Node.js and other things you should know about it?

Posted on August 11, 2020October 10, 2024 by galaxy-admin

Whether you have recently started learning Node.js or thinking about using it in your next project, this blog will help you in understanding the main reasons why it has become so popular, and the use cases of Node.js that you can implement for better opportunities.

Node.js is an open source, cross platform Javascript run-time environment for running web applications outside the client’s browser.

That fits in a basic scenario while creating a web application, like this —

The usage of Node.js is not only limited to building web applications, but also for implementing various kinds of services.

Microservices
Developing API
Backends and servers
Scripting and automation
Frontends

The ethos of Node.js is that it uses an asynchronous, event-driven, and non-blocking I/O model. This creates lightweight and efficient real-time applications that run across distributed devices – perfect for data intensive applications.

I know you didn’t come here after escaping the never-ending research loop only to get stuck again with event-driven, asynchronous, and other jargon.

Let’s get to the basics to understand how these terms are solving age old problems — and also are the main reason why Node.js is heavily used among programmers and companies today.

Here’s where Node.js shines

Single Threading

Traditional web-serving techniques use each connection (request) to spawn a new thread (the time and resources to execute a small unit of instructions). This takes up system RAM and eventually maxing-out at the amount of RAM available.

Whereas, Node.js environment is carried out by one computer processing thread that runs through a queue of events.

That’s because Node.js is single threaded that executes each event one by one in that queue. And you also don’t have to start a new thread for every new user and make them wait.

Non-blocking I/O model

Image credit: Luminousmen.com

I/O refers to input/output. It can be anything ranging from making an HTTP request to an API, to reading/writing local files.

I/O takes time and hence blocks other functions.

Node.js is non-blocking I/O, which means:

The server will keep attending requests.
The main thread will not be blocked in I/O operations.

You can initiate the requests of 2 users in parallel without waiting for the response to the request for the first user. This non-blocking I/O eliminates the need for multi-threading since the server can handle multiple requests at the same time- making the whole process fast and scalable.

Asynchronous request handling

An app database can be crashed with a huge data load.

Receiving a high amount of concurrent data can make the database congested and result in the crash of the application. Also, it becomes expensive to queue data and maintains concurrency because of the huge data load.

The asynchronous nature of Node.js helps in handling huge data load.

Asynchronous processing allows requests to be processed without blocking the thread. This helps Node.js make the most of single threading, resulting in short response time.

Due to its single-threaded, non-blocking, asynchronous nature, Node.js is a popular choice for video conferences, chats, online gaming, or any solution that requires constantly updated data.

And that’s what leads to our next section of existing use cases of Node.js.

Popular use case opportunities in Node.js

Node.js stands out for its speed, intensive data exchange, application scalability, etc. and that is why it has been used by NASA, Netflix, Paypal and other companies.

Below are the examples of when Node.js can and should be used:

1. Chats/Chatbots:

The chat application is a popular example of Node.js. It helps in creating a data-intensive (but low processing/computation), high traffic, lightweight application that runs across distributed devices.

2. Microservices:

When building and deploying microservices solutions, Node.js is the technology of choice. Companies are using two frameworks for microservice architecture. The restify is used by npm and Netflix, while the Express framework lists Uber and IBM among its users.

Whereas, Walmart’s shift to microservices architecture with Node.js resulted in saving up to 40% on hardware and 20-50% on overall operations.

3. Data streaming

Netflix chose Node.js for application scalability and intensive data exchange.

Node.js helps in processing files while they’re still being uploaded, as the data comes in through a stream and we can process it in an online fashion. This could be done for real-time video or audio encoding and proxying between different data sources.

4. Real time data

There is a need to plan out extra resources to execute all the operations without failing to meet any service-level agreements if your web app is running live 24 x 7.

Node.js is a good fit for building real-time web apps by using push technology over web sockets (a two-way communication between the clients and servers).

Some applications function within a time frame that the users recognize as current and immediate. For example, collaborative web apps (Trello, Google Docs), live chat, instant messaging, and online gaming are real-time apps that benefit from Node.js architecture.

Wrapping Up

In conclusion, if your use case does not access any blocking resources nor contain CPU intensive operations, you can exploit the benefits of Node.js and enjoy scalable and fast network applications.

If you want to enter into the real-time web or create a data intensive application with Node.js, Contact us.

Migrating your Legacy Apps to Cloud

Posted on July 30, 2020October 10, 2024 by galaxy-admin

Cloud usage has increased by many folds over the past few years. Public clouds have become the goto choice of enterprises for enhanced scalability, disaster recovery, reduced maintenance costs, remote collaboration and flexibility.

