Most developers use Java frameworks to build engaging and interactive web application without putting any extra time and effort. Also, each developer has options to choose from a variety of Java web application development frameworks to suit the specific requirements of his project. Similar to other advanced web development frameworks, most Java development frameworks now support the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design. The design makes it easier for developers to separate business logic and presentation.

Further, the flow of client requests and server actions are coordinated in a logical way through a controller. Each Java web development framework is designed with distinct features and functionality. Similarly, the Java bean wrappers, Java Server Pages and tag libraries will also differ based on your choice of framework. But a developer can still use a set of similar APIs to easily design and implement powerful web applications. If you are new to Java development, it is a good idea to check out some of these popular web development frameworks.

6 Widely Used Java Web Development Frameworks

• Apache Struts 2: As an enterprise-ready web application development framework, Apache Struts allows developers to streamline the entire development project cycle. Struts 2 also come with an improved design with clean code for frameworks that do not depend on HTTP and create dynamic responses. A developer can use the AJAX tags to add flexibility and interactivity to the web pages by availing the advantages of standard Struts tags. He can also use Struts 2 as an open source tool to build small projects. However, the framework does not allow programmers to develop apps simply by dragging and dropping controls.

• Spring: Spring is hugely popular as a powerful yet flexible development framework. You can use Spring to boost the look, feel and performance of your web application without writing lengthy codes. The framework allows you to integrate a wide variety of view options including PDF, Excel, Velocity and JSP/JSTL, seamlessly based on the requirements of your application. At the same time, you can also use the Inversion of Control provided by Spring to easily test your web application. The support of a large developer community also makes the framework popular for developing a variety of enterprise internet applications.

• Wicket: In comparison to conventional Java development frameworks, Wicket is more straightforward, and also goes in the opposite direction. Without using XML, Wicket separates logic and markup, along with using a POJO data model. You can insert HTML-based templates to make the web pages dynamic, while keeping Java away from your page design. Along with offering the advantages of pure Java, the framework is also more object-oriented in comparison to others. However, a developer or designer must possess adequate experience to use Wicket in an exact and accurate way.

• Seam: Unlike other Java development frameworks, Seam is effective in bundling Java EE standards as well as making them work together as a integrated solution. Along with core standards like EJB3 and JSF, Seam also ties other components together to facilitate smooth work flow and rule management. The integration of core standards and components has made it easier for Seam to avoid the complexity at the architecture and API level. Seam also allows enterprise application developers to avail a number of advantages like built-in libraries for PDF, graphs, Excel, and email. The reduce amount of XML will add stability to your application, whereas the built-in libraries will save your time and effort.

• Java Server Faces (JSF): In comparison to the modern Java development frameworks, JSF is a bit older. But JSF is still popular among developers due to supporting Java EE standard. The feature makes it easier for developers to build using interfaces using components on a page. Also, the components can be used or added to make it easier for you to capture the events triggered by their actions. JSF also allows developers to avail build powerful interfaces by availing the advantaged of MVC model. Further, its stable and easy to use features can complement the needs of a variety of enterprise web applications.

• Google Web Toolkit (GWT): The huge popularity of Google often makes developers to write AJAX applications like Gmail and Google Maps. The Google Web Toolkit makes it easier for developers to build and maintain complex front-end interfaces designed using JavaScript and Java. They can further develop and debug AJAX apps using any Java development tool of their choice. However, the use of JavaScript will require programmers to put some extra efforts to share, test and reuse the AJAX components. But some of the features provided by the framework will make it easier for them to handle bookmarking, asynchronous remote procedure calls, history management and cross-browser portability.

The choice of Java web development framework varies from one developer to another. It is always important to pick a framework by keeping in mind the specific need of your project. Also, you have to evaluate the pros and cons of individual frameworks to choose the option that saves your time and effort.

We provide Java application development services. If you would like to discuss with an expert Java developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Developers across the world look for easy, quick and smart ways to develop dynamic and interactive web applications. That is why; most programmers use custom tools and server-side technology to build complex, dynamic and interactive enterprise web applications without writing longer lines of code. Since its release it 2012, ColdFusion 10 has become hugely popular among developers as a Java EE-based platform to develop enterprise-ready internet applications.

Adobe has further made the latest version of ColdFusion ready to meet the current technological trends by incorporating features like enhanced support for web services and built-in support for HTML5. At the same time, ColdFusion 10 still enables programmers to build applications using CMFL. As a tag-based language, CMFL uses a syntax that is almost identical to HTML and XML.

