Category: Web Application Development

It’s Time to Bid Goodbye to the Legacy Technology!

The decade’s end has seen numerous inevitable changes in the technology market. It hasn’t been long since we bid adieu to Python 2, and now Microsoft Silverlight is nearing its end-of-life!

This surely brings a million questions to your curious mind! 

Why did Microsoft decide to end all support for Silverlight? What are the next best alternatives available in the market? And most of all, is it okay to still keep using Silverlight? 

Read on as we answer it all!

What is Microsoft Silverlight?

Silverlight, an application framework designed by Microsoft, has been driving rich media on the internet since 2007. Created as an alternative to Adobe Flash, this free, browser focused developer tool facilitated web development by enabling computers and browsers to utilize UI elements and associated plugins for rich media streaming. With the emergence of video streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime, Silverlight turned out to be a great option to enable sophisticated effects.

So What Led To The Demise of Microsoft Silverlight?

A couple of things, but mostly Silverlight could not catch up with the rapidly evolving software market!

When Microsoft Silverlight was released in 2007, it looked like a huge success. Especially with the successful online streaming of the huge Beijing Olympics coverage in 2008, the political conventions of 2008, and the 2011 Winter Olympics, Silverlight was on a roll, later pulling in major video streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime onboard.

However, Silverlight could not shine for long. A few problems started to surface soon. Bugs in several applications were just one manifestation. The worst issues came about with Microsoft misjudging the real requirements of the market.

Although Silverlight reduced the user’s dependency on Flash to access rich graphics, animations, videos, and live streams online, it did so with a heavy reliance on Microsoft tools at the backend. Using Microsoft .Net Framework and XAML coding format, Silverlight offered the support for Windows Media Audio(WMA), Windows Media Video(WMV), advanced audio coding and the rest. 

This seemed difficult, as well as risky for developers, especially to depend on a single vendor’s framework. Meanwhile, constant push to upgrade Silverlight made things more complicated, leaving developers more comfortable adopting low cost opens source alternatives like Flash and JavaScript over Silverlight. With HTML5 -and other browser standards on the rise, Silverlight became an outlier in the market.

In 2013, the Redmond giant stopped the development of Silverlight but continued to roll out bug fixes and patches regularly. In September 2015, Google Chrome ended support for Silverlight, followed by Firefox in March 2017. Microsoft-edge does not support Silverlight plug-ins at all, and with modern browsers transitioning to HTML5, Microsoft did not see any need to keep maintaining this application framework.

So, it’s official! Microsoft has announced the support end date for Silverlight to be on October 12, 2021. 

And what is Netflix going to do? Well, Netflix currently supports Silverlight 4 and Silverlight 5. So Netflix viewers, using it on Windows XP or Windows 7 PC (both themselves now unsupported) can use either the Silverlight plug-in or HTML5 player.

What Happens After October 2021?

Not to worry, there won’t be a big boom on October 12, 2021! 

It is true that Silverlight will be completely unsupportive after the said date and will no longer receive any future quality or security updates. But however, Microsoft is not preventing or terminating any Silverlight applications for now.

So should you still be using Silverlight?

Well, no! Fewer users will be able to still use Silverlight driven apps. However, this would turn worse, with developers wanting to work in a dead-end development environment, which will immensely raise the cost of supporting Silverlight apps.

What Are The Next Best Options?  

No doubt Microsoft Silverlight has served as a great option for developing rich apps. However, with the end of support for Silverlight, here’s listing a couple of new tech stacks that promises to be more reliable alternatives. 

AngularJS, a popular framework maintained by Google is simply a great option for developers around the world. It is an open-source framework designed to address the challenges of web development processes and offers ease in integrating with HTML code and application modules. Moreover, it automatically synchronizes with modules that make the development process seamless, and following a DOM methodology, it focuses on improving performance and testability. Adding to this, AngularJS uses basic HTML that enables building rich internet applications effectively. Also, with an MVC built architecture and various extensions, this technology proves to be a great option for designing applications that are dynamic and responsive.  

ReactJS is another application framework that can easily be labeled as a “best seller”, based on the popularity and affection it has gained in the developer community. Launched in 2013, the ReactJS framework is today well regarded and used by leading companies like Apple, PayPal, Netflix, and of course Facebook. React Native is a variant of the ReactJS JavaScript library that combines native application development with JavaScript UI development, to build web pages that are highly dynamic and user-responsive. While native modules allow implementing platform-specific features for iOS and Android, the rest of the code is written with JavaScript and shared across platforms.

Related Reading: React Native Or Flutter – The Better Choice For Mobile App Development

With technologies running in and disappearing from the market, it can be quite difficult to decide on the stack of digital tools that would best fit your business. Our business and solution experts can help ensure that you transform with the right technology to meet industry challenges and enhance your revenue opportunities. To discuss more on how we can help you identify the right technology for your company, get in touch with our custom software development experts today!

Testing Types And Strategies: Choosing A Testing Method

Understanding the basics of software testing is crucial for developers and quality assurance specialists equally. To deploy a better software and to find bugs that affect application development, it is important to learn about the different types of software testing. 

