The term backend refers to the parts of an application or website that are responsible for storing data and executing services that are required by the front-end. REST framework is an open source, an object-oriented platform that allows programmers to easily create applications in different programming languages while adding functionality to their backends without having to write large amounts of code from scratch. So in this article, we're going to discuss the top ten Web frameworks you can consider for developing your next backend project specifically for building REST APIs.
Django REST
Django REST Framework is quite popular and has a number of features that make it an excellent choice. One of the main features is an inbuilt authentication system. It also includes a command line utility that makes it easy to create and manage API views, along with migrations, models, serializers, forms, and templates. You can also use DRF with Python 3+ to get automatic code generation in your project’s directory.
Features of DRF
- Django REST framework is a powerful and flexible toolkit for building Web APIs.
- It provides a full suite of tools for developing RESTful Web services, including:
- Serialization that supports both ORM and non-ORM data sources.
- Request validation.
- Support for various authentication schemes, including OAuth1, OAuth2, and JWT.
- An extensible permission system, allowing for granular control over who can access which resources.
- Tools for versioning your API.
- Good Documentation
Express.js
The express framework is related to JavaScript It is used for back-end development and relies on Node.js. The primary goal of the project was to make it easier to create web applications in comparison with a standard web server like Apache HTTP Server. Its use in the most popular frameworks like Angular, React, and Node made it more powerful for developing APIs for the backend.
Features of Express Js
- Express.js is a web application framework for Node.js.
- It is designed to make developing web applications much easier by providing a set of tools and features that are commonly used in web development.
- Express.js is very lightweight and easy to use.
- It provides a wide range of features that are commonly used in web development, such as routing, templating, and middleware.
- Express.js is also very flexible and can be used for a wide variety of applications.
- It has a large community of users and developers, and there are many resources available to help you learn and use Express.js.
Flask
Flask is more popularly known for its lightness and simplicity. Python programmers like it because it’s easy to use, configure, and deploy. It offers the ability to quickly prototype an API. It also includes a number of handy extensions that make development easier, such as event – adds greenlet threading support to flask swagger GUI – a graphical interface that helps create Swagger spec files -flask-login – implements login functionality Flask is an excellent choice for developers looking to quickly build an API with Python.
Features of Flask
- Flask is a microframework for Python based on Werkzeug, Jinja 2 and good intentions.
- Flask is a lightweight WSGI web application framework.
- It is designed to make getting started quick and easy, with the ability to scale up to complex applications.
- It began as a simple wrapper around Werkzeug and Jinja and has become one of the most popular Python web frameworks.
- Flask offers suggestions for best practices but doesn’t enforce any of them.
- There are many extensions provided by the community that makes adding new functionality easy.
- Flask is easy to get started with and has a fairly minimal core.
- It makes it easy to add new functionality as your needs change.
Fast API
No doubt that Fast API is more popular for its speed and simplicity. It has a very quick start, which makes it very useful in rapid development. There are also prebuilt templates to help with the most common use cases like authentication and forms. But if you’re looking for a framework with complex routing, serialization, or other advanced features, then Fast API might not be the best choice. Another disadvantage of this framework is its lack of built-in support for multiple databases like MySQL or PostgreSQL. In the end, you might have to build your own database abstraction layer to make it work with different databases.
Features of Fast API
- Fast API is a web framework built on top of Starlette and Pydantic, based on the latest standards and inspired by previous works such as Flask, Django, and Falcon.
- It is designed to be fast, reliable, and easy to use.
- It comes with a built-in web server, which makes it easy to deploy and test your applications.
- Also, it supports databases including SQLAlchemy, MongoDB, and Redis.
- It is fully open source and released under the MIT license.
- Is based on the latest standards, including OpenAPI 3.0 and JSON Schema.
- Quite easy to use and easy to learn.
- Fast API is well suited for both small and large applications.
- Fully compatible with Python 3.6+
Ruby on Rails
Ruby on Rails originated in Japan and was built as a general-purpose web framework. It allows programmers to use the language called, Ruby, which makes it very easy to learn. The standard development environment includes an integrated database called SQLite that can be used without needing a separate installation. Active Record is used to build the models and relationships between them. The default templating engine is ERB which can be changed with other engines like HAML or Slim. Lastly, tests are done using MiniTest and Capybara for acceptance testing.