So each programmer can easily learn the language, and start building rich internet applications within a very short timeframe. A number of features like XML processing, ColdFusion components (CFCs), integrated debugging, and Java and .NET integration makes ColdFusion 10 a powerful platform to develop a variety of dynamic websites and internet application. Adobe has further included a set of features that enables programmers to embrace futuristic technologies with ColdFusion 10.

ColdFusion Features that Allow You to Embrace New Technologies

• HTML5 WebSocket Protocol: The frequent changes in the choice of users have made it essential for developers to build web applications that work with dynamic data. Some of the conventional protocols did not allow programmers to transfer dynamic data from the server to the client. ColdFusion 10 overcomes the limitation by supporting the WebSocket protocol on the web server. You can use this features to develop robust web applications that work with dynamic data. Further, you can easily subscribe to or publish multiple channels using a messaging infrastructure built based on raw WebSockets.

• HTML5 Charting: Each developer wants to include smart client-side charts to make his web application more dynamic and interactive. The latest version of ColdFusion supports interactive client-side charts through the ColdFusion CFCHART tag. The charting facility is developed based on Flash, SVG, and Canvas. So you can use the feature to incorporate a variety of client-side charts by fetching values from a query to suit the requirements of your web application. At the same time, you also have options to customize the styles of client-side charts by using the JSON objects.

• Revamped Video Players: The popularity of a web application depends on the way it provides information to the users. In comparison to text and images, video clips are more effective in keeping the users interested and engaged. ColdFusion 10 allows web application developers to avail advantages of multiple video players using the JavaScript APIs. You can use the CFMEDIAPLAYER tag to use the built-in HTML5 video player provided by the platform. At the same time, you also have option to use the existing Flash video player with the CFMEDIAPLAYER tag. Both video players look and work in an identical way. Also, you can access the Flash and HTML5 versions of the video player using the same JavaScript APIs.

• Support for RESTful Web Services: Most developers love RESTful web services due to their simple and easy-to-use features. Further, the web services can be accessed over both HTTP and HTTPs. ColdFusion 10 supports RESTful web services that enable you to you transform your ColdFusion Component (CFC) into a RESTful Web Service simply by specifying certain attributes. You have to start the process by setting the rest attribute as true inside the CFC. Also, you have to add value to the restpath attribute to specify the path of the services to be accessed over HTTP. You can even associate a HTTP method to each function in the CFC to invoke the function as part of the web services.

• Enterprise Web Services Support through a Revamped Engine: The complex web applications often require developers to publish the web service using advanced protocols. The revamped AXIS 2 engine provided by ColdFusion 10 makes it easier for you to use the advantages of SOAP1.2, WSDL 2.0, and document literal wrapped style. You can access these advanced protocols to publish your web services based on the need of the web application. Also, Adobe has incorporated backward compatibility to the feature to support the conventional way of publishing web services.

These futuristic technologies further make it easier for developers to meet the current trends in ColdFusion application development.

We provide ColdFusion web development services. If you would like to know more about our expert ColdFusion developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Microsoft frequently adds new features and functionality to ASP.NET to make it easier for developers to optimize the performance of their web applications. Each web application, nowadays, has to be compatible with a variety of operating systems, web browsers and devices. At the same time, the ASP.NET applications must be effective in handling loads of user requests per seconds. So it has becomes essential for each programmer to identify and remove the performance bottlenecks to make the application powerful and popular.

6 Tips to Write Writing High-Performance ASP.NET Applications

• Use the Cache Class: An ASP.NET developer can use the Cache class to use a variety of comprehensive caching mechanism. The commonly used objects in ASP.NET development further enable him to store the resources, along with defining validity, priority and expiration for each cached object. At the same time, he also has option to attach callbacks to the cached objects that will be invoked each time an object is removed from the cache. In addition to using the Insert method of Cache class, the programmer can also add objects to the cache by adding these to the cache dictionary.

• Connection Pooling: Often the connection between a web application and database consumes a huge amount of resources. So a developer has to reuse connections to the database through connection pooling. When the connection pooling is used, a new connection is set up only if there is not free connection available in the pool. As no new connection will be set up for each new request, there will not be any impact on the TCP connections. However, the developer must track and close the connections immediately after their processing to prevent leaking connections.

