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E-Commerce & web Development

Languages and Differences

Introduction:
Web programming, also known as web development, is the creation of dynamic web
applications. Examples of web applications are social networking sites like Facebook or
e-commerce sites like Amazon.

Objective:
A programming language is used to control the actions of a machine. Such a language
is a properly drafted or constructed language when it is designed in such a way that
through it instructions can be communicated to a computer system. Ever since the
invention of computers, thousands of programming languages have been created, and
more are being created every year.

Definition:
Programming language is a language that is designed to be used (read and written) by
humans to create programs that can be executed by computers. In other words we can
say that programming languages provides the way so that the users may interact with
the computer to give it commands and instructions to perform certain tasks.

what is a Programming Language?


A set of words, symbols and codes used to write programs is called programming
language. Different programming languages are available for writing different types of
programs.

Explain different types of programming languages


With the help of computer language, a programmer tells a computer what to do. Some
popular computer programming languages are C++, Java, Visual Basic etc. These are
examples of high level programming languages. Whereas machine language and
assembly language are called low level programming language.

Another Definition of a Programming Language


A programming language is a language that is designed to be used (read and written)
by humans to create programs that can be executed by computers. In other words we
can say that programming languages provides the way so that the users may interact
with the computer to give it commands and instructions to perform certain tasks.

Types of Programming Languages


There are two main types of computer programming languages.
• low-level languages
• high-level languages.

Low Level Programming Languages


These languages are near to computer hardware and far from human languages.
Computer can understand these languages easily.

Following are two low-level languages:


• Machine Language
• Assembly Language

Machine Language
A computer language in which instructions are written in binary form (0 and 1) is called
machine language. It is the only language that is directly understood by the computer.
Machine language is the native language of computer.

A computer language in which instructions are written in binary form (0 and 1) is called
machine language. It is the only language that is directly understood by the computer.

Advantages of Machine Languages


a) Very fast program execution: Because the machine language is the native
language of computer that computers directly understand and execute. There is no
need of a translator program, because computer can already understand and execute
the machine language instructions directly without the need of translation.

Disadvantages of Machine Languages:


a) Machine Language is difficult to understand
b) Machine Language is difficult to learn
c) Programs of Machine Language are difficult to modify
d) Machine Language requires deep knowledge of hardware
e) Programs of Machine Language are difficult to remove errors
f) Programs of Machine Language are Machine dependent
Machine language is also known as first generation language.

Assembly Language
Assembly language is a low-level language. In assembly language, symbols are used
instead of binary code. These symbols are easy to remember. For example Add
instruction is used to add two numbers. Assembly language is also known as second
generation language

Advantages of Assembly Langauge:


a) Assembly language programs are executed with fast speed
b) Assembly language programming is easier to learn, understand and modify than
machine language
Disadvantages:
a) Assembly language programs are machine dependent
b) Assembly language programming requires deep knowledge of hardware

High Level Programming Languages


A type of language that is close to human languages is called high level language. High-
level languages are easy to understand. Instructions of these languages are written in
English-like words e.g. Print, Display, Write etc.

Examples of High Level Programming Languages


o COBOL
o BASIC
o PASCAL
o C
o C++
o JAVA
o Visual Basic

Advantages of High Level Programming Languages:

a) High Level Programming Languages are Easy to learn and understand


b) Programs written in High Level Programming Languages are Easy to modify
c) It is Easy to remove errors in the Programs written in High Level Programming
Languages
d) Programs written in High Level Programming Languages are Machine independent
e) High Level Programming Languages have Better documentation

Disadvantages of High Level Programming Languages


a) A disadvantage of High Level Programming Languages is slower program execution.
b) High Level Programming Languages provide programming facilities for performing
Certain operations.

An Introduction To High Level Programming Languages

FORTRAN
FORTRAN stands for FORmula TRANslation. It is mainly used for writing applications
related to science and engineering fields.

BASIC
BASIC stands for Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. It was invented in
late 1960's to teach programming skills to students.

COBOL
COBOL stands for Common Business Oriented Language. It was especially designed for
business applications.

C Language
C Language is one of the most popular programming language among students and
beginners in the field of computer programming. C Language was designed by Dennis
Ritchie at AT&T Bell Labs in 1972. Sometimes C Language is called a middle level
language because it provides facilities to develop application software as well as system
software. So C Language combines some important qualities of a high level language
and a low level programming language.