Types Of Software Testing 

Testing is a process of executing a software program to find errors in the application being developed. Testing is critical for deploying error-free software programs. Each type of testing has its advantages and benefits. Software testing is broadly categorized into two types; Functional and Non-Functional testing.

Functional Testing Versus Non-Functional Testing

Functional Testing is used to verify the functions of a software application according to the requirements specification. Functional testing mainly involves black box testing and does not depend on the source code of the application. 

Functional Testing involves checking User Interface, Database, APIs, Client/Server applications as well as security and functionality of the software under test. Functional testing can be done either manually or by making use of automation. 

The various types of Functional Testing include the following:

• Unit Testing
• Integration Testing
• System Testing
• Sanity Testing
• Smoke Testing
• Interface Testing
• Regression Testing
• Beta/Acceptance Testing

Non-Functional Testing is done to check the non-functional aspects such as performance, usability, reliability, and so on of the application under test. 

The various types of Non-Functional Testing include the following:

• Performance Testing
• Load Testing
• Stress Testing
• Volume Testing
• Security Testing
• Compatibility Testing
• Install Testing
• Recovery Testing
• Reliability Testing
• Usability Testing
• Compliance Testing
• Localization Testing

The 7 Most Common Types Of Software Testing

Type 1: Black-box Testing

Black-box testing is applied to verify the functionality of the software by just focusing on the various inputs and outputs of the application rather than going deep into its internal structure, design, or implementation. Black-box testing is performed from the user’s perspective.

Type 2: White-Box Testing

The White-Box software testing strategy tests an application with access to the actual source code as well as focusing on the internal structure, design, and implementation. This testing method is known by different names such as Open Box testing, Clear Box Testing, Glass Box Testing, Transparent Box Testing, Code-Based Testing, and Structural Testing. White-box testing offers the advantage of rapid problem and bug spotting.

Type 3: Acceptance Testing

Acceptance Testing is a QA (Quality Assurance) process that determines to what extent a software attains the end user’s approval. Also known as UAT (User Acceptance Testing) or system testing, it can be testing the usability or the functionality of the system or even both. Depending on the enterprise, acceptance testing can take the form of either end-user testing, beta testing, application testing, or field testing. The advantage of acceptance testing is that usability issues can be discovered and fixed at an early stage.

Related Reading: Quality Assurance in Software Testing – Past, Present & Future

Type 4: Automated Testing

Automated testing is a method in which specialized tools are utilized to control the execution of various tests and the verification of the results is automated. This type of testing compares the actual results against the expected results. The advantage of automated testing is that it avoids the need for running through test cases manually, which is both tedious and error-prone, especially while working in an agile environment. 

Type 5: Regression Testing

Regression testing is a testing practice that verifies whether the system is still working fine, even after incremental development in the application. Most automated tests performed are regression tests. It ensures that any change in the source code does not have any adverse effects on the application.

Type 6: Functional Testing

Functional Testing tests for the actual functionality of the software. This type of testing focuses on the results of the system processing and not on how the processing takes place. During functional testing, the internal structure of the system is not known to the tester. 

Type 7: Exploratory Testing

As the name indicates, Exploratory testing is all about exploring the application where the tester is constantly on the lookout for what and where to test. This approach is applied in cases where there is no or poor documentation and when there is limited time left for the testing process to be completed. 

Related Reading: A Winning Mobile Testing Strategy: The Way to Go

All the methods mentioned above are only some of the most common options of software testing. The list is huge and specific methods are adopted by development vendors based on the project requirements. Sometimes, the terminologies used by each organization to define a testing method also differ from one another. However, the concept remains the same. Depending on the project requirement and scope variations, the testing type, processes, and implementation strategies keep changing. 

Like to know more about Fingent’s expertise in custom software development and testing? Get in touch with our expert. 

Factors To Consider While Migrating Your Code To Python 3

It’s clear that Python 2 will be sunsetting on January 1, 2020. The Python Software Foundation (the organization behind Python) has stated that Python 2 will not be improved anymore after that day and no support will be provided to existing Python 2 users even if they find a security problem. The only option is to upgrade to Python 3 as soon as you can. Migrating your business suite from an old to a new software version comes with its own challenges. How can you ensure a successful and smooth migration to Python 3? Here is a guideline that addresses the prerequisites and key considerations. 

Related Reading: Switching to Python 3: Is It An Apt Decision For Your Business?

Steps To Successfully Migrate To Python 3

The recommended steps or course of action is to follow intermediate steps in modernizing incrementally and addressing issues progressively. Simultaneously, it is also important to aim for cross-generational compatibility without replacing the code entirely. A seamless migration process requires the following steps:

1. Drop Support For Python 2.6 And Older Versions

It is to be noted that Python 2.6 is no longer supported freely and is not receiving fixes for bugs. Hence, solving issues that come across while working with Python 2.6 or older versions will be difficult. For instance, Pylint which is used for setting up a Linter coverage is not supported by Python 2.6.

2. Specify A Proper Version Support In The setup.py File

In the setup.py file, a proper trove classifier has to be mentioned. This will help in determining whether all packages are Python 3 compatible. 