• Making Your Web Page Asynchronous: In ASP.NET, requests are handled in a synchronous way. Each time the web server passes a request to the web application, the request is queued to the thread pool. Also, a worker thread is assigned for processing each request. As the worker thread is limited, the new requests are handles only after the current requests are processed. So developers have to reduce the request time in case the request is required to call a web service or retrieve information from a database. A programmer can make the input/output operations smooth by making your web page as an Asynchronous Page. After marking a page as asynchronous, he has to create a new PageAsyncTask object, and pass it to parameters for begin, end and timeout methods.

• Use Data Paging Support: Most ASP.NET developers use DataGrid to easily retrieve and display data to the users. The DataGrid also comes with data paging support, which enables you to show a specific number of records at a time. The users are allowed to navigate forwards and backwards through the records by clicking on the paging UI displayed at the bottom of the DataGrid. However, the paging feature requires developers to bind all data to the particular grid. The feature will filter the data retrieved from your database, and discard the data that need not be displayed to the users. So performance of the web application will not be impacted when more data is retrieved from the database based on the user request.

• Enable View State: ASP.NET allows developers to store specific state data inside the generated web pages through the view state attribute. You can use the view state as an alternative to cookies and server memory. Most ASP.NET controls also support view state to continue with the settings made during the interaction with other page elements. However, the view state will increase the loading time of the page during the request and serving stage. So you must disable view state at the page or control level when you are not using the attribute. The turning off will contribute towards boosting the performance of your web application.

• Turn Tracing and Debugging Off: Most ASP.NET programmers ignore the significance of disabling the tracing and debugging options in the web.config file. You can turn these options on during the application stage. But the values of both tracing and debugging must be set as false before deploying the application. If the developer forgets to turn off the debugging and tracing options, it will have a negative impact on the performance of web application. For instance, requests will not time our when the debug is turn on. Similarly, just-in-time (JIT) will not be applied to the code when the debug is set as true. So these options must be set as false before deploying the ASP.NET application.

Microsoft has further recommends a set of best practices to improve user experience by optimized the performance of your web application. Most of these best practices are also aimed to reduce the amount of time and efforts required to build powerful web applications.

If you want to hire ASP.Net developers for your .NET development services needs, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

As an integrated development environment (IDE), Microsoft .NET is widely used by software companies to develop powerful applications. So many companies often look for experienced .NET developers for their web application development projects. Some companies look for freelance developers, whereas others want to hire a programmer for an extended timeframe. However, each recruiter needs to concentrate on certain qualities to find the right .NET developer for his project.

While evaluating the resumes of developers, you need to ensure that the professional must have good education along with adequate experience in .NET development services. It is also a good idea to hire a professional who has a good combination of formal education and programming experience. When you shortlist the resumes, give priority to the professionals with several years of programming and website developing experience using Microsoft technologies. At the same time, you also have to consider some additional qualities that make the developer more competent and ideal.

Qualities to Concentrate on while Hiring .NET Developers

• Ability to Meet Your Specific Requirements: The professional experience and expertise of individual developers vary from each others. Therefore, you must shortlist the .NET developers after checking their ability to fit to your organization. For instance, if your company offers ecommerce website development services, you cannot hire a programmer having experience in developing educational or children’s websites. When you shortlist the resumes, it is important to give preference to the professionals who are familiar with your industry. If the style of the developers fit well to your company, it will be easier for you to hire the right professional for your .NET development project.

• Proficiency in Several Technologies: Most web applications, nowadays, have to use third-party applications and services. For instance, an ecommerce website has to use shopping cart software and payment processing systems designed by outside firms. So you have to check if the professional is familiar with other popular technologies including PHP, Java, J2EE, MySQL, JavaScript, DHTML, XML, AJAX and CSS. The proficiency in these non-Microsoft technologies will make it easier for the developer to make powerful web application by integrating some of the widely used technologies and applications available in the market.

• Expertise in Handling Customized .NET Tools: Often developers have to use customized tools to build powerful web application without putting any extra time and effort. Some of these tools also need to be integrated seamlessly with your website to enhance its look and feel. So the .NET developer must be familiar with using the customized tools. Along with the tools used to make the web application more secure and interactive, he also needs to understand how to make, test and deploy web services using specific tools. You also need check if the professional knows how to keep the .NET development environment secure and inaccessible.

• Passion for Quality: Each software company has to concentrate on high standards of quality to impress and retain its clients. Often the high quality standard of a company makes it easier to promote its services through the word-of-mouth of existing clients. So you must check if the .NET developer is passionate about consistently maintaining the quality of work. You can simply evaluate the web applications developed by the programmer in past to decide if he has the ability to put the website well by avoiding the regular problems. His passion for quality will make the professional work hard to impress your clients.

