Web users have come to expect rich, interactive experiences online, and interactive website interfaces are a part of that. Front-end languages, or “client-side” languages, are languages that are interpreted and executed in the user’s browser rather than on the web server.
These experiences range from simple animations through to highly responsive interfaces that require input from the user. There are several technologies available to create such experiences, each with its own opportunities and challenges.
As with server-side languages, you need to consider a few properties of the front-end language you want to use. Bear in mind that server-side languages and front-end languages are often used together, as all web projects require front-end languages for development.
• Cost: Front-end language development costs are relatively low.
• Features: HTML, CSS and JavaScript are open source languages often used together and are compatible with most hardware and software. Content developed in these is also more search engine friendly. Flash is known for its video, animation and interactive multimedia capabilities. In many cases, similar results can be achieved with HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Flash can be used alone or in conjunction with other languages. What your end users will be able to view should always be the
most important consideration.
• Scalability: Depending on the capabilities of the device executing the language, certain features may not be available or certain code may run too slowly to create a good user experience. The front-end code needs to take all the considered devices into account.
• Browser and OS support: With front-end languages, you have to cater for browser and operating system support. A website will look different on each browser and operating system and this needs to be factored in. If a feature cannot be displayed under certain conditions, work-arounds have to be implemented.
• Open-source or proprietary software:Any developer can create add-ons for or improve on open-source software, while proprietary software is owned and its use is restricted. It can be cheaper to develop in an open-source front-end language such as HTML, but as HTML is needed to host all web pages, combinations of the two are sometimes used. In most cases and for the languages we cover, however, this is not a major consideration.
There are several options to choose from when it comes to front-end languages, although the most popular by far are HTML, coupled with CSS and JavaScript.