3. Ensure A Proper Test Coverage

Proper test coverage can avoid many bugs at production. For instance, your test suite must have at least 80% code coverage. The code coverage will let you know how much source code is executed during testing. coverage.py is the best-recommended tool to measure your test coverage.

4. Update Your Code

Most projects will include multiple third-party dependencies. It is thus important to ensure that all third-party packages are compatible. You can make a choice between two tools namely, Futurize and Modernize to port your code automatically.  

5. Division 

Python 3 evaluates 5/2 == 2.5 and not 2. That means, all divisions of int values in Python 3 result in a float value. Going through your code and adding from_future_import division to your files and updating the division operator to // or using floor division will do the needful.

6. Understanding The Confluence Of Text And Binary Data

It is important to decide which  APIs take text and which of them take binary data. For instance, Python 2 made sure that APIs that take text work with Unicode and APIs that take binary data work with bytes. However, Python 3 takes text as str, and binary as bytes. Additionally, Python 3.5 adds the _mod_ method to the bytes type. 

7. Utilize Feature Detection Instead Of Version Detection

Relying on feature detection helps in avoiding potential problems of compatibility errors. For instance, suppose you require access to a feature of importlib that is available in Python’s standard library since Python 3.3 version. Consider the fact that it is also available for Python 2 via importlib2 on PyPI. In this situation, it is very common to write code using the version. This will create issues with Python 4. It is thus better to utilize feature detection. 

8. Prevent Compatibility Regressions

Once the code is translated and made compatible with Python 3, it is important to ensure that the code does not regress. You can use the Pylint for the same. Example, pip install pylint.

9. Check For Dependencies That Can Block Your Transition

The caniusepython3 will help you determine all projects that directly or indirectly can block your transition to Python 3.

10. Continuous Integration To Ensure Compatibility

It is important to run your tests under multiple Python interpreters such as tox by integrating them with your system. 

11. Use Of Optional Static Type Checking

A static type checker such as mypy or pytype on your code will help in porting your code. It analyzes your code and checks whether it can run on Python 3 as well. For instance, if you tend to misuse a binary data type in one particular version of Python, running a static type checker will solve the issue.  

The Python Software Foundation offers a comprehensive guide on how to achieve cross-generational compatibility for enterprises that require Python 2 and 3 to run simultaneously. More guidelines and steps to be noted while migrating to Python 3 can be found in these places: 

• An official Python porting guide
• Reference to python-future
• Porting to Python 3 – Django Tips

To learn more about migrating to Python 3 seamlessly, stay tuned to our latest articles and blogs. If you are looking for a technology partner to help your business transform with the latest digital trends, then get in touch with our custom software development experts today!

Fingent Tops Among The Global B2B Companies Listed By Clutch

We can expect software development to go to new and exciting places in 2020. At Fingent, we couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve accomplished this year and look forward to what’s to come. We are thrilled to announce that Fingent has been included in the Clutch 1000, a list of the 1,000 top global leaders on Clutch! 

We are ranked #5 on the Clutch 1000, which puts us in the top 1% of the over 160,000 companies on their site! We are also one of over 140 custom software development companies on the list, as well as the only company based in White Plains, New York. 

Clutch is a Washington, DC-based B2B ratings and reviews platform. Their team of independent analysts conducts interviews with the past clients of service providers. These verified reviews form the basis of the ratings and rankings on their site! Fingent is thankful to all of our past clients who made this award possible by leaving us reviews on Clutch!

“We are thrilled to have been featured among the Clutch Top 1000 Companies by Clutch!” – Varghese Samuel, CEO & MD, Fingent

Looking for more? Clutch has two sister sites, the Manifest and Visual Objects! The Manifest compiles company shortlists based on service lines and geographic location. We are proud to be one of the leading businesses on the Manifest under the software development category! On Visual Objects, users can look through our solution portfolios to find the best fit for their next project.

We are thankful to all of our clients who have allowed us to be part of their projects! Your success is our success. Looking to start a new project? Get in touch with us today!

Fingent Emerges as a Leader in Node.js Development 

Fingent is proud to announce that we have been featured in a recent press release recognizing the top Node.js development companies by TopDevelopers.co, a renowned review and research platform of IT service providers. 

The importance of Node.js

Node.js is a versatile server-side environment that lets the developer create powerful server-side applications with JavaScript. The availability of a large repository of codes, speed and the efficiency of Node.js are the factors that have contributed to the rising popularity of the platform.

About Fingent

Fingent was established in 2003 with an aim to provide custom software services to our clients. With determination, hard work and a constant focus on the requirements of our customers, we have expanded and today we are serving clients across more than 20 industrial sectors and have an active client base in more than 14 countries covering 4 continents.

With a curious mind and a constant zeal towards customer satisfaction, we have been able to achieve this milestone of entering the coveted list of top Node.js developers.

Why do clients consider Fingent as an efficient service provider?

We have been able to achieve a satisfactory rating of 4.9 out of 5 on the 650+ projects that we have completed. In all these years, we have never lost our focus on understanding the problems of the clients and offering innovative solutions to them. We have established a dedicated research and development center in India to focus on delivering innovative solutions to our customers.

More than 30 companies including brands such as Sony, NEC, PWC, and Johnson & Johnson have named us as their Global IT partners.