Features of Rails
- Ruby on Rails is an open-source web application framework written in Ruby.
- It is designed to make programming web applications easier by making assumptions about what every developer needs to get started.
- It includes everything needed to create a database-backed web application, with the Ruby programming language and the Rails web application framework.
- Rails is also a great tool for building web services and APIs.
- Ruby on Rails is a very popular framework, used by many large companies including Twitter, GitHub, and Shopify.
Spring MVC
Spring MVC is a Java-based framework that can be used with any other front-end framework. It is an MVC framework with a lightweight configuration, making it a great choice for back-end development. One of the best features of this framework is that it does not need any extra dependencies and can be combined with another front-end framework to create one solution. The REST API library provides all necessary components such as routing, validation, data binding, parameter parsing, and so on.
Features of Spring MVC
- Annotation-based configuration: Spring MVC uses Java annotations to configure the web application. This makes the configuration process simpler and easier to understand.
- Flexible view resolution: Spring MVC allows you to use different view technologies such as JSP, FreeMarker, and Velocity. This makes it easy to switch between different view technologies as per your requirement.
- Built-in validation support: Spring MVC comes with built-in support for data validation. This makes it easy to validate user input before processing it.
- Exception handling: Spring MVC provides a convenient way to handle exceptions. This makes it easy to gracefully handle errors in your web application.
- Multipart file upload: Spring MVC supports multipart file uploads. This makes it easy to upload files to the server.
Fastify
Fastify is a web framework for Node.js. It is inspired by Hapi and Express and is built on top of the Fastify core. The framework provides a simple, clean API for building fast and scalable web applications. It includes a number of features that make it a good choice for building web applications, including:
Features of Fastify
- Fastify is a web framework written in Node.js. It is designed to be fast and lightweight.
- Fastify uses a unique approach to web development, which is based on a "plugin" architecture. This makes it easy to extend and customize Fastify to suit your needs.
- It is built on top of the Fastify core, which is a high-performance web server.
- Includes a built-in logger, which can be used to track events and debug your application.
- Fastify also includes a CLI, which can be used to create and run Fastify applications.
- Open source, and released under the MIT license.
Laravel
Laravel is based on the MVC architectural pattern and is one of the most popular PHP web frameworks. It is used by many large companies, including Facebook, Twitter, and Netflix.
Laravel is designed to be easy to use and to make development faster and more efficient. It comes with a lot of features out of the box, including a routing system, a templating engine, and an object-relational mapper (ORM). Laravel supports a number of different databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL Server.
Laravel also has a large community of developers who have created a vast ecosystem of tools and libraries that can be used with Laravel. This includes a wide range of third-party packages that can be used to add even more functionality to Laravel applications.
If you're just getting started in web development or you want something that will provide all of the necessary features without overwhelming you with options right away, this might be a good choice.
Phoenix
The Phoenix web framework is a relatively new web development framework that has been gaining popularity in recent years. It is a highly opinionated framework that encourages developers to follow best practices and provides a wide range of features out of the box.
One of the key features of Phoenix is its focus on performance. It is built on top of the Elixir programming language, which is itself designed for high performance. Phoenix also makes use of Erlang's OTP platform, which is known for its scalability and reliability.
Another key feature of Phoenix is its focus on developer productivity. It comes with a number of features that make it easier for developers to get started with building web applications. For example, it includes a built-in templating language, which eliminates the need for developers to learn a separate template language.
In addition, Phoenix also includes a number of features that make it easier to build maintainable and scalable applications. For example, it includes built-in support for database migrations and a robust routing system.
Overall, the Phoenix web framework is a powerful tool for building fast, reliable, and scalable web applications.
ASP .NET Core
ASP.NET Core is a web framework developed by Microsoft. It is a cross-platform, high-performance, and open-source framework. ASP.NET Core can be used to build modern web applications, IoT applications, and mobile backends. The framework is built on top of the .NET Core runtime, which makes it easy to deploy applications to a variety of environments. ASP.NET Core applications can be deployed to IIS, Azure, or any other hosting provider.
Features including:
- A unified programming model that combines MVC and Web API
- A flexible routing system that can be used to define application routes
- Built-in dependency injection container that can be used to manage application dependencies
- A variety of built-in middleware components can be used to add functionality to applications, such as authentication, caching, and error handling