Moving your enterprise app and infrastructure to the public cloud instead of making it obsolete and declaring it’s EOL is an efficient decision according to many executives.

The most relevant example in the current scenario is Netflix. Long before Netflix went cloud, it was locked in a struggle with Blockbuster to dominate the video rental market.

Then the Netflix executives saw the opportunity and made two favorable decisions.

First – Moving their online streaming service to cloud.
Second – Without making their legacy app and infrastructure obsolete.

As the benefits were clear when they considered the abilities needed to transform their business model.

As a result, Netflix was among the first companies to go cloud during that time. They spent $40 million in the mid-2000s to build its data centers and pay for the license fees to stream just 1% of their movie catalog.

However, there is uncertainty when it comes to migrating legacy applications to cloud. It’s given that legacy apps have served business over the years very well. There is a lot of data, business algorithms, backend, and frontend architecture here.

But, these on-premise data centres are proving to be expensive in expansions and maintenance terms. And many of these applications run on technology that is outdated with no further updates and any active community support.

Thus stakeholders are pushing towards legacy apps migration to cloud. There are many more reasons which may be specific to your organization like:

Your on premise data centre has reached it maximum storage capacity
You need to scale due to mergers or acquisitions
You are facing security threats
Unanticipated growth in short span of time
New compliance guidelines
Looking to optimize your apps from ground up

If any of the above reasons resonate with you, it’s time to take the call and start migrating your legacy app to cloud. Listed below are the several ways of carrying out this process

Lift and Shift Approach

In this approach, you will be migrating your app without any changes done. It will be a simple, untouched migration, very much like cut-copy-paste strategy. This approach is most suited for apps that have a simplified architecture and thus can be migrated as they are. Any well defined commercial apps or apps having less functionalities can go by this strategy.

Refectoring/Rearchitecting

Many applications are bound to fall in this category. Firstly, legacy apps are built using older frameworks and technologies that have deteriorated to a point where they can not be revived and thus are obsolete. Secondly, once these apps start crashing frequently, developers will eventually have to work harder than usual to find a long term solution.

Prior to migration, these applications are given a makeover which is suitable for uploads on cloud platforms and also simplifies their structure.

They are then written in a way that they don’t fall under the legacy application category any time soon. This is very much similar to when people shift their homes, they discard many household things and make space for advanced, newer items.

When applying this to legacy apps, you will be able to remove redundant information, irrelevant functionalities, etc for making it cloud ready.

Retiring the Legacy App

In some odd scenarios, legacy app optimization for cloud may not fruitful at all. You should think of rebuilding it from scratch instead. This is often because of the fact that designing, developing and deploying a new application will be much more time saving and easier than working on the legacy application.

It can be attributed to functionalities that are no longer required and can be removed. This gives a new perspective and ensures that you will utilize the optimum cloud services and storage facilities. You will be freeing up assets which will be used for your redesigned app.

Outsourcing your migration

External vendors are happy to take this migration task off your hands. They are experts in this and can thus do it more effectively and use less time for the whole process. Your outsourced partners can provide insights into which approach to take from the ones mentioned above.

You can also let them manage your cloud for you. They will take the responsibility of your servers, ensuring that they are up and running at all times. Any security breach can be handled by them within a short duration and even help you in switching cloud service providers in the future.

There is no one size for all approach anyway. You can always use a mix of the strategies mentioned above.

Before you jump into migration, make sure that you take into account the possible obstacles and prepare accordingly. These issues can be related to security troubles, unaccounted costs, little differences in requirements, etc. You should involve all your team members, including designers, testers, engineers before going ahead with the final decision.

We at Galaxy Weblinks work around the clock for giving best services to all clients and managed cloud services is one among them. For any consultation, drop us your contact here and we will get in touch.

Atom vs Sublime: Which Text Editor to choose in 2024?

Posted on July 27, 2020October 10, 2024 by galaxy-admin

The coding landscape is ever-evolving, with AI-powered editors like GitHub Codespaces emerging alongside powerhouses like Visual Studio Code. Yet, many developers still choose the familiar battleground: Atom vs. Sublime Text. Both offer extensive customization and loyal communities, but which reigns supreme in 2024?

Choosing the right text editor isn’t just about personal preference; it’s a strategic decision impacting your team’s efficiency, productivity, and ultimately, your bottom line. In 2023, the Stack Overflow Developer Survey revealed that 42% of developers spend over an hour each day battling their text editor’s limitations. That’s valuable time lost not crafting innovative solutions, but wrestling with clunky interfaces and missing features.