Difference between Low-level & High-level Language

High-level Language Low-level Language

1. High-level languages are easy to learn 1. Low-level languages are difficult to learn.

2. near to human languages. 2, far from human languages.

3. Programs in high-level languages are 3. Programs in low-level languages are fast in


slow in execution. execution.

4. Programs in high-level languages are 4. Programs in low-level languages are


easy to modify. difficult to modify.

5. Deep knowledge of hardware is not 5. Deep knowledge of hardware is required to


required to write programs. write programs.

Page Structure Concepts:


Well-structured content allows more efficient navigation and processing. Use HTML and
WAI-ARIA to improve navigation and orientation on web pages and in applications.

 Page Regions: Identify and mark up regions on web pages using HTML5 and
WAI-ARIA roles.
 Labeling Regions: Label regions to allow users to distinguish and access them.
 Headings: Add headings and nest them logically to label sections of web pages
according to their relationships and importance.
 Content Structure: Mark up the content on a page in a way that uses appropriate
and meaningful elements.

Pages with well-structured content are essential for many web users, for example:

 People with cognitive and learning disabilities can more easily find and
prioritize content on the page.
 People using screen readers can skip to the main content directly and navigate
to sections that are important to them.
 Keyboard users can browse pages and their sections more efficiently. Otherwise,
users have to press the tab key multiple times to navigate through all links in each
section.
 People using software that only shows the main content of a web page, such
as people with cognitive disabilities, will receive better results if the page structure
is correctly marked up.
 People with visual impairments, including people with low vision, have cues that
provide orientation on the page and in the content.
 Mobile web users often have access to a so-called “reader” or “reading” mode
that will only show the main content of the page if it is correctly marked up.
 People using certain browser plugins can use landmark roles to jump to
specific sections on a page.
 There are additional benefits to a good, accessible page structure, beyond those
experienced by people with disabilities. As an example, search engines can use
the data to better index the content of a page.

HTML Introduction
HTML is the standard markup language for creating Web pages.

 HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language


 HTML describes the structure of Web pages using markup
 HTML elements are the building blocks of HTML pages
 HTML elements are represented by tags
 HTML tags label pieces of content such as "heading", "paragraph", "table",
and so on
 Browsers do not display the HTML tags, but use them to render the
content of the page

A Simple HTML Document


Example:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Page Title</title>
</head>
<body>

<h1>My First Heading</h1>


<p>My first paragraph.</p>

</body>
</html>

<!DOCTYPE html> declaration defines this document to be HTML5

 The <html> element is the root element of an HTML page


 The <head> element contains meta information about the document
 The <title> element specifies a title for the document
 The <body> element contains the visible page content
 The <h1> element defines a large heading
 The <p> element defines a paragraph

HTML Tags
HTML tags are element names surrounded by angle brackets:

<tagname>content goes here...</tagname>

 HTML tags normally come in pairs like <p> and </p>


 The first tag in a pair is the start tag, the second tag is the end tag
 The end tag is written like the start tag, but with a forward
slash inserted before the tag name

Tip: The start tag is also called the opening tag, and the end tag the closing
tag.
HTML Page Structure
Below is a visualization of an HTML page structure:

<html>

<head>

<title>Page title</title>

</head>

<body>

<h1>This is a heading</h1>

<p>This is a paragraph.</p>

<p>This is another paragraph.</p>

</body>

</html>

Note: Only the content inside the <body> section (the white area above) is
displayed in a browser.

The <!DOCTYPE> Declaration


The <!DOCTYPE> declaration represents the document type, and helps browsers
to display web pages correctly.

It must only appear once, at the top of the page (before any HTML tags).

The <!DOCTYPE> declaration is not case sensitive.

The <!DOCTYPE> declaration for HTML5 is:

<!DOCTYPE html>

Prerequisites Section
Before starting this module, you don't need any previous HTML knowledge,
but you should have at least basic familiarity with using computers and using
the web passively (i.e., just looking at it and consuming content). You should
have a basic work environment set up (as detailed in Installing basic
software), and understand how to create and manage files (as detailed
in Dealing with files). Both are parts of our Getting started with the
web complete beginner's module.
Note: If you are working on a computer/tablet/other device that doesn't let you create
your own files, you can try out (most of) the code examples in an online coding program
such as JSBin or Thimble.

