Vue.js was created in 2014 by Evan You and is supported by him and other active core team members. Interesting fact, Vue.js version names are often derived from manga and anime, the majority of them within the science fiction genre.

Vue is also usable for both desktop and mobile application development due to its HTML and JS base extensions working in sync with the Electron framework, which makes it the most preferred frontend tool. Vue.js implements this through an MVC (Model View Controller) architecture to view the user interface of an application or website, using its underlying library by default.

Why use Vue

Vue frameworks provide the following full set of features that make it easy for developers to get to the UI:

• Transition

Vue.js offers a variety of ways to realize transitions to HTML components when updating or adding something from the DOM.  It also provides the ability to add animated third-party libraries to customize and design a better-cooperative UI.

• VDOM

Vue works using VDOM (virtual DOM). Changes to the state made during application development will not be reflected directly in the DOM. VDOM is produced instead, which is generally found in JS data structures, allowing the developer to test their design and review changes to the UI design without worrying about cost-effectively undoing them.

• Libraries and toolkits

Vue includes a considerable toolkit for all the elementary programming needs provided on its main page:

• Browser development tools are used to fix bugs in applications developed with Vue.
• Vue CLI (command-line interface), which is used to install and create the main Vue framework libraries and third-party plugins.
• Vue Router.
• Vue Loader.

Advantages of Vue

Each framework has its own special features and characteristics that make them known and receive priority over other frameworks. Vue.js holds the record for the highest number of stars on Github.com in the last 5 years. While the Vue.js community is smaller than ReactJS, the record of Vue.js stardom describes and tells the story of its fans. So here’s a list of the best features of Vue.js and the reasons why developers chose it:

• Performant and size-efficient. Vuejs is a lightweight framework with a package size of just 21KB, which is what sets it aside from its competitors. The virtual DOM also greatly speeds up rendering.
• User-friendly. Vue has some of the most comprehensive and strongest documentation, with everything from tutorials to step-by-step guides. Vue has a component-based interface: you can find everything you need in a single `.vue’ file. All you need is a basic knowledge of CSS, HTML, and JavaScript to start exploring Vue.js. 
• Community. Vue has a very supportive and dedicated community. There are a lot of forums and chats where Vue.js is tagged. More than 135,000 Github members are using Vue.js. 
• Progressive nature. The Vue framework can be implemented into your codebase incrementally instead of redesigning everything in a single swoop. Move from component one to one to get the whole endeavor off to a more controlled one.

Who uses Vue.js

Here is the list of companies that use Vue.js:

• Alibaba Group
• Netflix
• Xiaomi
• Adobe
• Gitlab
• Behance
• 9GAG
• Apple
• Google
• BMW

How to Create a Vue app using the Flatlogic Platform

There are two ways to build your application on the Flatlogic Platform: you can create a simple and clear front-end application, generated by the CLI framework, or the CRUD application with frontend+backend+database.  

Creating a CRUD application with Flatlogic

Step 1. Choose a Tech Stack

In this step, you’re setting the name of your application and choosing the stack: Frontend, Backend, and Database.

Step 2. Choose the Starter Template

In this step, you’re choosing the design of the web app.

Step 3. Schema Editor

In this part you will need to know which application you want to build, that is, CRM or E-commerce, also in this part you build a database schema i.e. tables and relationships between them.

If you are unfamiliar with database design and find it difficult to understand what tables are, we have prepared a number of ready-made example schemas of real-world apps from which you can build your own.

• E-commerce app;
• Time tracking app;
• Bookstore;
• Chat (messaging) app;
• Blog.

Finally, you can deploy your application and in a few minutes, you will get a fully functional CMS for your Vue application.

Step 4. Choose Integration method & Features

Next, you can connect your GitHub and push your application code there. Or skip this step by clicking the Finish and Deploy button and in a few minutes, your application will be generated.

Creating a one-page application with Flatlogic 

You can create a frontend-only app with the Flatlogic Platform. This assumes you are hosting the back-end somewhere else or do not need it at all. To generate a one-page application you don’t need to enter anything in the terminal of your IDE, you just need to go to the page of creating an application on the Flatlogic website and make only 2 steps:

Step 1. Choose a Tech Stack

In this step, you set the name of your application and choose the stack: Frontend as Vue, Backend as No-Backend.