This head-to-head comparison explores the latest features, performance metrics, and community support of Atom and Sublime Text. It equips you with the insights to forge the perfect development environment for your team, empowering them to write code like modern-day software artisans.

The Text Editor Landscape in 2024

Gone are the days of generic code editors with limited functionality. Today’s developers demand versatility, efficiency, and seamless integration with their workflows. The market teems with options, each vying for attention with unique features and philosophies. Open-source powerhouses like Atom and Sublime Text remain sturdy, constantly evolving to retain their dominance. However, understanding their individual strengths and weaknesses is crucial for making an informed decision.

Why Does the Right Text Editor Matters in 2024?

Fast forward to 2024, and the stakes in selecting an optimal text editor have escalated. In an era where efficiency, code integrity, and team synergy are paramount, the choice of a text editor is a linchpin for operational success. Here’s why:

Boosting Developer Productivity:

A user-friendly text editor can significantly reduce coding time and streamline project workflows, enhancing efficiency, integrating with version control, and offering intelligent features like code completion and error detection.

Ensuring Code Quality and Consistency:

Advanced text editors enhance software quality by ensuring consistent coding standards, reducing errors, and identifying real-time errors, thereby enhancing the final product’s overall quality.

Enhancing Collaboration:

Remote work necessitates real-time collaboration and integration with version control systems, making text editors crucial for distributed teams and collaborative coding practices.

Customization and Flexibility:

In 2024, development teams need text editors with extensive customization and plugin support to meet the diverse needs of their projects, ensuring adaptability and flexibility.

Cost Efficiency:

The debate between open-source and paid text editors is based on their impact on project timelines, developer efficiency, and long-term value in terms of productivity gains and project efficiencies.

Atom Text Editor

Atom, an open-source framework developed by GitHub, is a popular choice for teams focusing on customization and community-driven enhancements. Its modern interface, customizable package manager, robust plugin ecosystem, and seamless integration with Git and GitHub make it a favorite among developers.

Sublime Text Editor

Sublime Text, known for its fast performance and stability, is a popular choice for large-scale projects. Its standout features include its lightweight design, ability to handle large files, and its ‘Goto Anything’ feature for quick file navigation.

Atom vs Sublime: A Head-to-Head Comparison

Features and Functionalities:

Both Atom and Sublime offer an impressive array of features. Syntax highlighting, code completion, and multi-cursor editing are standard features, ensuring a smooth coding experience. However, there are distinct differences:

Customization: Atom shines with its open-source architecture, boasting a vast ecosystem of over 8,000 packages for customization. This allows developers to tailor the editor to their specific needs and workflows. Sublime offers fewer built-in customizations but supports plugin development, albeit with a smaller community.
Integration: Atom integrates seamlessly with popular tools like Git and GitHub, streamlining development workflows. Sublime requires additional plugins for similar functionality.

Performance and Stability:

Benchmarks consistently rank Sublime as faster and lighter, especially when handling large files. However, Atom’s performance gap has narrowed significantly with recent optimizations. Stability is comparable, with both editors receiving regular updates and a strong community for troubleshooting.

Security and Reliability:

Both editors prioritize security through code signing and regular updates. Sublime’s closed-source nature offers built-in encryption for sensitive data, while Atom relies on community-developed plugins for similar functionality. Reliability is high for both, with active communities providing quick responses to issues.

Learning Curve and User Experience:

Sublime boasts a steeper learning curve due to its keyboard-centric interface. However, its minimalist design and intuitive shortcuts offer an efficient experience for seasoned users. Atom’s graphical interface is easier to grasp for beginners, but navigating its extensive customization options can be overwhelming.

Actionable Insights for Decision-Making:

So, which editor reigns supreme? The answer, as in most complex choices, depends on your specific needs:

For teams seeking extensive customization and open-source flexibility, Atom offers a vast plugin ecosystem and a vibrant community.
For developers prioritizing raw performance, a minimalist interface, and built-in security features, Sublime might be the better choice.

Mitigating Business Risks:

Selecting the wrong editor can have tangible consequences. A mismatch can lead to:

Reduced developer productivity: An editor that feels clunky or lacks essential features can significantly hinder coding speed and efficiency.
Project delays: Frustrated developers struggling with their tools can miss deadlines and impact project timelines.
Increased training costs: Adapting to a new editor requires training, adding to project budgets and potentially delaying onboarding new team members.