• Energy Level and Creativity: Often the popularity of a web application depends on its aesthetic appeal. Many visitors even switch to the next website if they are not impressed by the look of a specific website. So your web application must be eye-catchy enough to attract users, and keeping them engaged. If the developer is creative, he can suggest the best ideas to optimize the look and feel of the website. At the same time, he must be energetic enough to implement these ideas to impress your clients.

• Good Communication Skills: Most .NET developers have to work as a part of a development team. Also, the professionals have to frequently communicate the status of the web application development project to various stakeholders. If you are hiring a freelance .NET programmer for a single project, you may ignore his communication skills. But evaluation of the professional’s communication and people management skills becomes essential when you are hiring the developer on a permanent basis. The skills will make it easier for the professionals to interact and bond with your existing employees. Also, the coordination will contribute towards making it easier for the new employee to work in a high stress environments.

Most companies, nowadays, develop projects by deploying distributed teams. So there are always chances that the .NET professional has to work in a distributed environment. You must ask him a lot of questions to ensure that he knows how to stay connected and interact with other members of the web application development team.

If you want to hire ASP.Net developers for your ASP.NET development needs, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Each web application developer has option to choose from a wide variety of software frameworks. But a developer has to evaluate the pros and cons of each framework to decide the most effective and convenient option to develop powerful web applications. In comparison to conventional software frameworks, the PHP framework is much more popular among the application developers and resellers due to its simple and easy-to-use features.

Along with building applications without putting any extra time and effort, you can use the PHP framework features to easily debug, secure and deploy it using multiple platforms. As an efficient an open source web application development framework, CodeIgniter is widely used by developers to make lightweight and dynamic websites using PHP. Unlike other PHP frameworks, CodeIgniter is loosely based on the Model-View-Controller (MVC) development pattern. Also, it is hugely popular due to its efficiency and speed in comparison to other frameworks. Needless to say, companies offering PHP development services are one of the most sought after ones for web application development.

What Makes CodeIgniter the Best Solution for Developing PHP Web Applications?

Model-View-Controller Architecture: Most developers prefer using MVC architecture as it can be configured and deployed easily. In addition to reducing the amount of time required for completing a project, the architecture further enables developers to keep the codes separated and clean. Most of the conventional frameworks require you to follow certain guidelines. But you can use CodeIgniter to work in a manner that you think is sensible, logical and suitable for your project.

Easy to Understand and Use: Many developers require additional training to migrate to a new application development framework. But one can learn, understand and use CodeIgniter without putting any extra effort. Also, this framework allows you to easily write new libraries, and modify the existing libraries. At the same time, you can further customize the framework to change its overall behavior. As CodeIgniter works seamlessly with both PHP 4 and PHP 5, you can easily make powerful application by availing the advantages of both environments.

A Set of Comprehensive Tools: CodeIgniter also comes with a number of built-in libraries including email, calendar, form validation, zip encoding, sessions, uploading and unit testing. Also, a developer can quickly write codes using default helpers available for a variety of elements like forms, strings, cookies, arrays, directories, and file handling. At the same time, you also have option to make your own libraries, and use the code developed by other members of the CodeIgniter community. The framework also allows you to upload files to a directory by skipping the required installation process.

In-built Features to Secure Your Web Application: Most application developers struggle to keep their web application secure and inaccessible. Some people even use expensive security tools to protect their website from hackers. When you use CodeIgniter, the framework allows you to choose and implement the amount and type of security needed by the individual applications. Along with automatically escaping SQL queries and unsetting all global variables, the framework also enables you to secure you application encrypting cookies and using a database to handle session data.

Easy to Manage Databases: Similar to other advanced software development frameworks, CodeIgniter also support a database abstraction layer nowadays. You can use the feature to easily create, insert, delete and update statements without writing raw SQL queries. Also, you can use the feature to connect your application to several databases including Oracle, Microsoft SQL, MySQL and SQLite. You also have options to use its database forge library to easily create new tables, remove old tables, and modify existing tables by adding or removing columns.

Comprehensive Documentation: CodeIgniter further scores over other web application development frameworks due to its comprehensive and quality documentation. As the framework is backed by EllisLab, a company passionate about making CodeIgniter the most popular PHP framework, the team invests a huge amount of time and efforts in optimizing the quality of documentation to target all types of users. The documentation also acts an impressive user guide for the developers migrating from other platforms. You can further read the documentation on a regular basis to enhance your knowledge and skills.