Step 2. Choose the Starter Template

In this step, you choose the design of the web app. Since this is a standard one-page application created using the CLI framework, it will have the design of a standard one-page Vue CLI application.

In the end of app creation, you can deploy it and in a few minutes, you will get a one-page Vue application, which you can further modify as you like. Share the result with other colleagues and friends mentioning @flatlogic on Twitter, Facebook/Instagram and Medium. Check out other guidelines for the web app application process on our blog:

• Free Open-Source CRM Software For Small Business
• AI-Generated Roles and Permissions to Flatlogic Generator
• Decline in Coding: Web App Developers Writing Code Drops to 36.02% in 2024 – [Research Results]
• Exploring the Future of AI Web App Generators
• AI Web App Generator to Make Apps in Minutes

The post What is Vue? appeared first on Flatlogic Blog.

MySQL is an open-source relational database management system that allows you to manage relational databases based on Structured Query Language (SQL) queries. It supports multiple platforms such as Windows, Ubuntu, Linux, macOS, etc. It was developed by Swedish company MySQL AB in 1994, which was acquired in 2008 by American tech company Sun Microsystems. Afterwards, in 2010 the American giant Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems, and since then MySQL de-facto belongs to Oracle.

The database is a structured set of data, for example, a straightforward shopping list or places to store massive quantities of information throughout a business network. The relational database is a digital repository that collects data and organizes it according to a relational model, where tables consist of rows and columns and the relationships between data items follow a strict logical structure. MySQL is a simple software toolkit we can use to perform, manage, and execute queries on such a database. 

Why use MySQL?

MySQL is the most popular RDBMS, let’s look at why this is like that:

• Easy-to-use. The only thing you should learn before using MySQL is a basic knowledge of SQL (Structured Query Language).
• Open-source. Virtually anyone can install, modify, and use MySQL because of its incredible ease of use. The source code uses the GPL, that is, the GNU General Public License, which specifies guidelines for what you can and can’t do with this application.
• High Productivity. MySQL is possibly the fastest database language, according to a multitude of standard tests.
• Scalability. MySQL supports multi-threading, meaning the ability of systems to easily operate on small and large quantities of data, clusters of machines, etc. 
• Security. MySQL is composed of a strong security level of data that protects confidential data from attackers. The interface is also secure because it has a versatile password system and guarantees host-based validation before accessing the database. 
• Multiple data types. MySQL contains many data types, like integers, float, double, char, varchar, text, blob, date, time, DateTime, timestamp, etc.
• Community. The community is very large, so if you get stuck anywhere then you can get help from the community.
• Client-Server Architecture. MySQL is a client-server based architecture and accessible from anywhere through networking, i.e. each machine communicates with the server via an Internet connection. The server handles requests from the client and returns the result to the client machine. Clients can send queries to remote servers using an Internet connection, but the main requirement is keeping the server active at the time.

Who uses MySQL

MySQL is the most popular and useful database system, the largest and most important companies are probably choosing it such as:

• Uber
• Twitter
• Slack
• Airbnb
• Pinterest
• Amazon

Using the Flatlogic Platform you can also generate an application with a MySQL database system.

How to create your app with Flatlogic Platform

Step 1. Choosing the Tech Stack

In this step, you’re setting the name of your application and choosing the stack: Frontend, Backend, and Database.

Step 2. Choosing the Starter Template

In this step, you’re choosing the design of the web app.

Step 3. Schema Editor

In this part you will need to know which application you want to build, that is, CRM or E-commerce, also in this part you build a database schema i.e. tables and relationships between them.

If you are not familiar with database design and it is difficult for you to understand what tables are, we have prepared several ready-made example schemas of real-world apps that you can build your app upon modification:

• E-commerce app;
• Time tracking app;
• Books store;
• Chat (messaging) app;
• Blog.

Like all databases in MySQL, there are such types of table relationships as relation_one, relation_many. You can enforce the relationships by defining the right foreign key constraints on the columns.

