Next.js 13.5: Exploring Features and Improvements
Next.js is an open-source JavaScript framework built using React. It helps web developers make user-friendly web applications and static websites. This renowned React framework has come with its latest version, Next.js 13.5. With each new version, Next.js is getting more powerful. Released on September 19, 2023, this new edition has taken the world by storm. Let us find out what is new about it. This blog explores the exciting Next.js 13.5 features and improvements. Fast Page Loading The latest version of Next.js supports quick page loading. Next.js 13.5 has optimized its core framework. Therefore, web applications load faster without compromising on user experience. The version 13.5 features built-in optimization for fonts, scripts, images, and application scripts. Image Improvements Next.js 13.5 comes with robust image optimization capabilities. In comparison to previous versions, Next.js 13.5 is better in image resizing and compression. As a result, you can deliver your images in a perfect size and format. In addition to this, the framework has added an experimental function unstable_getImgProps(). It supports different use cases without using the <Image> component. Now you can: Work with background-image or image-set. Use <picture> media queries to carry out Art Direction or Light/Dark mode images. Work with canvas context.drawImage() or new Image(). Moreover, now the placeholder prop provides support for arbitrary data: image/ for placeholder images. Improved Startup and Refresh Time Other Next.js 13.5 improvements that are worth mentioning include fast startups and refreshes. You can notice a significant improvement in refresh and startup time. The framework is now more reliable for App router applications. If you compare this new version with the previous Next.js 13.4, it is about 22% faster in local server startup and 29% quicker in HMR (Refresh). Apart from this, it uses about 40% less memory. Next.js 13.5 has optimized expensive file system operations and removed redundant blocking synchronous calls. Caching in Next.js Apps Caching has a crucial role in web application development. It has a direct impact on user experience and performance. Besides this, it minimizes the operation cost of the application by storing rendering work and data requests. Next.js 13.5 allows users to retrieve the stored version of web applications. Since users do not fetch data from scratch every time, they experience fast web loading. Next.js 13.5 supports numerous caching mechanisms. It makes it easier for developers to carry out client-side caching. Some prominent caching mechanisms in Next.js 13.5 include: Data Cache Data Cache is one of the vital Next.js 13.5 updates. It stores the results of different data fetches across server requests and deployments. As a result, once data is fetched and stored, users can access it quickly in subsequent requests. Since the results are not coming from the source, it takes less time. Request Memoization This caching mechanism helps the server to remember the return values of functions. For instance, if the same data is being requested repeatedly in a React component tree, Next.js stores the data instead of fetching it over again. It is beneficial when the same data needs to be accessed. Full Route Cache As the name suggests, this mechanism caches the full HTML. Besides this, it also stores the React Server Component payload of a route on the server. It naturally minimizes the cost of rendering. Router Cache Next.js also stores the cache on the client’s side. It keeps the record of the React Server Component payload for every route segment. The router cache enhances the navigation experience by storing earlier visited routes and prefetching possible future routes. Improved Experience for Developer With the release of every Next.js version, the framework gets better in the developer experience. The developers can notice a noteworthy improvement in TypeScript support, documentation, and error messages. In addition to this, you get access to Next.js CLI. This tool helps you see updates for project setup and management. Metadata API Metadata API is a crucial addition to Next.js 13.5. With this Next.js 13.5 feature, you do not need to struggle with SEO metatags. Earlier, users had to create a file (head.js) to set the metatags for SEO. Next.js version 13.5 features a new way of handling static and dynamic metadata. You can export objects with static information. For dynamic data, you can export functions. This approach is more helpful for managing metadata efficiently. Stable App Router A stable app router is one of the prominent Next.js 13.5 benefits. Now you can use React server components, nested routes & layouts, and simplified data fetching confidently. These updated server components will help you build apps faster. Conclusion It is imperative to stay informed with the evolving world of web development and its latest technologies. Today, Next.js is a keystone of react-based web development. With Next.js 13.5, you enjoy a range of new features and improvements. Whether it is a developer experience, performance, or security, Next.js 13.5 can keep you ahead in the competitive web development world.