We provide a plethora of exclusive and efficient IT services to our clients which includes services like enterprise software development, hybrid app development, Internet of Things, IT consulting, product development services, mobile application development services, Artificial Intelligence, custom software development, cloud computing, iOS app development, and SAP.

We have happily worked with clients from a diverse set of industries like retail, logistics, real estate, oil and gas, healthcare, fitness, legal consultants, chemicals, to name a few, but we have never let them go without a smile of satisfaction after project delivery. Working with diverse industries and varied client requirements has helped us in learning the nuances of each industry, which has ultimately helped us in serving our clients in a better manner. 

We helped a client in designing a solution that uses the data of NHS (National Health Service) in the United Kingdom as input and gives interactive visually rich graphs as output. The aim was to analyze the data and provide the users with a list of the best hospitals in the U.K. The solution we developed provides the users with every detail about the hospitals listed.  Our portfolio has more details about NHS and a deep insight into our projects, work proficiency, technical product development skills, and professionalism.  

“We take a holistic view, considering for instance – the role of the app in the larger ecosystem that may include AI, Big Data and IoT, whether it connects to 3rd party systems, and most importantly the desired Customer Experience across the entire customer journey.” is what our Senior Vice President – Process and Technology, Mr. Deepu Prakash, expressed in an interview with TopDevelopers.co. 

The profile of Fingent on TopDevelopers.co has all the interesting details on how Fingent has successfully been maintaining a remarkable balance between the clients we cater to, the various industrial sectors we serve, and the wide range of services that we provide.  

Who is TopDevelopers.co?

TopDevelopers.co is a directory and review platform for B2B IT Firms. They offer unbiased service to service seekers, by providing them a listing of genuine and highly professional IT firms, that can help the service seekers in achieving their goals by providing high-quality technical services.  The research team of TopDevelopers.co chooses the best firms by filtering a vast list of companies and introduces only the competitive names to the businesses, enterprises, and entrepreneurs to partner with. The company has a friendly team of researchers and a hassle-free communication system. They provide the listing service for various technologies and services, which makes it a one-stop destination to find your perfect technology partner. To give its clients a broad range, TopDevelopers.co reviews companies from all across the globe and you can filter the companies according to the country of origin, size, cost and other parameters. 

To know more about why Fingent is rated as the top Node.js development company by TopDevelopers.co and how our skills and expertise can bring your business the competitive advantage to excel, contact us! 

4 Top Reasons for Organizations to Move to Python 3

Python is one of the most widely used programming languages on the planet. Over the years programmers have fallen in love with Python for its increased productivity and capabilities. However, a constant argument persists on whether Python 3 is better than Python 2 and would it be a wiser decision to completely shift to Python 3.

Although Python 3 has been in existence for over 7 years, programmers are quite skeptical about using it. Most programmers tend to cling to Python 2, completely ignoring the capabilities of the new version.

This blog will walk you through some major drawbacks of Python 2 and will pinpoint 4 top reasons on why to choose Python 3 over Python 2.

Why Is Python 3 On The Rise?

Before we dive deeper into the major advantages of Python 3, let’s take a look at its origin. 

Released in 2008, Python 3 was introduced to overcome the flaws of Python 2. The major reason behind developing Python 3 was to clean up the codebase and remove redundancy. Although Python 3 is the newer version of Python, it is not necessarily backward compatible with code written in the 2.x version. 

Significant features of Python 3 makes it simpler, easier and incredibly efficient to use. Here’s listing the major differences between Python version 3.0 and 2.0, and the reasons why Python 3 can make a better programming partner.

1. Unicode Character Encoding

As mentioned earlier, Python 3 was introduced to address the vulnerabilities and drawbacks of Python 2. Hence, it reduces the complexities of coding and improves speed and performance. 

Where in Python 2 the character encoding is done in ASCII format, Python 3 is Unicode based. In Python 2 the strings are by default stored in the form of ASCII values. Programmers are required to add ‘u’, to store strings specifically in Unicode format. In Python 3 strings are stored in UTF-8 format, enabling a large number of storage features such as character value storage, different language characters, and emojis storage as well. 

Dropped deprecated features which were frequent sources of bugs in Python 2 have also been replaced by superior alternatives and retained solely for backward compatibility. 

For instance: If a file is created by with non-ASCII characters in the name, for the below-mentioned code, if you are using Python 2 your code is sure to throw an error 500. 

However, in Python 3  your error will be detected right away saving you the time on long code creation. Moreover, the error message is much easier to understand. Knowing that str object is owner and node is a bytes object, it is easy to recognize that the error is due to listdir returning a list of bytes objects. 

Adding listdir(‘.’) would make the bug disappear as this would appear as a Unicode string in Python 3.

The difference in the behavior is due to the difference in how each version handles the string type. Whatever is lumped together in Python 2 is split in Python 3.

2. Improved Library Standards

When it comes to libraries, there is a huge difference between the two versions. Many libraries developed in Python 2 are not forward compatible. Hence, the new 3.x version is developed focusing on providing good compatibility. Moreover, most of the actively maintained libraries are strictly created for use with Python 3. Hence, it’s suggested to keep codes compatible with Python 3 to help keep your test running on both versions. 