• Relation (one) – one-sided relation capable of storing one or another entity, for example, Employee: [{ name: ‘John’}].
• Relation (many) – two-sided relation capable of storing any number of other entities, for example, Employee: [{ name: ‘John’ }, { name: ‘Joe’ }].

Afterwards, you can deploy your application and in a few minutes, you will get a fully functional CMS application with a MySQL database system.

The post What is MySQL? appeared first on Flatlogic Blog.

PHP (an acronym for Hypertext Pre-processor or the previous one Personal Home Pages) is a server-side open-source scripting language. It is great for dynamic content management, session tracking, and databases, and has fantastic community support.

PHP is a weak dynamic typing language, meaning it auto-determines a lot of implicit conversions, even though there may be a lack of precision or equivocal conversions. In 2020 PHP 8 came out. It has a JIT (just-in-time) Compilation, which sped up the work of the Preprocessor multiple times.

PHP is a popular programming language and is the foundation of such CMSs as WordPress (powers 43% of all the websites on the Internet), DRUPAL, Joomla, and the most popular E-Commerce Magento 2. Also, there are very popular PHP-based MVC Frameworks Symfony such as Yii2 (very popular in Russia) and Laravel (takes the 1st place in GitHub RANKING).

How PHP works

Let’s elaborate on how the Hypertext Preprocessor works. The browser sends an HTTP request to a web server. Then the index.php file is generated, which is handled by the preprocessor. Finally, the web server receives the output and sends it back over the Internet to a user’s web browser.

Why use PHP

PHP is incredibly easy for beginners and provides multiple advanced features for professional programmers. With it, you can learn and start writing basic scripts in a short period. Here is the list of the best features:

Versatility

PHP is a server-side programming language. Therefore, you need to set up a server to work with it. This language is also platform-independent. You don’t need a specific operating system to use it because it works on any platform, whether it’s macOS, Windows, Linux. For that reason, this is why it may be deployed on various systems and platforms easily and inexpensively.  

Secure and swift

PHP used to be scolded for its ability to attack the site with SQL injection, but with the release of MVC frameworks, this is now impossible. The major advantage is that due to the wide distribution and support of the community, there are now multiple tools, frameworks, and security and cyberattack protection solutions available. The second equally major feature is speed, try to use versions 8 and up, as these versions introduced the JIT Compilation, which speeds up PHP.

Well-linked with databases

PHP provides an easy way to establish a reliable connection to almost any database. So it can instantly connect to MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or any other database.

Testing

Among programming languages, PHP has a reputation for being stable and reliable. Its code has been tested under a wide variety of real-world and experimental conditions. If there’s a possible error or shortcoming, chances are someone in the community has found a way to deal with it. There are numerous frameworks and toolkits which are helpful for secure, efficiency and effectiveness of web development.

Community

PHP has a very responsive online community. The official documentation contains feature guides, chats and forums, so you can quickly solve your problem if you get stuck.

Low-cost open-source software

PHP is a no-cost language that can significantly help you save on your development expenses. A lot of the development tools normally used with this language are open-source and available for free, so they keep the cost of the project down even more. Numerous frameworks offer Hypertext functionalities and make the development process easier and much better, for example, the most popular and widely used is Laravel.

Conclusion

Rasmus Lerdorf is a Danish-Canadian programmer who released the first version of PHP in 1994. It continues to be a widely used and actual language in web development. It has been available for quite a long time. Major companies like Slack, Meta (Facebook), HPVM, and Wikipedia use the language extensively. Web Hosting Platforms like BlueHost, Cloudways(Laminas Hosting), Site ground run their hosting servers using Hypertext Preprocessor.

On the Flatlogic Platform, you can also use PHP when choosing the Laravel backend framework for creating your application. Afterward, you will get in a few minutes the Laravel CRUD admin panel with DataBase models and API.

The post What is PHP? appeared first on Flatlogic Blog.