Support of Active User Community: Nowadays, most developer want assistance to resolve specific problems. Many programmers even use discussion forums to find solutions for a question or problem. One can always use the forum and wiki provided by CodeIgniter through its website. With over 57,000 registered users, these platforms make it easier for developers to get solutions within a few moments of time. You can simply get answers to your question without using the chat channels or group mailing list.

If you want to hire a PHP developer for your PHP web development needs, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

As an open source web application development framework, CakePHP allows developers to write codes without putting much time and effort. Despite being written in PHP, CakePHP is modeled based on the concept of Ruby on Rails. Also, it supports some of the widely used software design patterns, and software engineering concepts. At the same time, CakePHP also provides a basic structure to the developers to build, deploy and maintain a variety of web applications.

Many developers migrate to CakePHP architecture to build websites in a fresh and innovative way. The architecture, normally, consists of three components, i.e., model, view and controller. You can use Model to interact with various data sources, and use View to manage the web page layout and design of the website. At the same time, the Controller will allows you control the functioning of model and view based on the commands received from end-users.

You can use the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture to build robust and efficient web applications. CakePHP framework also provides a large collection of base classes for your web application development that makes it easier to extend and customize the application. Further, you have option to use the additional classes and objects to reuse the behavior of MVC base classes for various subclasses. So the code can be easily extended and reused by a programmer to develop web application compatible with PHP 4 and PHP 5.

Features that Help in Baking Your CakePHP Development Right

MVC Coding Pattern: The MVC architecture acts as the base of CakePHP framework. The coding pattern further makes it easier for developers to disintegrate the design and presentation of business logic. Each of the three layers controls specific aspect of web application development. You can use Model for database application, View for GUI implementation, and Controller for business logic. Further, each layer can be used independently to make the application development process simpler, faster, and smoother.

Support for Latest PHP Versions: At present, CakePHP fully supports the latest versions of PHP programming language. The support for PHP 4 and PHP 5 can be used to develop the next generation of web applications. Also, you can easily incorporate specific features and functionalities to meet the varying demand and choices of your clients. Some of these options will further help you in improving the user experience for the application.

Use the Fast and Flexible Templates: No one can deny the effectiveness of templates in making web application more comprehensive and efficient. CakePHP is hugely popular among developers due to its large collection of fast and flexible templates. Also, you have option to design custom CakePHP templates to optimize the look and feel of the front end of your web application. You will also find a number of professional CakePHP template developers who offers a variety of customized templates commercially.

Keeping Your Website Secure: CakePHP scores much higher than other frameworks due to its strong security features. You must use its Create, Retrieve, Update, and Delete (CRUD) features to secure the user submission process without putting any extra time and effort. At the same time, the Object Relational Mapping (ORM) framework also makes it easier for developers to streamline SQL queries by presenting tables as base classes. The framework also supports its own shell to incorporate command-line interface.

Additional Features and Functionalities: CakePHP further offers a set of functionalities that makes web application development more convenient and enjoyable. Along with support all database types and database drivers, the framework also allows developers to rich query APIs, shorten URL syntax, and use smarter router prefixes. It also allows you to view helper for JavaScript, XML, AJAX, Forms and Pagination. You can simply use its automated configuration to detect the most preferred setting automatically. So you can easily configure the system without writing lengthy codes.

As CakePHP is licensed under the MIT license, it can be easily used to build commercial web applications. Also, you can use its Clean MVC Conventions get the relevant assistance and guidance in baking your CakePHP application right. PHP development services teams can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules.

If you want to hire a PHP developer for your PHP web development needs, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Nobody can deny the huge popularity of Java as a powerful technology to build applications to target different web browsers, operating systems and devices. But the popularity of the technology was recently affected due to certain bugs that were misused by malicious people to carry out identity thefts and other crimes. Despite Oracle releasing a security update of Java software for web browsers, software developers and researchers are still skeptical about its effectiveness in providing adequate protection to computers from these attack.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has already warned users not to run Java in their web browsers, unless it is absolutely necessary. According to Reuters.com, “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned that a security update of Oracle Corp's Java software for Web browsers does not do enough to protect computers from attack, sticking to its previous advice that the program be disabled.” The report further added, “Security experts have warned that PCs running Java in their browsers could be attacked by criminals seeking to steal credit-card numbers, banking credentials, passwords and commit other types of computer crimes.”

