Which of the following is considered a very popular, open source, back-end software stack?

Choosing the right tech stack for web development is one of the crucial things to consider. After all, it will determine the functionality, features, and interface of the software. It will eventually impact numerous layers of your business.

The truth is that you can spend hours digging deep into the vast researching options. Before making up your mind, you can spend hours digging into the vast current programming language trends, but first, you need to navigate through several high-end technologies. And even after long hours of searching, it still can be confusing for business owners. As for developers, they need to figure out which programming language to learn to be valuable for potential employers. 

So let's clear things up and understand what tools and technologies power the software development process this year. Then, we will consider them from the point of view of their position in the software development anatomy. Eventually, that will enable us to shortlist the top trending programming languages in 2022.

Web Development Anatomy

The best way to understand web development is to represent it as a two-way process:

• Client-side programming (a.k.a. front-end), which is a user-oriented side of a website or app 
• Server-side programming (a.k.a. back-end) relates to the part of a website or app that is not visible to end-users.

Both parts of web development should be taken into account to execute the project flawlessly. With them, your product will meet stringent market requirements and remain consistent with time.

The Popularity of Web Development Technologies in 2022

Recent research data suggests that the most in-demand technologies to power web development include Javascript, Java, and Python. These are the most sought-after programming languages by recruiters in 2022, as cited by the novel CodinGame developer survey.

The Most Sought-After Programming Languages by Recruiters in 2022

According to another survey conducted by Statista, the most widely used languages among developers include:

• JavaScript
• HTML / CSS
• Python
• SQL
• Java.

The Most Widely Used Languages Among Developers

To find out which programming language is in trend amid freelancers, we turned to the most recent Upwork breakdown. Their list mentions JavaScript, CSS, HTML, PHP, and Python as the most popular options for developers. 

Another indicator that leads us to choose the best programming language to learn first is its popularity on search engines. For that, we considered the top contenders in the regularly updated TIOBE and PYPL ratings. 

The TIOBE index denotes that the top contenders are Python, C, Java, C++, C#, Visual Basic, and JavaScript. As we can see from the table below, Python started in third place in January 2021 and surpassed Java and C to become the rating leader. 

Top Programming Languages by TIOBE

According to the PYPL rating that analyzes the most trending programming languages and technologies, the top winners secured their positions through 2021:

Trending Languages by PYPL

Powered by the most recent research data, we can present the most in-demand programming technologies to use at different phases of the web development process and for other purposes in 2022.

Front-End Technology Stack Components

It is hard to imagine the work of a modern front-end developer without the most common technologies out there:

• HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Sheet Styles). HTML helps to create the frame of each web page. Then CSS plugs in to transform the page and give it a competent look.

These two technologies occupied second place in the most popular technologies list compiled by Stackoverflow in 2021.

There are helpful frameworks that should be used for HTML and CSS. Among them, Bootstrap and Foundation are among the most popular and loved ones by developers. Bootstrap helps reduce the development time. In addition, it helps to create responsive websites rendered equally in all modern browsers. Foundation gives developers more flexibility when working on the interface. It offers an extended suite of tools that facilitate the creation of large corporate websites.

• JavaScript. It is a programming language that runs in the browser and adds interactivity and functionality to the web page.

As the current trends in programming languages adoption suggest, developers and employers maintain a strong interest in the technology. We can observe that from the data collected by the previously mentioned researchers (CodinGame and Stackoverflow): 

No Javascript tech stack is complete without special tool kits. That tool kits accelerate the web development and provide a structured organization of the code. Among them, jQuery, Angular.js, React.js, and Vue.js are the most preferred frameworks out there. Each of them has its tasks to solve. And it is essential to know their features and application domains.

As for jQuery, it facilitates interactions between JavaScript and HTML. It also fixes compatibility issues across browsers. Angular.js is Google's brainchild. It gets immense support from the tech giant and will be there for years to come. It is primarily used to build dynamic web apps and SPAs (Single-Page Apps).

React.js, meanwhile, was developed by Facebook and is recognized by its performance. Vue.js is a relatively new framework that is easy to learn and understand. It requires some basic knowledge of HTML and JavaScript. It is worth noting that Vue is an independent open-source framework not tied to any prominent tech company. 

