Ten Hot Programming Trends and 10 Going Cold
Summary
Stay up-to-date with the latest trends in programming with this list of 10 hot and 10 not-so-hot trends. Preprocessors like M4 and Docker are gaining popularity, while full language stacks and hypervisors are losing ground. JavaScript MV frameworks and CSS frameworks are in, while generic cascading style sheets and Flash are out. Spark is on the rise, challenging Hadoop's popularity. Game developers are using libraries like Unity and LibGDX, leaving behind native game development. Single-page web apps and mobile web apps are gaining traction, while traditional websites and native mobile apps are declining. Android is growing in popularity due to its cost-effectiveness, while iOS still has a dedicated fan base.
Table of Content
These 10 hot new programming trends and 10 going cold will keep you well-informed and ready to traverse the right paths. So what if your profession is in programming? Everything you need should be trendy, right!
It is true that in the contemporary world driven by technology, the ruling seat is occupied by science, mathematics, rigor, logic, precision and so on… It also deserves mention that the profession of programming is not untouched by trends. Trends in programming are driven by greater efficiency, enhanced customization, and convenience to use. Programming is, in reality, a fascinating profession powered by swift change, obsessive debate, and unexpected comebacks.
Here’s a list of what’s hot and what’s not in the programming world.
List of 10 “Hot” and 10 “Not Hot” Programming Trends
| Hot | Not Hot |
|---|---|
| Preprocessors: Previously programmers had to create everything that transforms code into the bits offered to the silicon. But now they just write a preprocessor that translates codes into a form that’s rich in libraries and APIs. The most well known example of a general purpose preprocessor is M4, although C preprocessor is seldom used in a non-C role. The former is used as a template engine to HTML generation; and the later is used for JavaScript preprocessing. | Full Language Stacks: Software architects acting as tier-connectors or bridge-builders are less of full stack developers and more of integrators! Now, the trend is more towards gaining full stack integrators who are also engineers with in depth technical knowledge in specific arenas. So rest in peace full stacks developers! |
| Docker: It would be incorrect to state straightaway that hypervisors are already out of the trend. This is because they still maintain their place as many Docker containers work inside the OS running on top of Hypervisors. Not to forget! People are utilizing smart developer tools like Ansible with containers like Docker. Nonetheless, Dockers are smaller than the usual virtual machine images; thereby making them more convenient to be used and deployed. | Hypervisors: Whenever the developers can, they prefer to ship Docker containers. This is due to the ease of juggling during deployment. Smart companies are working on reducing Docker’s fat even more. So, it is apparent that in the near future, we would have to bid good bye to Hypervisors. |
| JavaScript MV frameworks: The technology world is now full of JavaScript MV frameworks such as AngularJs,Vue.js, Kendo, jQuery Mobile, Sencha, Backbone, Ember and so forth. They are all ready to handle the contents and events for your web pages and apps as well. | JavaScript files: Earlier, everyone used to learn how to write JavaScript to pop up an alert box or ensure whether the email address in the form included a “@” symbol. At present, with the availability of HTML Ajax apps, it is easier to adopt an elaborate framework and write a few codes to apply to your business logic. |
| CSS frameworks: Now CSS frameworks like SASS, LESS- popular CSS pre-processor, and Compass have gained a firm footing in the industry. They promote literate and steady type of coding by offering programming constructs like real variable and mix-ins. | Generic Cascading Style Sheets: In the past, adding a bit of color to any web page would command the opening of a CSS file, and making a new font style. But now, web pages have become more sophisticated; such that it is become impossible to enter such simple commands in a file. So, these particular style sheets have become a thing of the past! |
| SVG + JavaScript on Canvas: With JavaScript layers possessing most abilities like that of Flash, manufacturers and developers of browsers are just cheering for the death of Flash. The attractive features of SVG, HTML and large APIs would leave you with no reason to use Flash | Flash: So, Flash was reigning supreme with its features. But artists are looking for better “results”. With the growing popularity of competitor, Flash has gradually lost its charm; indeed. |
| Spark: Spark is a really hot trend in the programming world. It borrows some of the most profitable ideas of Hadoop for generating meaning from large chunks of data. Then, Spark moves on to updating them with a few improvements to make the resultant codes much faster. | Hadoop: Well, it’s not actually so… that Hadoop is cooling off in its popularity. It is just that Spark is getting really red hot in the market. |
| Game frameworks: Most of the game developers now use libraries like Unity, Corona or LibGDX for building up their systems. While doing this, they do not have to spend millions of dollars and they are relieved from the pain of dealing with the game details. In the current scenario, they can focus more upon the game play, characters, narrative arc, and the game art – all without t trying too hard | Native game development: Once upon a time in the web world, game development would mean hiring huge number of developers costing millions of dollars. Now, no one is interested in affording the custom code luxury. |
| Single-page Web apps: New web apps are the trend now. They are the front ends to huge databases filled with content. Whenever any app feels the necessity of extra information, it just pulls the same from the database and places it into the local mold. A much more convenient, and of course a better alternative, (in all respects) to other websites. | Websites: Remember the days when URLs used to point to web pages that were filled with images and texts? In those days, the designer teams would have to spend several hours for struggling over the site map for making them easy enough to steer. All that is passé. |
| Mobile Web apps: You can now just build one HTML app and place it on the web for running on all different platforms. Say, if there are any changes, you do not have to return to the app store for fixing the issues on hand. Since HTML layers are getting faster, and running on quicker chips, this approach obviously challenges the results of native mobile apps. | Native Mobile apps: If you have a notable idea for mobile content, you can rush and write separate versions for Android, Windows, iOS and sometimes even Blackberry OS. But then, each would app would require a separate team that speaks different programming languages. There will be hurdles laid by each platform’s app store before the app can be delivered to its users completely. |
| Android: The reason behind Android’s faster growing popularity, in comparison to iOS, is with regards to its cost. Even today, iOS devices cost a pretty high penny but the Android world is flooded with tablets that are being produced for as low as one-fifth of the same price. | iOS: Time has really changed! The iPhone and iPad continue to entertain dedicated fans who are in love with their sophisticated and rich UI. However, the raw sales figures hugely favor Android. Some reports even suggest that out of the total number of phones sold around the world, more than 80% account for the ones with Android. |
Are you in sync with these 10 hot new programming trends and 10 going cold – do let us know through your comments!