How to choose a Freelance Full Stack Web Developer
Hiring a full-stack web developer is a crucial decision for any web development company. The kind of candidate they choose can make or break their project’s aspiration. Full-stack web development requires comprehensive knowledge of developing, testing and deploying web applications. Consequently, you can’t hire any random developer you find on a job portal or the web. Companies that want to recruit a freelance full-stack web developer but don’t know how to get started must read this post. Below, we have accumulated factors to consider when selecting a full-stack web developer. So let’s get started. Step 1: Define Your Project Requirements Clearly Before you begin searching for a full-stack web developer, learn your project requirements. Define the scope of work, the end goal, and the technologies required for the same. It will help you determine the search criteria for a suitable web developer. Step 2: Consider the Skills of the Developer A full-stack web developer is a versatile professional. They must be skilled in both front-end and back-end development. Ensure the developer has the required skill set your project needs. Make a list of programming languages, software, and frameworks needed for the project. On this basis, you can decide the kind of web developer you need. Generally, skills to look for in a full-stack web developer include: Front-end development: Expertise in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Furthermore, the developer must have experience in front-end libraries and frameworks. Back-end Development: Knowledge of programming languages, including Node.js and Python is crucial. It will be advantageous if the developer is familiar with back-end frameworks such as Flask or Express. Database Management: Knowledge of different kinds of databases, both SQL and NoSQL, is also essential. Step 3: Check Portfolio Don’t forget to check the portfolio and experience of your potential web developer. A strong portfolio validates the skills and capability of a developer to work on real-world projects. You can visit their websites to learn about past clients and projects they completed. Though certifications alone do not confirm expertise, you can check relevant certifications to validate the developer’s skills. Step 4: Geographical Location of Freelancer The accessibility of the internet has removed all the limits of geographical boundaries. In this digital era, you do not need to confine yourself to locally available talents. You can hire developers from all over the globe. Make sure the freelancer can work in the time zone you prefer. Step 5: Set a Clear Budget and Timeline Before you finalize a full-stack developer and sign a contract, set a clear budget and timeline for the project. It will help you manage the overall cost and period of your project. The cost of hiring a full-stack developer depends on the experience and timeline of the project. Some freelancers charge on an hourly basis, while others have a set fee. Discuss the budget with your freelancer by describing your project requirements. Also, ask them about the expected timeline for the project. You can break down the timeline for your project into different stages. It will help you manage your time effectively. Step 6: Communication Skills You cannot deny the importance of effective communication in web development. Go for a full-stack developer having strong communication skills. A developer has to work with a website designer, other developers, and project managers. An effective communication ensures a smooth workflow. Developers with good communication skills can efficiently convey ideas, address concerns, and update managers about the work progress. Step 7: Team Collaboration The developer you choose must have the ability to work well with others. In a modern web development environment, developers, designers, and testers work together symphonically. Step 8: Conduct Interviews Once you have shortlisted some possible full-stack developers, conduct interviews to choose the most suitable one. An interview will help you get more insight into whether or not a candidate is proficient in meeting project requirements. Evaluate the technical expertise, background, and communication skills of candidates carefully. To assess technical knowledge, you can give programming exercises. If you do not have adequate technical experience and do not know how to check the skills of a full-stack web developer, give preference to a senior full-stack web developer with a lot of experience. Step 9: Make Clear Contracts Make sure billing contracts are clear to you and your freelancers. The contract clearly defines the responsibility of a freelancer and payment terms. The payment terms must include the details of the wage structure, rate, payment schedule and more. These are a few things to consider when hiring a full-stack web developer. Let us learn whether a freelancer or company is a good choice for you. Full-Stack Web Developer: Freelancer vs. Company (Quick Comparison) Whether to choose a freelancer or a company depends on your project requirements, budget and preferences. When you work with a freelancer, you get the following benefits: Affordability Most freelancers charge a lower fee than an established web development company. If you have a limited budget, choosing a freelancer is a good decision. Flexible You have the flexibility to hire freelancers for short-term, long term or just for a specific task. Personalized Attention Since you will work directly with the developer, it will form a close working relationship. Therefore, the freelancer gives personalized attention to your project. The advantages of working with a web development company are below: More Resources Companies have more tools and technologies to manage your projects comparatively. An agency can employ dedicated managers on your project. Scalability As your project grows, you will need more resources to expand your services. Companies can better handle scalability. Delivery Time With most companies, you can expect quick delivery of your project. Conclusion If you are a small company, hiring a freelance web developer is beneficial for you. They are not just affordable but also flexible. On the other hand, if you are a big company with unlimited tasks and a substantial budget, choose a web development company.