Guides Section
This module contains the following articles, which will take you through all
the basic theory of HTML and provide ample opportunity for you to test out
some skills.

Getting started with HTML

Covers the absolute basics of HTML, to get you started — we define elements,
attributes, and other important terms, and show where they fit in the
language. We also show how a typical HTML page is structured and how an
HTML element is structured, and explain other important basic language
features. Along the way, we'll play with some HTML to get you interested!

What’s in the head? Metadata in HTML


The head of an HTML document is the part that is not displayed in the web
browser when the page is loaded. It contains information such as the
page <title>, links to CSS (if you want to style your HTML content with CSS),
links to custom favicons, and metadata (data about the HTML, such as who
wrote it, and important keywords that describe the document).

HTML text fundamentals

One of HTML's main jobs is to give text meaning (also known as semantics),
so that the browser knows how to display it correctly. This article looks at how
to use HTML to break up a block of text into a structure of headings and
paragraphs, add emphasis/importance to words, create lists, and more.

Creating hyperlinks

Hyperlinks are really important — they are what makes the web a web. This
article shows the syntax required to make a link, and discusses best practices
for links.

Advanced text formatting


There are many other elements in HTML for formatting text that we didn't get
to in the HTML text fundamentals article. The elements in here are less well-
known, but still useful to know about. In this article you'll learn about marking
up quotations, description lists, computer code and other related text,
subscript and superscript, contact information, and more.

Document and website structure

As well as defining individual parts of your page (such as "a paragraph" or "an
image"), HTML is also used to define areas of your website (such as "the
header," "the navigation menu," or "the main content column.") This article
looks into how to plan a basic website structure and how to write the HTML to
represent this structure.

Debugging HTML
Writing HTML is fine, but what if something goes wrong, and you can't work
out where the error in the code is? This article will introduce you to some
tools that can help.

Assessments Section
The following assessments will test your understanding of the HTML basics
covered in the guides above.

Marking up a letter

We all learn to write a letter sooner or later; it is also a useful example to


test out text formatting skills. In this assessment you'll be given a letter to
mark up.

Structuring a page of content


This assessment tests your ability to use HTML to structure a simple page of
content, containing a header, a footer, a navigation menu, main content, and
a sidebar.
A brief history of JavaScript
JavaScript was created by Brendan Eich in 1995 during his time at Netscape
Communications. It was inspired by Java, Scheme and Self.
Netscape, for a time, made the best browser in the world and enjoyed market
dominance.

In late 1995, when Microsoft cottoned-on to the competitive threat the Web posed, the
Internet Explorer project was started in an all-out attempt to wrestle control of the
emerging platform from Netscape.

In so doing Microsoft became a mortal threat, compelling Netscape to respond. First,


they started a standardization process to prevent Microsoft gaining control of the
JavaScript language. Second, they partnered with Sun to leverage their shared interest
in breaking the Microsoft monopoly.

Sun began development of Java in 1990 in an attempt to write a language for “smart
appliances”. This approach floundered and in 1994, Sun regrouped and set sights on the
Web as the delivery platform of choice.

So the Netscape/Sun partnership meant Sun acquired the use of a competitive browser
and a delivery system for their strategic technology.

Netscape, on the other hand found a powerful ally against Microsoft. They also aimed to
out-manoeuvre Microsoft by being the official browser of the highly anticipated platform
that was Java.

Brendan Eich has said that with Sun on board, they decided to surf the tidal wave of
hype surrounding Java and position JavaScript as the companion language to Java, in
the same way Visual Basic was to C++. So the name was a straightforward marketing
ploy to gain acceptance.

Netscape’s Mocha (later JavaScript) aimed to turn the web into a full-blown application
platform. Furthermore, when used together with their LiveWire application server
product, it would enable isomorphic development, with the same language used on both
client and server.

If this sounds familiar, it is because this was exactly what Sun was attempting to pull off
with Java. At the time however, the Web was very limited when compared to Java; for
example, drawing pixels was not possible in JavaScript as it is now with canvas. So Sun
(erroneously, I believe) never saw the language as a competitor and the alliance held.

Unfortunately for JavaScript, its early market positioning outlived its usefulness and later
became a brake on market acceptance as it emerged as a viable technology in its own
right.