Git is a version control system for keeping track of changes to files.
Git’s robust version control capabilities, highlighted by its efficient branching model, simplify merging contributions from multiple developers, enhancing collaboration and productivity in business software development. Its compatibility with platforms like GitHub further supports secure backup and easy access to revision histories.  The feature that sets it apart from nearly every other SCM out there is its branching model. What makes Git extremely simple is the ability to merge changes from several people into a single source.  You can use GitHub or other online hosts where you can also store backups of your files and their revision history. 

Repositories and Commits

Repositories (or repos) are collections of code. To keep track of the development process, Repositories include commits to the project or a collection of commit references.

Commit is a snapshot of your repository at a particular point in time. Commits capture a specific change or series of changes, that you have made to a file in the repository. Successive commits constitute the history of Git.

Branches and Merging

Generally, branches are unique code changes set with a unique name. Any repository contains more or less than one branch. The main branch where all changes merge eventually is the master branch.

Merge provides a Git method for combining fork histories. Merge integrates several commit sequences into history. Most commonly, Merge serves to combine two forked histories.

Git Pull Requests

Pull request is a method for discussing changes before they are merged into your codebase. A pull request is not just a notification, it is a special discussion forum for the suggested feature. If there are any problems with the changes, team members can provide feedback on the pull request and even refine the feature by pushing subsequent commits. All of this activity is tracked directly in the pull request.

Git commands

Developers use specific commands to copy, create, modify, and merge code to use Git. You can execute these commands directly from the command line or through an application. Here are some of those commands:

You can find more Git commands here.

Why use Git?

1. Synchronous development. Everyone has their local instance of the code, and everyone can work on their branches at the same time. Git works offline because almost all operations run locally.

2. Increase team speed and productivity. Git makes keeping track of changes to your code easy for your team. So you can focus on writing code instead of wasting time tracking and merging different versions into your team. It also calculates and stores your main repository locally, making it faster for most operations.

3. Open Source. Open source allows developers from all over the world to contribute to the software and make it more and more powerful through features and extra plugins. This has led to the Linux kernel consisting of 15 million lines of code.

4. Security: SHA-1 cryptography keeps you safe. This algorithm securely manages your versions, files and directories to avoid any damage to your work.

5. Git is an Industry Standard. It is highly popular, and major IDEs support it.

Suggested articles

• What is REST API
• Docker and Why Use It?
• What is API and How It Works

The post What is Git and Why Use It? appeared first on Flatlogic Blog.

Docker is an open container-based platform that enables you to generate, control and deploy applications on it. You can decouple applications from the infrastructure, and it enables you to build software quickly. Docker helps you reduce the time between coding and getting it into production by leveraging the advantages of the Docker methodology for rapid code delivery, testing, and deployment.

What is Docker Container?

Docker Containers are lightweight and portable virtual operating systems that include libraries, system tools, code, and runtime. One container can run anything from a small microservice to a massive application.

In Containers, applications can be abstracted from environments. This separation enables easy and consistent deployment of container-based applications, whether the medium is a private data center or a public cloud.

From an operational perspective, in addition to portability, containers also provide more control over resources, increasing infrastructure efficiency, which leads to better usage of computing resources.

How does Docker work?

Docker is necessary for client-server application functionality, which includes:

• The Server runs the daemon used to generate and control Containers, Images, Networks, and Data Volumes. 
• The REST API specifies how apps can communicate with the Server and instruct it to do its job. 
• The Client interacts with daemon through code and commands. 

Container work on an image-based deployment model that simplifies using the application across multiple environments. Images are a fundamental element of the Docker environment because they allow collaboration between developers in a manner that has not been possible before.

Why use Docker?

The Docker platform allows you to create virtual workloads quickly, allowing distributed applications to traverse server boundaries. Here are some pros why you can use it:

• Consistency. You always launch from the same starting point. Docker enables a coordinated environment for your application from development to production.
• Speed. You can rapidly start a new process on the server. Because the image is pre-configured and installed with the process you want to run, it removes all the complexity associated with starting a process.
• Isolation. Every launched Docker container is isolated from the file system, the network, and other running processes. As a result, applications can contain different versions of the same support software.
• Scalability. You can add several of the same containers to create multiple instances of the same application.

Reach Your App Goals with Docker and Our Templates!