3. Improved Integer Division

Reducing a programmer’s confusion and frustration, Python 3 is created with a syntax that’s more intuitive. Python 3.x version has an elegantly designed structure that allows performing an action with fewer lines of code. Python 2, on the other hand, requires the exact input to perform a particular result or generate the expected results.

For instance: If you try a simple calculation like 5/2 (5 divided by 2), Python 2, after rounding up would give you the result as 2. To derive the exact result, that is 2.5, the input should be 5.0/2.0.

Whereas, Python 3 would right away, give you the answer 2.5 for the input 5/2, without converting the numbers to float data type.

4. End of Python 2 Support

Yes! Python 2 is expected to stop all support and maintenance by January 2020. Now, this is another major reason why you need to shift to Python 3 at the earliest. By end of support, we mean that all-new packages will be built on Python 3 and hence, it will be difficult to add any new features to the existing Python 2 projects. Major plugins are also being ported to Python 3 and thus, the upcoming updates of these plugins will be available only for the 3.x version. 

Moving forward, it will be difficult to find any Python 2 support services or developers. Also, the Python 2 hosting options will grow more scarce and costly. The Python 3.x version and the releases ahead are believed to have different syntax from that of the current version and thus, getting upgrades for existing features would be difficult to find.

Why Should You Stop Using Python 2?

Although programmers have widely accepted and loved working with the 2.x version of Python, there is quite a huge list of flaws and drawbacks experienced with it. Here’s listing a few of them. 

1. Firstly, as mentioned in this post, the Python 2 text model is not Unicode capable. It doesn’t handle non-ASCII files correctly. This is one of the major drawbacks of the version. Python 2 handles Unicode module names quite inconsistently, which is a source cause of multiple programming errors. That is why 3.x version of Python is designed to have a Unicode based string type by default.

2. In addition to not being Unicode capable, there is a large number of Unicode handling bugs in Python 2 standard library that might never be fixed. Fixing these bugs within the constraints of Python 2 is too difficult, and not worth the effort.

3. Python 2 iterator was designed long before the introduction of the iterator protocol. Thus, it has a lot of unnecessary and lengthy listings, which can now be made more memory efficient.

4. Programmers who have been involved with Python 2 for a long time might have noticed that the version interprets numbers in a strange way if they have leading zeros. Also, the version has two different kinds of integers. Python 2 beginners are often surprised to find that the version can’t do basic arithmetic correctly.

5. The print and exec statement is also weirdly different from the normal function calls like eval and execfile. Moreover, you need parentheses to catch multiple exceptions.

6. Although list comprehensions are one of Python’s most popular features, surprising errors arise on the local namespace. Also, if you tend to make a mistake in handling the errors, there might be chances where you’ll lose the original error.

Eliminating all these persisting errors and flaws of Python 2, the new version 3.x is specifically designed to enhance the quality and efficiency of the programmers. Thus, it is highly recommended to start preparing for a complete shift to Python 3. For developers who would like to check on to the Python 3 upgrade packages, here’s the command you can use:

[Don’t forget to create a test-requirement.txt file when using the command.]

With increased competition and high consumer expectations, programmers are under constant pressure to improve software performance. With the efficiency and ease of use offered by Python 3, programming is sure to achieve greater success than before. Although Python 2.7 will be supported until 2020, the sooner the switch, the better.

If you are looking for a technology partner to help your business transform with the latest digital trends, then get in touch with our custom software development experts today!

Fingent Yet Again Ranked Amongst The Top Developing Companies of New York

Utilizing enterprise technology, Fingent develops best in class software solutions for businesses, to help them prepare better for the future. With our customized web and mobile applications, leading enterprises of variant industries have transformed efficiently to provide quality customer services and remarkably grow in the market. Recognizing our hard work and dedication to our clients, we are yet again ranked amongst the top developing companies. 

We’re excited to announce that Fingent has been featured as a top-performing New York developer on Clutch!

Clutch is a ratings and reviews platform for B2B agencies like ours, and they are dedicated to showcasing the best companies around the globe. We earned recognition as a top custom software development firm from Clutch after being evaluated on several different factors, including our market presence, our extensive online portfolios, and, most importantly, verified reviews from former clients. Since we value our client’s opinion above anything else, we are proud to see their positive reviews on our Clutch profile. Here’s just one example of our awesome reviews that have resulted in a 4.9-star rating on Clutch:

We’re grateful to Be Strong and to 26 of our other clients who have taken the time to leave us a review. Our CEO and MD had a few words to share with the Fingent community about winning this award: 

“Clutch’s new assessment putting us at the forefront as a leading development company in the United States once again testifies to the sheer quality of services that we offer. Being included in the report highlights our core capabilities as a professional development company that constantly upholds exceptional development standards and service integrity.” – Varghese Samuel, CEO & MD, Fingent

We would also like to highlight our presence on The Manifest, Clutch’s sister site and business how-to resource. We are also featured on Visual Objects, a platform that equips buyers with a digital portfolio of the past projects of various B2B agencies. 