So JavaScript was conceived a Web “companion” for Java. Unfortunately, together with
the speed of its creation, this meant the inclusion of a number characteristics that would
later be ridiculed. Such as:

 automatic semicolon insertion (ASI)

 automatic type coercion when using common operators like ‘==’

 lack of block scoping

 lack of classes

 lack of dedicated modularisation capability

 unusual inheritance (prototypical)

As we will see in later posts, there is merit to some of these criticisms.

Summary

JavaScript has a rich and fascinating history. It continues to be one of the most hated
languages on the planet, often for reasons that have long since faded into irrelevance.

LiveWire and the powerful nature of the language betray the true ambitions of
Andreessen and the Netscape team, foreshadowing a possible future beyond being just
a Java companion.

The huge companies that dominate the technical landscape have repeatedly tried to
supplant JavaScript. First Sun, then Microsoft, then Adobe then Google. And yet
JavaScript continues to thrive.

JavaScript has become the de-facto standard programming language of the Web, not
only because of its first-mover advantage, but because it is open, standardized, and,
most importantly a very good language; well-suited to the Web with its dynamic nature
and tight integration with the DOM.
Is JavaScript Compiled or Interpreted?
So now we know what interpreted code and compiled code mean, the question we next
need to answer is what does all of this have to do with JavaScript? Depending on
exactly where you run your JavaScript the code may be compiled or interpreted or use
either of the other two variants mentioned. Most of the time you are running your
JavaScript in a web browser and there the JavaScript is usually interpreted.

Interpreted languages are usually slower than compiled languages. There are two
reasons for this. Firstly the code to be interpreted actually has to be interpreted before it
can be run and secondly, that has to happen every time that the statement is to be run
(not only every time you run the JavaScript but if it is in a loop then it needs to be done
every time around the loop). This means that code written in JavaScript will run slower
than code written in many other languages.

How does knowing this help us where JavaScript is the only language available for us to
run across all web browsers? The JavaScript interpreter itself that is built into the web
browser is not written in JavaScript. Instead, it is written in some other language that
was then compiled. What this means is that you can make your JavaScript run faster if
you can take advantage of any commands that JavaScript provides that allow you to
offload the task to the JavaScript engine itself.

2:PHP
For eCommerce development, I would say that PHP is probably the most widely
adopted programming language. It’s a highly scalable, functional, and object oriented
language.
However, the coding style is different, so it might take a while for you to get used to it. A
great example of a major eCommerce platform built with PHP is Magento.

4. PYTHON
Python is another popular programming language that is highly efficient with enhanced
readability. As a result, a lot of developers tend to favor this option.
This programming language is easy to learn and it turns complicated development into
a walk in the park.
5. CSS
CSS is a popular choice among developers who are focused on building web pages that
are visually driven. It’s a powerful style sheet language that’s used to manage the look and
feel of content developed with HTML.
The key benefit of building your eCommerce platform with CSS is faster page loads and
enhanced performance. This is because the browser will only download the rules once.
After that, it’s just cashed and used for each new page load in the future.

MEAN:

The MEAN (MongoDB, Express, AngularJS, and NodeJS) stack is a good option for
those comfortable with JavaScript. It’s also a great tool to write code for the following:
 App code
 Client side code
 Database code
Its popularity has grown immensely over the last few years, so much so that tech giants
like Google, PayPal, and Uber are all using it.

7. RUBY ON RAILS
Ruby on Rails is a popular option to get your eCommerce website up and running
quickly. Ruby is very flexible and a highly efficient solution for building complicated
online stores and websites.
While the performance may not be as good as some of the other options on this list, if
you want a heavily customized online store that can handle heavy traffic, Ruby on Rails
is the perfect solution.
While you can use all of these technologies to build your eCommerce website, the
better approach is to select a combination of languages that will complement what
you’re trying to do. This is because programming languages used in both front-end and
back-end development serve different purposes.
To gain some insights into what technologies were used to build your favorite websites,
check out BuiltWith.

How do HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP and MySQL work


together:
NEED TO STAFF FOR AN UPCOMING
HTML is the structure and presentation of the app: Forms and Inputs.
CSS is where the design of your webpage.
Javascript allows you to connect via DOM with APIs and Data (JSON)
PHP is used for server processes : Authentication. Session, parsing JSON, and
connecting with the Data Layer.
MYSQL is used for the database of a website where all information are stored.