If we look at the survey conducted by StackOverflow, we can see that React.js leads the pack as the broadly used framework for web development:

Web Development Frameworks

The image illustrates the percentage of respondents opting for a specific technology in 2021.

One of the exciting findings of the survey is that there is a change in attitudes among developers. If we compare the previous year’s results, we can observe that React.js surpassed jQuery for the first time.

Back-End Technology Stack Components

The back-end part consists of the following components:

• Programming languages
• Databases
• Servers

Programming Languages

Programming languages are used to provide interoperability between databases, servers, and the front end of a website or app.

What is the best programming language to learn to code the back-end part? Among the common programming languages and their frameworks are the following:

• Python s useful for complex app development powered by the Django, Pylons, Flask frameworks. It is one of the best programming languages to learn in 2022 since it is considered one of the most demanded ones by employers. 
• NodeJS is a runtime environment used to create server-side apps. As it requires the knowledge of JavaScript, often used in stacks along with the JS front-end infrastructure.
• Java is a fast, scalable, and secure programming language. It is generally used with the Spring, Struts, and Hibernate frameworks.
• PHP is a widely adopted programming language, with Laravel as one of the most popular PHP frameworks.
• C# powers the Unity Game Engine and is vastly used on the .NET framework or any open-source platform.
• C++ is used to write fast programs for operating systems, browsers, graphics applications, banking apps, and many others.

Here’s how the top back-end programming languages compare in terms of their positions in different ratings:

As we can see, the most trending programming language for the back-end part is Python.

Databases

Databases provide the permanent storage of the data. They can be either relational or non-relational. 

Let's refer to StackOverflow's survey once again. As it offers one of the most comprehensive coverages of trends among developers, we can find that the MySQL database is the most preferred option:

The image illustrates the percentage of respondents opting for a specific technology. 

MySQL has remained on top of the game as it offers an intuitive interface and batch commands that can reliably process vast loads of data. It's also free software, though it is regularly updated and improved in terms of security.

Servers

Servers receive and process requests from various user devices. Some of the most popular web servers as for now:

• According to the data collected by W3Techs, as of 2021, 33.1% of all websites use NGINX. In the majority of cases, the server is chosen due to its high performance and scalability. The solution is excellent for handling numerous concurrent sessions.
• Apache HTTP Server. The reasons behind its popularity are excellent documentation and comprehensive support from users.
• IIS. This web server is implemented on the Windows platform. Since all the settings are set up through a graphical interface, this server is suitable for those who don't like to configure files on the command line. For some, this is the reason to prefer IIS over Apache, which is configured through the command line.

Now that you know the standard components of web development let's proceed to full-stack solutions that dominate the industry. 

Full-Stack Tech Components

The most popular stacks are the following:

• LAMP
• MEAN
• MERN
• Python-Django

LAMP Stack

The LAMP stack is a suite of free, open-source software. It comprises Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP technologies. LAMP has become the standard of web development and remained classic through the years. 

MEAN Stack

MEAN is a term under which the three JavaScript frameworks (ExpressJS, AngularJS, NodeJS) and a document-oriented NoSQL (MongoDB) database are united. Since ExpressJS, AngularJS and NodeJS are written using JavaScript, the development of MEAN applications can only be written in this programming language. That is one reason why the tech stack remains popular. Another one is its advanced flexibility and accessible code transfer.

MERN Stack

MERN consists of MongoDB, ExpressJS, React/Redux, and NodeJS. It gained immense popularity for using ReactJS for the front-end and NodeJS for the back-end parts. It is widely used for creating high-performance off-the-shelf web applications.

Python-Django Stack

As the Python-Django stack is based on one of the most popular web development languages, it is likely to remain among developers' trends. They generally combine it with the Apache web server, MySQL, and the Django framework for server-side development. Django is the right solution for any website because of the many third-party packages available. If you want to create a complex user experience, to be fluent in Javascript is required.

Summing Up

In this article, we focused on the landscape of tools that will power modern web development in 2022. We aimed to denote which tech stacks come forward and explain their popularity.

For more practical advice on choosing the right tech stack depending on the project size and complexity, go to the second part of our blog posts. You will overview the technologies that are driving the development of modern web apps. In our next publication, we also investigate the tech stacks behind successful projects. Stay tuned!