To know more about why Fingent is constantly rated as the top developing company of New York and how our skills and expertise can bring your business the competitive advantage to excel, contact us now! 

Find Business Success with Agile Software Development Methodologies

Agile software development methodologies have proven their mettle in recent years and “agile” is becoming a buzz word in software development and project management. It makes sense, therefore, to understand what drives the success of these methodologies and consider if your business could benefit from implementing it.

What is the Agile Software Development Methodology?

Agile Development works on the principles of iteration and incremental development. It does not rely on a linear method approach but focuses on rapid delivery of fully functional application components. The focus is not on tasks, but on time phases called “sprints.” These sprints are of specific duration and begin with a detailed plan of what is to be delivered at the end of a sprint. Continuous testing, feedback, and improvement are vital aspects of the agile methodology.

At the heart of the agile methodology is its focus on individuals and interactions rather than processes and tools. Rather than focusing on comprehensive documentation to prove a project’s worth, the primary measure of progress in agile methodology is delivering working, tested software. This serves as a basis for collaboration between teams and customers, gaining feedback and swiftly responding to change. Value-driven development is given prime importance with the focus on delivering visible results and business value continuously. This way, stakeholders and projects have complete visibility on where the project stands and the business value they can expect at any given point of the project.

Scrum is an important aspect of the agile methodology and deserves a mention in the context of discussing agile methodologies. Using the principles of agile methodology, Scrum advocates a self-organizing and cross-functional team. The Scrum method is supported by two specific roles – the Scrum Master (who acts as the coach to direct teams towards agility and high performance) and the Product Owner (who helps the team build the right product and represents the company and end users).

Why Agile Methodology Trumps Traditional Development Methods

There are many reasons why Agile Methodology is being favored over traditional methods worldwide. We have listed out a few:

Faster and Better Workflow:

Agile Methodology is completely different from traditional Waterfall Methodologies, where projects follow a linear approach and progress from one step to another only after the previous step is completed. The traditional time-consuming method of relying on comprehensive documentation and analysis before the design and commencement of the project is eliminated.

Implementation and development begin almost immediately in agile development and the processes and development is refined in increments based on continuous feedback from customers and project teams. This also cuts out the verification and maintenance stage in the Waterfall Method, where the end product is tested, bugs are fixed, and the code is maintained. In the agile method, this testing and bug fixing is already being done continuously throughout the project, ensuring that the final product is refined and ready to be deployed.

Multilevel and continuous planning:

The absence of detailed analysis before implementation in agile methodology does not mean that the project is initiated without any substantial planning. On the contrary, multi-level and continuous planning is a vital feature of the agile development methodology. The planning follows a just-in-time approach, which aligns the information available with what details are necessary at the time.

The planning usually happens on at least two levels – the release level and the iteration level. At the release level, planning involves identifying and prioritizing the necessary features required in the software. This gives a basis to decide which features must be worked on first. Planning at the iteration level involves which features must be implemented next and the optimal size of batches which can be practically delivered in a single iteration.

Customer Focus:

The most important feature of agile methodologies is that it places the customer at the center of the development process. Teams are directed to think of product design through user stories and use cases, which ensures that customers are always kept at the heart of the process. User stories specify the needs of the end users and the various scenarios that they will use to fulfill that need.

Use cases show how the product developed will help end users achieve the outcome they want in the user story. In this way, the whole development process becomes focussed on what the customer needs. This is the foundation of Customer Experience (CX), which is fast becoming the defining success factor for companies today.

Related Reading: Read on to know how customer experiences reshape a company’s brand identity. 

Business Success with Agile Software Development Methodologies

Businesses the world over are embracing and implementing agile methodologies in their efforts to improve their project management capabilities and improve performance. The 9th Global Project Management Survey, which surveyed 3,234 project management professionals from all over the world attests to this fact.

According to the survey, 71% of organizations use Agile approaches in their business. “We believe that agility could also be used in multiple ways— in everything we do,” says Phillippe Husser, a survey respondent and Senior Partner of Progress Direction Michelin.  “In fact, the world is changing very quickly around us, so much so that we cannot afford anymore to have projects taking two to five years to deliver, because, during this time, the initial requirements have changed.”

Case in Point: Ericsson

Ericsson is a leading provider of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to service providers and covers 40% of the world’s mobile phone traffic. The company with around 100,000 employees is a classic case in point to show the successful implementation of agile methodologies even in large-sized companies.

The company used to use a plan-driven software process but switched to agile in 2012. One of their main areas of focus was to develop a XaaS platform and services that the customers would use as a service. The results have been phenomenal.

Steve Dennings, an expert on agile methodology and author of The Age of Agile, summarizes the success points of Ericsson’s adoption of agile methodologies this way: “Now with Agile management, Ericsson has over 100 small teams working with its customers’ needs in three-week cycles. The result is faster development that is more relevant to the specific needs of the customers. The client gets value sooner. Ericsson has less work in progress. And Ericsson is deploying one to two years earlier than it otherwise would so that its revenue comes in one to two years earlier.”

Find Success with Agile Software Development

Agile development and methodology is an integral part of Fingent top software development company and creating agile software products for different industry sectors such as healthcare, finance, education, entertainment and media, real estate and retail amongst others. Get in touch with us so we can discuss how you can get effective in your agile journey and find success.