Web development and E-commere


ecommerce has evolved significantly over the past decade and is expected to surpass a
$2 trillion annual haul by the end of 2017, according to IBM.
There are a lot of Content Management Systems (CMS), hosted solutions, and plugins
freely available for you to set up your online retail presence. But in the end, it will all
come down to your own skills, expertise, and to some degree the type of solution and
the number of transactions you’re hoping to process.
If you don’t have any coding skills and you want to operate a relatively small online
store, WordPress, WooCommerce, and hosted Shopify are great options. Also,
Magento is the best platform for those who want more freedom to customize how the
store looks.
With these (almost) turn key solutions, you won’t have to write a single line of code.
There are also more than enough free tutorials and forums to support the build.
But if you’re a business that has enough resources to hire an experienced developer,
you have to choose the appropriate programming languages for your eCommerce
development project.
Each coding language will have its own strengths and weaknesses, so the choice will
ultimately come down to the project’s requirements and the programming expertise
that’s available to you.
Here are some programming languages and technologies that are best suited for
building a highly attractive eCommerce solution.

Programming languages used in most popular websites

The most popular (i.e., the most visited) websites have in common that they
are dynamic websites. Their development typically involves server-side coding, client-
side coding and database technology. The programming languages applied to deliver
similar dynamic web content however vary vastly between sites.

Programming languages used in most popular websites*


Popul
Fro
arity
nt-
(uniqu
end
Websit e Back-end
(Cli Database Notes
es visitor (Server-side)
ent-
s per
side
mont
)
h)[1]

An email client,
for simple use.
280,000, JavaSc
MSN.com C# Microsoft SQL Server Mostly known
000 ript
as
"messenger".

One of the
270,000, JavaSc world's largest
Microsoft C# Microsoft SQL Server
000 ript software
companies.

285,000, JavaSc Microsoft SQL Server,


Bing C++, C#
000 ript Cosmos

Twitter.co 290,000, JavaSc Popular social


C++, Java[19], Scala[20], Ruby MySQL[21]
m 000 ript network.

The most used


Google.co 1,600,00 JavaSc C, C++, Go,[3] Java, Python, PHP
Bigtable, MariaDB
[4] [5] search engine
m[2] 0,000 ript (HHVM)
in the world

The most
YouTube. 1,100,00 JavaSc Vitess,
C, C++, Python, Java,[11] Go[12] visited video
com 0,000 ript BigTable, MariaDB[5][13]
sharing site
Programming languages used in most popular websites*

Popul
Fro
arity
nt-
(uniqu
end
Websit e Back-end
(Cli Database Notes
es visitor (Server-side)
ent-
s per
side
mont
)
h)[1]

250,000, JavaSc
Pinterest Django,[27] Erlang MySQL, Redis [28]
000 ript

Hack, PHP The most


Facebook. 1,100,00 JavaSc MariaDB, MySQL,[9] HBase
(HHVM), Python, C++, Java, Erla visited social
com 0,000 ript ,Cassandra[10]
ng, D,[6] XHP,[7] Haskell[8] networking site

Popular
Amazon.c 500,000, JavaSc
Java, C++, Perl[16] Oracle Database[17] internet
om 000 ript
shopping site

285,000, JavaSc Online auction


eBay.com Java,[22] JavaScript,[23] Scala[24] Oracle Database
000 ript house

World's largest
Linkedin.c 260,000, JavaSc
Java, JavaScript, [25] Scala Voldemort [26] professional
om 000 ript
network.

Yahoo is
750,000, JavaSc PostgreSQL, HBase,Cassa presently[when?] t
Yahoo PHP
000 ript ndra, MongoDB,[14] ransitioning
to Node.js[15]
Programming languages used in most popular websites*

Popul
Fro
arity
nt-
(uniqu
end
Websit e Back-end
(Cli Database Notes
es visitor (Server-side)
ent-
s per
side
mont
)
h)[1]

WordPres 240,000, JavaSc PostgreSQL, HBase,Cassa


PHP
s.com 000 ript ndra, MongoDB,[29]

"MediaWiki" is
programmed
Wikipedia 475,000, JavaSc in PHP, runs
PHP, Hack MariaDB[18]
.org 000 ript on HHVM; free
online
encyclopedia

*data on programming languages are based on:

 HTTP Header information


 Request for file types

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