There are so many different types of software development and lots of information about each software type.

A software developer will go down one avenue of software development and become an expert in that field. Understanding one area of software development and being an expert in that area is what companies will favour when they need software product development.

Read our blog post from us at Blacklight Software to understand and explore the different types of software development and perhaps discover what your company needs.

 

Introduction to Software Development

Software development refers to computer science and the process of designing, creating, programming and supporting software and applications.

Software developers will often have to maintain applications, frameworks and software competencies and will have to test for bugs and fix them too.

Software development is a set of instructions that are programmed to tell a computer what it should be doing. It is what makes computers programmable and independent of computer hardware.

 

The Different Types of Software Development

There are many different types of software development - we will explore some of the main types down below.

 

Desktop Software Development

Desktop software development focuses on software that instals and runs on a computer desktop, needing the internet for connectivity.

This type of software development can be for the development for:

Windows desktops - specifically designed for frameworks and operating system software applications macOS development - macOS and iOS are developed using Swift, Python or Java Linux development - android is based upon the Linux kernel and it is ever-growing in popularity. Most programming languages can support Linux

While apps for mobile devices may dominate today’s development world, desktop software still plays an important role.

 

Web Application Development

Web application development is the process of building applications for the web. They are accessed through an internet browser on a range of devices including smartphones, laptops, desktops, or any device that can access the internet.

Web development applications do not need to run on a phone or tablet and don’t always require an internet connection to run. Web apps are dynamic and the display can often change based on the users' actions or inputs.

 

Mobile Application Development

Mobile web apps dominate today’s software development scheme. Mobile applications are developed specifically to run on mobile devices but can also be downloaded onto tablets and some smartwatches too.

A professional software developer will specialise in mobile development applications and will usually focus on either Android or iOS app development for mobile devices and not both. This allows the developer to be an expert in one.

There is both the front and back end of the architecture of mobile applications. The front end is developed with HTML, CSS and JavaScript, the back end refers to everything that lives on the server, the working or backbone of the app which can feature the server, operating systems, frameworks and server programming languages.

Mobile applications must be downloaded to the user's device. Many, but not all mobile apps rely on an internet connection to operate, for example, many games can be played offline.

 

Data Science

Data science is a term that is used to describe the use of scientific methods to extract knowledge from structured and unstructured.

Data science includes:

AI (artificial intelligence) Machine learning Supervised learning Unsupervised learning Deep learning

AI is a high-profit market and is an umbrella term for software that can understand the reason and learn through experience.

There are a number of industries that are currently making use of AI software, including the automotive, healthcare and manufacturing industries to name a few examples.

Machine learning is a form of AI - the focus of machine learning is to improve computer algorithms over time and through experiences gathered from data.

This is all about algorithms and is very mathematical to make accurate predictions. Machine learning can be used to classify what is in images to give customers recommendations based on past purchases.

 

Video Game Development

Video game development now has the frameworks of available game engines that can support the development of video games.

Developers of video games can transform concepts into a playable reality. This is done by coding visual elements, programming features and testing, right up until the game is ready for market.

Those software developers that specialise in video game development are usually big fans of the video games themselves, which makes for an extremely rewarding job.

 

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing contains services, programs and applications that run over the cloud, meaning that they can be accessed remotely and from anywhere, from a multitude of devices. This is possible as long as the user has the appropriate internet connection and appropriate login details.

Cloud computing software development offers plenty of advantages of scalability. The development of cloud software includes creating these cloud storage applications such as Microsoft OneDrive, DropBox, or Apple’s iCloud.

 

DevOps Software Engineering

DevOps integrates the automated security software development process into quick and efficient IT. This type of software is very customer-centric - developers are required to have a knowledge base of programming integration and testing both theoretically and practically. It is all about the unification and automation of processes.

DevOps engineers introduce process software tools development and methodologies to balance the needs throughout the software development life cycle.

 

Blacklight Software Can Help

Blacklight Software can help you with all of your software development needs. We have an in-house team of software developers, here to bring your solutions to life. We specialise in Microsoft solutions and bespoke software development.

We can create software solutions for you and your business, like do with all of our clients, we can be your digital partner.

Blacklight Software also specialises in Dynamics 365, Office 365, .NET development and Azure too. Whatever you need, contact us to discuss your options and to see what solutions we can help you with.