Related Reading: Check out these custom software development trends that every business should know.

iOS 12 is now live and represents the latest evolution of Apple over its decade long existence. Today, Apple’s App Store has over two million apps with over 170 billion downloads and over $130 billion in revenue. With iOS 12, developers are poised to offer a far superior experience for users compared to previous versions.

Here are the top iOS 12 application development features that enterprises can benefit.

Siri Shortcuts Take User Experience to a New Level

Adoption of Siri is increasing at an exponential pace, considering the popularity of using voice technology for commands and simplifying user actions. True to form, iOS 12 makes Apple’s personal assistant more proactive, by allowing shortcuts.

Siri Shortcuts minimize the number of steps users take to accomplish everyday tasks. Siri intelligently pairs users’ daily routines with app functionality and suggests convenient shortcuts whenever available. Such shortcuts allow users to access the offered functionality or complete the task on hand from the lock screen or from search, without having to open the app.

Siri learns and predicts shortcuts through “donations.” Developers and users may “donate” shortcuts to Siri. Developers may use the Shortcuts API to donate the shortcuts they wish to offer their users. The prerequisite towards “donations” that meet the objectives is developers having an accurate understanding of the specific in-app actions that drive the most engagement, to make the relevant Siri Shortcut donations for the most frequently used features.

The flip side to making donations for shortcuts is handling user expectations. Users may, for instance, expect the app to have shortcuts for features where shortcuts are not technically possible. For instance, when the app requires user authentication before completing an action, such a feature cannot run in the background, as a shortcut.

Improved Core ML 2 Brings Machine Learning to Apps Easily

Core ML is a relatively new toolkit, but very critical, considering it now powers Siri, Quick Type, and Camera functions in iOS. Core ML allow developers to integrate machine learning models including text, barcode, face, and landmark detection, object tracking, enhanced image recognition, and other intuitive functionality into apps, easily. Core ML 2 comes with over 30 layer types and supports expansive deep learning capabilities. Developers may run on-device machine learning models without the need to analyze data across multiple servers.

iOS 12 makes it easy, simple and fast to integrate Core ML 2 with user-facing apps. Developers can leverage this handy toolkit to embed machine learning frameworks and models directly into mobile apps, with just a few lines of code, and with no extensive technical expertise required.

A New CreateML Framework Allow Lay Users to Create Machine Learning Models

Create ML, a new framework, allow developers to build machine learning models, with little to no machine learning expertise. Its similarity with Swift makes the framework familiar and comfortable to use. Create ML is also integrated into Xcode 10 playgrounds, making it easy to view model workflows in real time.

Developers can leverage the embedded natural language capabilities of iOS 12 to create in-depth models for advanced purposes such as regression, image classification, word tagging, and sentence classification, with just a few lines of Swift code.

Highly Intuitive ArKIT2 Toolkit Takes AR Experiences to a New Level

The improved ArKit 2 toolkit allows developers to create powerful and hugely incredible Artificial Reality (AR) immersive experiences. The toolkit enables developers to create engaging multiplayer games, presentations and more, allowing multiple users to view or play the AR enhanced simulations simultaneously. The ingenuity of the toolkit enables developers to offer users the option to save the AR experience and resume it at a later time, co-opt real-world objects into the AR experiences, and much more.

Interactive Push Notifications

iOS 12 changes the way users receive push notifications. Users now gain considerable control over the type of push notifications they choose to receive and how they receive such notification. Users gain access to message settings directly from the push notification interface, allowing them to opt-out of messages from the device’s lock screen. The enhanced downtime settings enable users to ignore push notifications entirely.

Such new functionality, however, creates a new challenge for developers. It is no longer enough to somehow coax the user to download the app. The obvious requirement to remain in the user’s scheme of thing is to provide better and highly personalized, stand-out content in the push notification. Developers can also add buttons and switches to the push notifications, to encourage user action, infusing interactivity to push notifications. Developers can also customize the font, image, and other elements of the push notification.

End of Password Annoyance with iOS 12 Application Development

iOS 12 offer developers access to Password Autofill. Users may leverage this new feature to create and save passwords, and then log in to incumbent accounts, with just a few taps, regardless of the device. The password autofill functionality saves the user’s password on the device, and users can now share the data across devices using the iCloud keychain.

The new password autofill option significantly improves the user’s onboarding process, offering the path of least resistance. Empirical evidence suggests complicated registration fields harm user acquisition efforts and increase user abandonment. Also, contrary to the first impression, the autofill option actually increases app security. Autofill suggests strong, unique passwords at the onset.

While features and options are aplenty in the new iOS 12, the key to successful app development is picking and choosing the right features, relevant for the project. A tie-up with competent professionals with a history of having developed successful apps helps.

Related Reading:  How to Empower your Business with an iOS Application

As we enter 19 years into the millennium, we find that Java has been running on 10 billion devices. The world is yet to witness innovative and user-friendly Java trends that will have a profound effect on application development in the year 2024!!

From peer-to-peer, open source and embedded to wireless and Juxtapose applications, Java has been the most popular programming language in the world of application development, with the highest rating of 16.746 percent, according to the Tiobe index!