Types of NoSQL Databases: Everything You Need to Know About Them
NoSQL or Not Only SQL is a renowned database management system (DBMS) that manages a large volume of unstructured or semi-structured data. Since it eliminates various limitations of conventional relational databases, the NoSQL database has become popular. Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Netflix are some reputable companies that use NoSQL. This blog makes you aware of different types of NoSQL databases. In addition, you will learn their features. Before we move further, let’s find out how NoSQL is diverse from SQL. SQL vs. NoSQL Databases: Quick Comparison Type SQL databases are Relational Databases, while NoSQL databases are known as non-relational databases. Language of Query SQL databases use a Structured Query Language to do jobs like Delete, Select, Update, and Insert. On the other hand, NoSQL has its query language for manipulating data. NoSQL works on a framework or API, depending on the type of database. Expandability Traditional SQL databases are vertically scalable. You can enhance their performance by upgrading hardware. On the contrary, NoSQL databases are horizontally scalable from the ground up. Consequently, they are better at handling large amounts of data and traffic. Property Followed SQL follows ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability) transactions when it comes to managing data integrity. NoSQL databases use the CAP theorem (Consistency, Availability, and Partition Tolerance). Types of NoSQL Databases We can categorize NoSQL databases into the following 4 types. Each has its pros and limitations. You can choose them based on your requirements. Let us learn about them in detail. Key Value Pair Database Key-Value Pair Database is one of the simplest types of NoSQL Databases. It is a non-relational database storing data elements in key-value pairs. Key-Value Pair Database can handle heavy loads of data. It stores data as a hash map and has two columns, i.e., the Key and the Value. Each database key is different, while the value can be String, Binary Large Objects, or JavaScript Object Notation. The three major features of the Key Value Pair Database are speed, straightforwardness, and scalability. Generally, this type of database is used for creating dictionaries, user profiles, user preferences, etc. Graph-Based Database The graph-based database helps users store entities and relations between those entities. Commonly, this database is used to store data on social networking websites, fraud detection systems, healthcare networks, and more. The graph-based database stores the data as a node. The connections between nodes are known as edges. Every edge and node has a different identifier. The database allows users to find the relationship between the data with the help of links. Unlike relational databases, graph-based databases are multi-relational. A few well-known graph-based databases are Flock DB, Neo4J, Infinite Graph, etc. All-in-all, we can say that a graph-based database stores, manages, and queries data as a graph structure. Column Oriented Database Column Oriented Database is a non-relational database. The database lets you store data in rows and read it row by row. It is like a collection of columns like we see in a table. Each column stores one type of information. The database reads and retrieves the data at high speed. You can run analytics on a limited number of columns to read those columns without consuming memory on unwanted data. Column Oriented Database performs queries like Count, SUM, AVG, and MIN quite quickly. Therefore, the database is used for analytics and reporting, data warehousing, and library card catalogs. Document-Oriented Database A document-oriented database is one of the prominent types of NoSQL databases. It stores and manages data like we organize documents in the real world. Although the data is stored and retrieved as a key-value pair, the value is stored as a document. The database uses the JSON, XML, or BSON documents to store the data. Users can store and retrieve documents from their networks in a form that is closer to the data objects. Therefore, negligible translation is needed to access and use data in an application. Document-Oriented Database supports flexible schema, scalability, and quick retrieval. MongoDB and Couchbase are two fine examples of these databases. This database is used in CMS (Content Management Systems), E-commerce websites, gaming applications, collaboration tools, etc. So these are four types of NoSQL databases. Let’s find out why this database system is getting popular. Features of NoSQL NoSQL has several advancements over traditional databases. We have listed a few significant ones. Compatible with Multiple Data Models Like relational databases, NoSQL is not strict. It can handle multiple data models. Additionally, the database can manage structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data with the same speed. Schema Flexibility Unlike conventional database systems, Not SQL databases do not require a fixed schema. It supports relaxed schemas. NoSQL is capable of managing different data formats and structures. As it does not have a strict predefined schema, it permits changes in data models. Scalable As mentioned above, the NoSQL database is scalable. Users can scale it horizontally by adding more modes and servers. Consequently, it is suitable for websites and web applications with continuously growing data. Excellent Uptime NoSQL databases have excellent uptime. They support serverless architecture and create multiple copies of data on various nodes. Consequently, businesses manage their database smoothly with minimal downtime. If one note breaks down, another takes its place and gives access to the data copy. Examples of NoSQL Now you know the different types of NoSQL databases and their uses. Below are some examples of them. Document Database MongoDB is a well-known document-oriented database. It stores data in JSON-like documents. MongoDB is popular for its scalability and flexibility. Column Database Apache Cassandra is a well-known column-based database system that handles large amounts of data across different commodity servers. Graph Database Amazon Neptune is a managed graph database service by AWS. It can work with both RDF graph and property graph models. Key-Value Database Amazon DynamoDB is a database service that provides high uptime and low-latency key-value storage. This service from Amazon Web Service is the epitome of a Key-Value type database. Conclusion Various types of NoSQL databases are a crucial