However, many security experts have said that the bugs are affecting only one part of Java platform, i.e., the software that users plug into their web browser. So, developers can still use Java in 2013 to write one set of code that is compatible with computers running on a variety of operating systems including Apple Macs, Microsoft Windows, and Linux. Despite the experts criticizing the security update released by Oracle, many developers are still excited about a several Java trends. Some of these upcoming trends will further contribute towards Java’s popularity and growth in 2013.

Trends that will Contribute towards Java’s Growth in 2013

Java 8: Most developers are looking forward to the release of latest version of Java. Oracle is expected to release Java 8 in September, if everything goes as per schedule. The updated version will allow developers to start developing applications using the long awaited lambdas functions. However, many tech bloggers have started highlighting the complex nature of the new feature even before its release. The new feature along with the improved Date and Time API will encourage many developers to use Java 8 for making robust web applications.

Powerful Java Virtual Machine (JVM) Languages: Most developers use several JVM Languages to develop software that will run seamlessly on the Java Virtual Machine. As the JVM languages comprises of a number of computer programming language, a developer can easily pick his favorite language to write codes. In 2012, many companies invested in a variety of JVM languages. The trend will continue this year, and many companies will launch new versions to provide programmers with additional features and functionality.

New JavaScript Engine: The upcoming Java version will come with a new JavaScript engine. The engine will make it easier for developers to embed JavaScript into their Java applications. As JavaScript is still used in developing all types of websites, the embedded engine will encourage many developers to use the latest version of Java. The open source project was included last year as part of the OpenJDK repository. The feature becomes more exciting as it includes node.js which is widely used by developers, and adds polyglot future to the engine.

Improved Java API: The OpenJDK also includes a project that aims to use GPU to optimize the greater Java performance. The project is also tested using Java 8 library and specific languages like lambdas. With the advanced feature developers will be able to develop robust web applications using Java API and its constructs.

Java Cloud Functions: Similar to other large companies, Oracle has further established Java in the world of cloud computing. However, the Java cloud features are delayed till the release of Java EE 8. So the providers have to use individual standards. But the updated version will come with a universal framework like jClouds that will optimize and standardize Java’s own cloud features. The growing popularity of cloud computing will further boost the popularity of Java application development.

We provide Java development services. If you would like to know more about our certified Java developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Most companies, nowadays, use the latest technologies to deploy their mission critical applications on the web. So the performance of each application must be tested under different loads and environments. Often the applications are load tested by simulating the users of many users at a time. Many developers use Microsoft Silverlight to develop robust application to complement the need and objectives of their organization.

But the technology is completely different from other conventional applications as the content is delivered without reloading the page. Also, a Silverlight application has to be constantly updated by the server in an asynchronous manner. So application testers often find it a daunting challenge to emulate the test loads realistically. If you are planning to use the new technology to develop or deploy web applications, it becomes essential to explore innovative load testing techniques to address the new challenges.

Silverlight Development Tip#1: Optimize Your Application to Support Multiple Communication Protocols

For load testing an application it is essential to simulate all types of end-users in an exact and accurate way. So the load testing tool must support the different protocols supported used by Silverlight to process user requests. The support will result in smooth extraction of data based on the parameters submitted by individual users, and validating the response.

As a Silverlight application can communicate with the server using multiple protocols, you need to ensure that it supports the Windows Communication Foundation based protocols including REST, and SOAP with classic XML or binary XML. You can design Web services using a set of architectural principles defined by REST. These protocols decide how to use important HTTP verbs like GET, POST, PUT and DELETE. As a XML-based protocol, SOAP allows you application to receive and send information over HTTP.

At the same time, you have options to choose from two approaches to handle applications using SOAP protocol. Along with using an XML manipulation method, you can further load test your application using a specialized tool with dedicated SOAP support capability. Unless your application supports these key communication protocols, the tool will fail to generate realistic test design for individual virtual users, and thus make the test results insignificant and worthless.

Silverlight Development Tip#2: Allow Automatic Processing of Application Identifiers

The Silverlight applications use a variety of identifiers for internal processing. Along with the identifiers common to each Silverlight application, you can also use identifiers specific to your application. Normally, these identifiers are uses as parameters to customize requests and respond. However, you can use multiple identifiers at a time to process the requests sequentially. Generally, the identifiers keep changing whenever a new communication takes place between the client and server.