Future-Proofing Your Development Team

Beyond immediate needs, consider these factors for long-term value:

Community Support: A strong and active community ensures access to resources, plugins, and timely troubleshooting assistance.

Cross-Platform Compatibility: If your team works across different operating systems, choose an editor with seamless compatibility.

Emerging Trends: Consider features like real-time collaboration, AI-powered code completion, and cloud integration, which might become mainstream in the future.

Choosing the Right Text Editor with Galaxy Weblinks

Choosing the right text editor in 2024 is crucial for your business’s success. It’s not just about the features a text editor offers, but how well it fits into your team’s workflow and your company’s goals. At Galaxy Weblinks, we understand the significance of this decision. Our wide range of services, from custom software development to IT consulting, is designed to boost your team’s productivity and enhance the outcomes of your projects.

Partnering with Galaxy Weblinks gives you access to our deep understanding of the latest development tools and trends. This ensures that your choice of a text editor, whether Atom, Sublime, or another option, is informed and strategic. The right text editor can greatly improve your development process, making coding more efficient, reducing errors, and helping your team collaborate more effectively.

Book a consultation call and explore how we can help you make the best choice for your development needs.The success of your projects—and your business—depends on making informed decisions today, and the selection of a text editor is a critical piece of that puzzle.

Why should you consider a Single Page Application for your next project?

Posted on July 16, 2020October 10, 2024 by galaxy-admin

Single Page Applications(SPAs) are all around us. Industry leaders like Google, Trello, Facebook, Gmail, Github, vouch for it.

Their structure is considered the best for seamless user experience and resonates well with the native app-like experience on browsers. However, there are many more reasons that have made SPAs so popular in the developers’ community. Read on to find out more.

Advantages of choosing SPA

– Fast and Flexible Approach

SPAs load only the user’s requested content instead of reloading the entire page repeatedly. Other sources like DOM elements, CSS, HTML are loaded only once at the beginning of the application. Only data is exchanged between the server and the client afterward.

This improves the page loading speed and lessens the waiting time for the users. And given how user’s attention span and patience levels are decreasing day by day, this is a noteworthy feature.

– Works on Lower Network Bandwidths

SPAs can work well in lower network bandwidths. Even when your users are present in remote locations with slow internet speeds, SPA-based solutions will not hinder the overall user experience.

– Enhanced User Experience

You can give your users a simple yet aesthetic experience. This is possible because of transition effects and parallax scrolling. This makes the websites interactive and provides a simple linear website for the users for limitless scrolls, helpful for the mobile experience too.

– Caching Mechanism

Caching of all local data is very efficient in SPA. A single request is sent to the server and all the data gets stored in one ago. This stored data can then be used even when your users are offline.

– Easy Debugging

Debugging is easy in SPA, thanks to Chrome and the apps used to develop it, namely, AngularJS Batarang, React Developer tools, etc. Most of these frameworks have their debugging tools for Chrome. The life of developers is a little less bumpy in the SPA’s debugging in comparison to MPA’s debugging. You can also monitor network operations, look into every page element, and the data associated with them.

SPAs have a lot to offer. However, there are some drawbacks as well! Let us see what they are.

Where SPAs Lack

– SEO troubles

SPA structured apps are believed to be ranked lower in the search results page. They run on Javascript and the data is downloaded on the client’s request only. Thus, these single page apps don’t reload new pages with unique content and URLs making it difficult for the search bots to find and crawl it.

– Security issues

The rage about the security of data is at all times high! SPAs do have security risks associated with them. It is said that SPA is prone to cross site scripting attacks. Via this, hackers can push client side scripts into your web app.

Developers need to be alert with the information sent in the initial page load. Any slip here can lead to data leaks and information may end up in the hand of hackers.

All this said and understood, there are places where opting for MPA is said to be a better option. But in case you are wanting to see if SPA is the answer you are looking for, refer to the next section.

The Ideal Scenario for an SPA

As mentioned earlier, SPAs are not the most optimal option when it comes to SEO optimization. But if you are looking to build a social network like Facebook or Linkedin (both are based on SPA), you can opt for it.

Next in line are closed community groups and SaaS platforms, SPAs are said to be the go to choice for these two categories as well.

SPAs take the spotlight when it comes to building native app experience for browsers with less load time. If you are building a dynamic personal or company website having small data volume then also you should go for SPA.

There are many frameworks that you use to build SPAs. The preferred ones are Angular, Meteor, Ember JS, React, Vue, Backbone JS.

The end choice of course needs to align with your business needs and future perspectives. Feel free to consult with our experts here.