Qwik Framework — Symbolizing Resumability & Serialization
An efficient JavaScript framework can build a road to success in your front-end development. Well, we live in a furiously innovative world with a variety of JavaScript Frameworks outperforming each other. But the Qwik stands out as a blazing fast yet developer-friendly framework designed to streamline your development process. Thanks to resumability and lazy loading, Qwik is 5-10 times faster than all the existing JavaScript frameworks. Meanwhile, its productive features and convenience to use craft a perfect environment for complex front-end development. Since there’s a lot to cover about Qwik, we have incorporated everything you need to know in this guide. Let’s start with understanding the framework itself and there’s a lot more waiting for you in the queue! What is Qwik? — A Solution to Developer Problems! Developed by the creator of Angular, Qwik is an open-source frontend framework known for offering super-fast page load speed and efficiency. It delivers HTML with minified JavaScript featuring the necessary elements only for an incredible performance. Thanks to its fine-grained architecture, Qwik can isolate the segments and hydrate them so that they can be used whenever required. The framework has reached a new potential with the v1.0 update offering better optimized rendering time and features like Lazy execution. Generally, developers need to incorporate a glut of JavaScript to make a website interactive. Qwik allows you to conduct the same level of development with efficient execution and trimmed JavaScript. Therefore, it gets you rid of slow loading times, network consumption, and compromised startup times. How Qwik is Overtaking Other Frameworks? Ultimate User Experience What do you expect from a framework that enables you to build a lightning-fast website? First and foremost, an amazing user experience out of the box! With JavaScript streaming, Qwik delivers digital products optimized for CWV scores regardless of the complexity of your project. Also, the framework works with Data Fetching that prevents waterfall delays and sustains the performance even on devices with unstable networks. Integrations Despite using a minified code, Qwik can still make your website highly capable with its exclusive integrations. You can write your application in a hosting provider and deploy it in various adaptors from Azure Cloudflare to Google Cloud Run. Additionally, Qwik supports UI components and libraries including QwikUI, Papanasi UI, Material UI, ChakraUI, and Radix. All this with just a command “npx quik add” and Qwik will give you access to a complete list to hunt for integrations. Interoperability Nothing can compete with Qwik when it comes to interoperability or just say communications between the devices. You have Qwik-React designed for lazy hydrating the React components to speed up your React application. The framework allows you to leverage the React ecosystem and migrate it over to Qwik for ultimate interoperability. Productive Developer Experience Not only does it ensure optimum user experience, but Qwik also unlocks a productive development environment for the developers. The framework features Directory-Based Routing and Middleware Logic ensuring convenient website creation and deployment. Moreover, its familiar JSX and unified execution model bolsters both front-end and back-end development in a single application codebase. Even if you’re looking to pin functions specifically to a server or browser, you can do it easily with “server$()”. Community of Passionate Developers Qwik is a globally connected framework with an exclusive community of developers from all around the world. The motivating and supportive community always appreciates sharing ideas and pushing the boundaries of the framework’s potential. Not to mention, the Discord community is evolving and community members are always available to answer your questions and resolve your queries. Whether it’s a bug or a general query, you can quickly reach out to the community and enjoy an unmatched development experience. Understanding Resumability & Lazy Loading Resumability: Enhancing Application Efficiency Resumability is a powerful feature allowing a program to pause its execution at a specific point and later resume from that point. Resumability enables developers to optimize resource utilization. This is particularly beneficial in scenarios where long-running operations or resource-intensive tasks are involved. With the Qwik Framework, developers can leverage resumability to create more robust and responsive applications. Qwik provides mechanisms that enable the serialization of the application state, allowing for seamless pausing and resuming of execution. This empowers developers to build applications that can handle interruptions, such as network failures or user interactions, with grace. By symbolizing resumability, the Qwik Framework ensures that developers can create applications that are not only efficient but also resilient to various disruptions. Lazy Loading: Improving Performance through On-Demand Loading Lazy loading is a technique that enhances application performance by deferring the loading of certain resources until they are needed. Instead of loading all resources upfront, lazy loading enables the on-demand loading of data, components, or modules when they are required during runtime. Qwik Framework leverages lazy loading to optimize application performance. By splitting an application into smaller, independently loadable units, Qwik allows loading of only the necessary components when needed. This approach reduces the initial load time of an application and improves its responsiveness. Additionally, lazy loading can also save bandwidth and reduce memory usage, making it particularly useful for large-scale applications or those accessed over slower network connections. Conclusion: All right! Here you have industry’s most efficient JavaScript framework that is 10x faster than its alternatives. As discussed above, Qwik can split the application into independent units that only load whenever required. Similarly, the framework can isolate the segments and hydrate them to offer blazing-fast load speed and optimize the site performance. Especially if you’re working with Qwik v1.0, you can unlock all the features that we have discussed above. Whether you are an enterprise or just working on a complex project, an experienced developer is always worthwhile. Having a professional Qwik developer at your side makes the development more productive and gets you the best out of your investment.