If you do not assign correct values to the identifiers, these will generate error when you playback a recorded session. So you must extract each parameter at the runtime, and assign appropriate value to simulate the users in an accurate way. However, you must avoid handling the identifiers manually to save your time and efforts. While load testing Silverlight testing, you must use the right tool that automatically detects and processes identifiers related to specific application. Also, you must allow the load testing tool to process custom identifiers automatically by declaring custom correlation rules.

Silverlight Development Tip#3 : Identify and Fix the Cause of Performance Problems

While load testing the application, it may throw errors or has longer response time. So you must identify the root cause of such problems, and fix these as early as possible. Often such problems are caused due to issues in your server infrastructure. You can monitor you server, while running the test to easily identify the root cause. However, it is also important to decide the required components and appropriate values based on your application.

If you are not a system expert, it is advisable to use a specialized tool that can select the right counters automatically, and set the threshold values to generate alerts. While selecting the tool, you need to ensure that it is effective in setting threshold values and counters according to latest industry standards. At the same time, you must customize the setting to meet specific objectives and requirements.

You can also use results correlation as an effective tool to analyze the test results, and identify the root cause of these performance problems. These details can also be used to fix the problems in the application and server infrastructure immediately to make the Silverlight application more powerful.

In addition to following these important tips, it is also a good idea to customize the load testing strategy by keeping in mind the needs and objectives of your organization. Also, you must change your approach to load testing from time to time to launch a powerful Silverlight application while saving your time and efforts.

We provide Silverlight application development services. If you would like to discuss with our top Silverlight programmers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

The frequent changes in the choices and demands of users have made web application development process both complex and complicated. Most companies, nowadays, look for innovative ways to design websites that can attract, impress and captivate the visitors. As a server side scripting language, PHP is hugely popular among developers to provide a distinct look and feel to a variety of websites.

A php development company planning to hire a PHP web developer can easily receive CVs from a large number of jobseekers. But each organization finds it a daunting challenge to find an ideal PHP developer. When you are looking for a professional PHP developer, the applicant is surely expected to be theoretically and practically sound in PHP development. Also, he must understand the key features of different versions of PHP, and be able to differentiate between PHP 4 and PHP 5.

However, most of the websites, nowadays, are being designed using multiple languages. So a professional, who has minimum knowledge on other languages, can easily integrate the codes in PHP. For instance, if the PHP developer knows HTML, CSS and Flash, he can optimize the look and feel of all web applications. At the same time, he must possess some additional qualities that make the PHP developer ideal and more efficient.

5 Important Qualities of an Ideal PHP Web Developer

• Good Understanding of Object Oriented Programming: A developer with good understanding of Object Oriented Programming (OOP) can learn and use other programming languages without putting any extra time and effort. So you must ask certain OOP-related questions to the applicant to test his understanding. For instance, you can ask several questions to the applicant to check his knowledge on important concepts like inheritance, polymorphism, constructors and interfaces. Also, he must be able to clearly differentiate between private, public, protected and static methods and functions.

• Knowledge of Major Databases: A successful web application must be effective in gathering and synchronizing information from several data sources. Also, the choice of databases varies from one organization to another based on the nature and volume of their data. So an ideal PHP developer must have knowledge regarding both SQL and non-SQL databases. Along with a clear understanding of primary and foreign keys, he also needs to know the database design patterns. It is also important for the developer to at least know one commonly used source control system, along with the importance of CVS.

• Must Know Various Aspects of Web Application Testing: Most companies, nowadays, opt for test driven web application design to save time and resources. So you must hire a PHP developer who has a clear understanding of important web application testing concepts and techniques. The professional also need to know what unit testing is, why unit testing is important, how to unit test JavaScript, and how to use Selenium to check the compatibility of the application with major web browsers. You should also determine if he knows appendChild, removeChild, nextSibling, and other methods to manipulate DOM. The additional web application testing knowledge will further contribute towards controlling the overall project cost.

• Interested in Learning Latest Technologies: Despite being a powerful language PHP cannot be used exclusively to build an entire website. Most web application interfaces are designed using HTML and CSS. Similarly, many web pages used client side scripting languages like DOM Programming and JavaScript to reduce the load on web server. Also, most web applications are designed using open source scripts and templates. Often the open source codes are integrated with PHP script to customize the websites. So an ideal PHP developer must know these languages and technologies, in addition to possessing good PHP programming skills.