A Retrospective Of Java Trends

Java so far has given a step-up to many of the light-weight programming platforms, as for Eclipse, Java Development Kit (JDK), the Oracle JDeveloper, as well as the Eclipse and other Open Source Applications. Let us take a look at the Java trends that made a breakthrough in application development.

• Emergence Of EE4J and MicroProfile Projects

The Eclipse Foundation has emerged with pride with the introduction of projects like EE4J and MicroProfile.

MicroProfile has provided insight into how a more open Java EE community could flourish. Both Java EE and Spring technologies benefited out of this rise, by bringing accelerated innovation.

• Emergence Of Kotlin  

Kotlin, the JVM-compatible programming language has caught the strong attention of the Java/ Android community. Its concise coding syntax and interoperability with Java have already made it a hit in the world of application development. Kotlin is first-class support for Android and is expected to additionally improve its use for mobile application development in future!

• Java SE 6 Updates And The OpenJDK 10 Release 

2018 also witnessed the updates of Java SE 6. These updates, however, are not publicly available as yet! The code restores are only available through the Java SE Support program and in Solaris 10’s Recommended Patchset Cluster and were mainly a couple of security fixes. OpenJDK 10 was released on 20 March 2018, with the adoption of certain new features.

• Ensuring Seamless Configuration Of Applications With Containers And Java Runtimes 

The Collection framework has managed to leverage more benefits of the use of containers and Java runtimes. This offers a seamless configuration of Java applications and consistent memory management.

• Frequent Alteration To Features – To Ensure A Well-Planned Application Development

Yet another major development was the introduction of a ‘six-month release’ interval.

This ensured frequent iterations and faster introduction of features to Java applications. These characteristics were decided to be made available through enterprising shops.

Technology Trends in Java – What To Expect In 2024

Java is a programing language that can run on nearly any system (Thanks to the platform-agnostic JVM!), it has started to get easier to use and scalable than ever before! Below are listed the major trends that we could predict for this and coming years.

• Java Continues To Evolve – Java SE 10 Contribution 

Java is a programming language that is used by more than 9 million developers. It contains extensive libraries that shape the whole enterprise application development. With the release of Java SE 10, which was created in close collaboration with the OpenJDK Community, came several new added features. Java is also ranked as the #1 developer choice for cloud, with over 12 million developers and over 21 billion cloud-connected Java virtual machines!!

• Real-time Specification 

The Real-time Specification for Java (RTSJ) is into existence.

Java creator, James Gosling, and Sun’s real-time guru, Greg Bollella have described embedded systems as “the new frontier in which predictable execution takes precedence” over other system attributes, such as speed, bandwidth, and payload-carrying capacity. They are promoting real-time Java applications for embedded use! With the RTSJ, they have managed to solve the language and runtime issues.

• Project Juxtapose 

Sun’s JXTA open source platform has gained ample acceptance among developers.

Using Project Juxtapose, Sun hopes to influence standards that will govern future Web services development. With this, Java developers will be able to focus their capability to contribute more for Java application development.

• The Java Effect On Scripting Languages 

Scripting languages such as Jython, which is a complete implementation of the Python language, is coded in cent percent Java. Python, Perl, and PHP to name a few other programming languages are receiving widespread attention.

• Wireless Applications With Its Ease Of Use 

Wireless application development in Java has gained noticeable traffic due to its open-source platform nature. The reason being Nokia, the world’s largest mobile telephone maker, has committed to using the open source Symbian OS for all of its future handsets!!

Both kinds of Wireless Java applications, Local and Network applications, is more challenging because they are developed on one platform (such as Solaris or MS Windows) but deployed on a totally different one (such as a cell phone or PDA). It is a concern that, while emulators enable developers to do some of their testings on the development platform, they need to test and evaluate the application in a totally different environment of a live wireless network. This is however made easy!!

• Growing demand for Java developers 

Java being a statically-typed language, it is faster and easier to maintain with fewer bugs. It is also backward compatible, which means old versions of the language will still run perfectly even after new versions are released. This is a big relief for businesses who would otherwise worry about rewriting their code every time a new version comes out. Coupled with its portability, developers know that investing in Java will pay dividends for a long, long time.

• Mobile Application Development 

In less than two years, the demand for mobile enterprise applications is estimated to rise five times faster!! Android currently dominates the smartphone market with 80.7% (compared to Apple’s 17.7%) and will continue its expansion! Java will, as a result, continue to be the driving force behind mobile application development trends!

• The IoT Era And Java

The Internet Of Things is among the latest development trends in Java! As of now, Java is currently one of the few technologies that are capable of adding life to IoT. It is indeed true that Java’s future lies in the Internet of Things.

Mike Milincovich, Eclipse Foundation strongly believes that Oracle will help to develop a definite end-to-end storage data solution!! Like the Kona Project that is currently working on Java APIs for embedded systems.

The Java ME platform allows vendors to build secure mobile enterprise applications for the Internet of Things. The language is supported by the Intel IoT platform!

With all these advanced features and development, Java continues to grow and evolve. Java has undeniably achieved the top spot among the most popular programming languages in the world!