What is a Web Application?
A web application is software that runs in your web browser. Businesses have to exchange information and deliver services remotely. They use web applications to connect with customers conveniently and securely. The most common website features like shopping carts, product search and filtering, instant messaging, and social media newsfeeds are web applications in their design. They allow you to access complex functionality without installing or configuring software.
In general, web-application does not require downloading them because, as we already discussed, the web application is a computer program that usually resides on the remote server. Any user can access it by using one of the standard web browsers such as Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, etc., and most of them are available free for everyone.
A web application are generally coded using the languages supported by almost every web-browsers such as HTML, JavaScript because these are the languages that rely on the web browsers to render the program executable.
Some of the web applications are entirely static due to which they not required any processing on the server at all while, on the other hand, some web applications are dynamic and require server-side processing.
To operate a web- application, we usually required a web server (or we can say some space on the web-server for our programs/application’s code) to manage the clients’ upcoming requests and required an application server.
The application server performs the task that requested by the clients, which also may need a database to store the information sometimes. Application server technologies range from ASP.NET, ASP, and ColdFusion to PHP and JSP.
To create the web applications script, server-side programming is done by using programming languages such as Java, Python, PHP, and Ruby, etc. Python and Java are the languages that are usually used for server-side programming.
What are the benefits of web applications?
Web applications have several benefits, with almost all major enterprises utilizing them as part of their user offerings. Here are some of the most common benefits associated with web apps.
Accessibility
Web apps can be accessed from all web browsers and across various personal and business devices. Teams in different locations can access shared documents, content management systems, and other business services through subscription-based web applications.
Efficient development
As detailed, the development process for web apps is relatively simple and cost-effective for businesses. Small teams can achieve short development cycles, making web applications an efficient and affordable method of building computer programs. In addition, because the same version works across all modern browsers and devices, you won’t have to create several different iterations for multiple platforms.
User simplicity
Web apps don’t require users to download them, making them easy to access while eliminating the need for end-user maintenance and hard drive capacity. Web applications automatically receive software and security updates, meaning they are always up to date and less at risk of security breaches.
Scalability
Businesses using web apps can add users as and when they need, without additional infrastructure or costly hardware. In addition, the vast majority of web application data is stored in the cloud, meaning your business won’t have to invest in additional storage capacity to run web apps.
In general, a user sends a request to the web-server using web browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, etc over the internet.
Then, the request is forwarded to the appropriate web application server by the web-server.
Web application server performs the requested operations/ tasks like processing the database, querying the databases; produces the result of the requested data.
The obtained result is sent to the web-server by the web application server along with the requested data/information or processed data.
The web server responds to the user with the requested or processed data/information and provides the result to the user’s screen .
What is the difference between a web app and a native app?
A native app is a computer program that has been specifically designed for a particular user environment. One of the most common types of native apps are mobile apps, which are developed using specific programming code. Unlike web apps, native or mobile apps are downloaded by the user to their mobile device, usually through app stores. Native apps can only be accessed on the device they have been downloaded on, and users are responsible for downloading any updates.
Developers have to build different versions of their mobile applications if they want to make them available across operating systems like iOS or Android, ensuring they have as broad a reach as possible. Developers must also ensure their mobile apps adhere to app store standards or risk having their apps rejected.