• Ability to Connect with Other Professionals: Often companies want to impress their customers by offering innovative and distinct features. So the PHP developer has to face constant challenges to boost the look and feel of various web applications. If the develop is good in communication with other developers, he can easily avail their assistance whenever the need arises. The good communication skill will further make it easier for you to handle clients and other stakeholders in the project. Also, the developer will work as part of a team consisting of other developers and project managers. If he can communicate with other professionals smoothly, it will optimize the overall productivity of your web application development team.

We provide php web development services. If you would like to know more about our certified php developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

As a widely used rapid web application development platform, ColdFusion needs no introduction. Since its invention in 1995, the software is being updated on a regular basis with advanced features to help developers in building rich internet applications. Adobe released ColdFusion 10 on 15th May 2012 with a set of features and functionality that would surely make internet application developers more productive.

Further, a user can avail these innovative features by choosing the Standard, Developer and Enterprise edition of ColdFusion 10. Along with improved web service support, security enhancement, language enhancements, the updated version of ColdFusion also comes with HTML5 video player, Adobe Flash Player, Improved scheduler, Search integration with Apache Solr, Flex and Adobe AIR lazy loading, and XPath integration.

Top 8 Benefits of Using ColdFusion 10

• HTML5 WebSockets: By supporting WebSocket protocol on the server, ColdFusion 10 has made it easier for you to easily push data from the server to the client. You can use the feature to develop a variety of real-time web application that will boost user experience by using dynamic data. Also, you can use the messaging infrastructure designed based on the raw WebSockets to publish or subscribe to multiple channels without putting any extra effort.

• HTML5 Charting: If you are looking for a web application development platform that supports a number of interactive client-side charts, then the upgraded ColdFusion is the best option. With support for client-side charts based on Flash, Canvas or SVG, you can enhance the performance of your web application by incorporating interactive charts. Further, you can use the ColdFusion CFCHART tag to easily create and integrate these interactive charts. These charts can further be customized using JSON objects.

• Built-In HTML5 Video Player: Often web application developers have to write lengthy codes to integrate video players. But ColdFusion 10 comes with a built-in HTML5 video player that can be seamlessly integrated with your application using the CFMEDIAPLAYER tag. At the same time, Adobe has further revamped the Flash video player. Now you can use the same JavaScript APIs to run both video players. ColdFusion web development feature also makes it easier for programmers to build web applications by targeting different devices and web browsers.

• Revamped Web Services: Most web applications use RESTful web services over HTTP or HTTPs. ColdFusion 10 has made it easier for programmers to convert their ColdFusion components into RESTful web services simply by adding a few attributes to these components. Further, you have options to associate HTTP method to each function in your ColdFusion components, and invoke the specific functions over HTTP. At the same time, ColdFusion 10 uses a revamped AXIS 2 engine to support the web services, which enables developers to easily access and publish web services.

• Enhanced Cache Settings: The way a web application caches the frequently accesses user data will affect its performance. With the enhanced cache setting option provided by ColdFusion 10, you can easily crate specific data regions that can be used as buckets to hold the cached user data. Also, Adobe has modified the in-built caching function to avail the advantages of cache region. The feature also enables developers to run the cache server as an independent process that can run outside the ColdFusion JVM.

• Improved Search Options: Adobe has designed ColdFusion 10 with Apache Solr instead of Verity. The advanced feature allows developers to index databases in an easier and efficient way. Also, you can avail the advantages of Data Import Handler support extended by the updated version. Your search queries become more flexible with the additional support extended for passing dynamic custom fields.

• Easy to Share Data Connections: The upgraded ColdFusion also supports a variety of JDBC data types including SQLXML, NVARCHAR, NCHAR, NCLOB and LONGNVARCHAR. The feature makes it easier for developers to share database connections among clients in a more efficient way. With ColdFusion 10, you now have option to store information about each database connection. Once a specific database connection returns to the pool, it will be reset. You can also use tags like cfinsert, cfquery , cfupdate and cfstoredproc to store the database-specific client information.

• Comprehensive Security Features: ColdFusion 10 also comes with a set of upgraded features that enhances the security of your web application. It provides you with a number of built-in functions that can be used to prevent CSRF (Cross Site Request Forgery) and XSS (Cross-site Scripting) attacks. Also, the session cookies can be applied only to a particular domain by being set as HTTPOnly. The feature can also be used to rotate or invalidate a session.

We provide ColdFusion application development services. If you would like to know more about our expert ColdFusion developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.