Docker allows you to easily build applications using containers, running multiple applications on the same hardware, for easier management and deployment of applications. On the Flatlogic platform, after generating the application, we provide the user with two ways to run the application locally, one of which is using Docker.

We’re excited to show you Docker and how it can help you create an app. You can easily create, deploy, and manage applications with Docker. It’s the ideal tool for rapidly and securely developing the ideal app for you and your team. So let’s get started and see how Docker can help you create the app of your dreams!

If you want to create some real application by yourself, please read our next articles:

• Free Open-Source CRM Software For Small Business
• AI-Generated Roles and Permissions to Flatlogic Generator
• Decline in Coding: Web App Developers Writing Code Drops to 36.02% in 2024 – [Research Results]
• Exploring the Future of AI Web App Generators
• AI Web App Generator to Make Apps in Minutes

The post What is Docker and Why Use it? appeared first on Flatlogic Blog.

An Application Programming Interface (API) is a gateway that allows one App to communicate with other Apps – and defines how that communication occurs. They foster connections between technologies to improve the user experience. API is a collection of software functions and procedures.

APIs play a crucial role in business software development, facilitating secure and controlled access to resources, thereby enabling seamless integration and interaction between different services through well-defined interfaces.

How API works

APIs enable us to explain how web applications communicate with each other. They process data transfer between systems and locate between the application and the web server. APIs enable access to software (or web data) in a controlled and secure way for the program. Then the code sends requests to the receiving software and returns the data.

APIs can be divided into four main categories based on the functionality they serve.

APIs protocols can be divided into the next categories:

Examples of APIs we use every day 

1.    Weather snippets 

One of the common examples of API usage is weather data like Google Search.

2.    Log in using social media accounts

The second good example of APIs usage is the log-in with Gmail/Facebook/GitHub you may have seen on different websites. Instead of logging in to users’ accounts on social networks (which would be a serious security issue), applications with this functionality use the APIs of these platforms to authenticate the user with each log-in.

3.    Twitter Bots

Twitter bots are accounts that automatically make tweets and send direct messages. Behind them are complex Twitter APIs. The Twitter API tells the bots when something specific happens on the platform. For example, you can ask the Twitter API to tell your bot when it gets a new repost. Here are some of the popular Twitter Bots:

• Hundred Zeros (@HundredZeros) – Twitterbot that regularly tweets links to the eBooks that are free on Amazon.
• Earthquake Alerts (@EarthquakeBot) ­– tweets about any earthquakes with an intensity of 5.0 or greater as they happen worldwide.
• Free Game Findings (@freegamefinding) – the Free Game Findings bot can help you get free deals on PC/PS/Xbox games. 

4.    Travel Booking

Travel booking websites use third-party APIs to collect flight and hotel availabilities from providers. Here is the list of the top 5 travel booking apps:

• Tripadvisor.com
• Booking.com
• Airbnb.com
• Kayak.com
• Ihg.com

Which API way is the best for different software applications?

API is a powerful tool that can help speed up your business operations, grow your brand’s reach, connect your clients to the products they want, and so much more. To further tailor these benefits to specific business needs, Custom API Integration Services play a crucial role, enabling seamless communication and data exchange between diverse systems and applications, thus enhancing operational efficiency and user experience. In the API Developer Documentation, you will find guides to the various API functions that you can use. Developers can use the Flatlogic Platform and API Generator to quickly create and manage APIs for their web applications.

Flatlogic App Generator streamlines the API creation process by automatically generating API endpoints, API keys, and API documentation. It also includes a library of pre-built APIs that allow developers to easily integrate their applications with popular third-party services. Developers can use the API Generator to quickly and easily create and manage APIs for their applications, allowing them to deploy their web applications more quickly and provide a better user experience. Also, you can use other guides on the blog:

• Free Open-Source CRM Software For Small Business
• AI-Generated Roles and Permissions to Flatlogic Generator
• Decline in Coding: Web App Developers Writing Code Drops to 36.02% in 2024 – [Research Results]
• Exploring the Future of AI Web App Generators
• AI Web App Generator to Make Apps in Minutes

The post What Is API and How Does API Work? Quick introduction appeared first on Flatlogic Blog.