Server-side scripting is a computer programming technique that allows users to perform actions on a web server. These actions may include website customization, dynamic changes in web content, responding to user requests, and accessing databases.

Real-world examples of this include social-networking sites that allow users to control what information appears on their feeds. This is accomplished through server-side scripting that assembles client characteristics and sends a response based on those parameters.

Scripting Languages

Scripting languages are a type of programming language that is run from a web server and used to display dynamic content. They are often used in conjunction with other programming languages, such as PHP and JavaScript, to create more complex websites. Scripting allows for greater customization of the user’s experience on a website and helps to improve the functionality of a site.

Using a scripting language on the server side can help to reduce the amount of work that is done by the web browser. This can also speed up page load times and decrease the amount of computation that is done by the user’s computer. These types of languages are also more secure because they hide the source code from the users and reduce security risks.

One popular scripting language that is used on the server-side is Python. It is an easy-to-use programming language that is ideal for creating dynamic web applications. It is used in many popular web platforms and collaboration tools, including Instagram and Pinterest. It has a wide range of libraries available for free and it is a very fast-running language that uses indentation to delimit blocks of code.

PHP is another server-side scripting language that is used in many web apps and is widely used for creating database-driven websites. It is a versatile and easy-to-use language that has a wide variety of extensions and features. It can be used to check form submissions for errors and to change the content of a page depending on the choices made by the visitor. It can also be used to connect a website with a MySQL database and is commonly used in conjunction with other scripting languages, such as JavaScript.

Scripting Frameworks

Scripting languages are used to create interactive experiences on websites. Whether it’s the code behind a social media feed or the dynamic content on a news or e-commerce website, scripting makes it possible. These programming languages work on the client-side (in a browser) or server-side to create the dynamic features that are valued in today’s web experience.

Using frameworks helps developers save time and effort by eliminating the need for them to code in every detail of a project. It reduces the amount of repetitive code that must be written and also lowers the risk for errors due to semicolon placement or complex coding.

A framework can also help developers create faster code by handling a lot of the underlying infrastructure work, such as database optimizations and asset compilation workflows. This frees up the developer to focus on more creative and complex tasks.

When choosing a framework to use, it’s important to look at the overall quality of the product. One indicator is strong documentation, which includes installation and getting started docs as well as pages on advanced usage. It’s also a good idea to check how often the framework’s version is updated. Ideally, breaking changes shouldn’t occur frequently.

There are several popular scripting language frameworks available for both back-end and front-end development, including Python, Ruby, JavaScript, Node.js, and PHP. For example, many back-end developers rely on Python to build applications with frameworks like Django and Flask. This frees up Python to do other tasks, such as connecting multi-language systems at tech companies like Airbnb and Hulu.

Security

Server-side scripting runs on a website’s servers and uses web pages to deliver dynamic and personalised content to users. It also helps improve site performance by caching information and reducing the number of requests sent to the server. It’s particularly useful for sites based on databases or those that rely on user accounts, e-commerce functionality or content management systems (CMS).

PHP offers robust support for database interaction, allowing developers to retrieve data and manipulate it as required. Code can be re-used across multiple application modules, making maintenance easier. It can also help boost security by keeping sensitive operations and data secluded from malicious attacks as it runs on the server, not the client’s browser.

Server-side scripting reduces the amount of time it takes for a page to load, which is especially beneficial for websites that rely on complex applications and large amounts of data. It can also minimise the strain placed on a server, avoiding the need for costly upgrade or migration to more powerful hardware. Finally, it can help increase the speed of site navigation by storing pre-generated HTML pages in memory or on disk and serving them to clients when requested. This can significantly decrease the amount of time a server needs to spend on each request and is particularly effective for high-traffic sites.

Performance

Traditionally, most business logic and data processing has run on the server side. That includes processes such as rendering dynamic webpages, connecting with databases and identity authentication. However, these processes can introduce a lot of latency as they require the web page to travel back and forth between the end user’s browser and the server.

In contrast, server-side scripting eliminates this latency and improves overall website performance by minimizing the amount of coding required to render a page and send it to the browser. The result is that pages load more quickly and users can experience a seamless, personalized digital experience.

Server-side scripting is also a crucial component of dynamic websites, which use real-time information stored on servers to provide customized content to end users. This personalization process requires server-side scripting to connect with databases, APIs and other resources to generate a HTML document that can be sent directly to the browser.

When deciding which framework to use, it’s important to consider the programming language’s productivity and performance as well as its security, scalability and flexibility. Codedamn offers courses in JavaScript and React with various programming environments and playgrounds to test your skills and gain proficiency in the language of your choice. Then, you can start using your new skill set to build amazing applications! You can find all of these resources on codedamn’s website.