Available under an Apache License, Ballerina is an open-source, general-purpose programming language designed for cloud-era programmers.
Development on the language was begun in 2015 by designers from WSO2 as a code-based alternative to the configuration-based integration tools, such as enterprise application integration (EAI), enterprise bus service (ESB), and workflow products. Ballerina was publicly announced in 2017, and released in 2019. The language is currently supported by WSO2, an open-source technology provider, and under active development by the Ballerina community.
Implemented in Java, Ballerina, and TypeScript, Ballerina was influenced by C#, Go, Java, JavaScript, and Rust.
With Ballerina, microservices, API endpoints and integrations, and other applications for the cloud can be easily developed. The language has all of the general-purpose functions expected in a modern programming language.
Additionally, Ballerina has compiler-level, built-in support for widely used data types, such as JSON and XML, with a focus on handline structured data, network service interactions, and dealing with concurrency.
Its language constructs are designed specifically for consuming and delivering network services, and its abstractions and syntax for concurrency and network interaction are designed to closely correspond with sequence diagrams.
Designed for cloud applications, Ballerina includes the network in the language. In Ballerina, every program has a corresponding event diagram showing the processes involved, as well as the sequence of messages exchanged between them. Ballerina's program execution process includes extensible metadata that is compiled to runnable programs for all major cloud platforms, and features that help to track metrics, logs, and tracing are incorporated into the programming language.
The focal point of this portion of our guide is on the programming language known as Ballerina. Online resources pertaining to the programming language, as well as any compilers, editors, or tools developed specifically for use in Ballerina, as well as Ballerina tutorials, user groups, and forums.
Recommended Resources
Ballerina is an open-source programming language for the cloud. Downloads are available for Windows, Linux, and macOS, as well as a Ballerina extension for Visual Studio Code. Installation instructions and options are posted. The code license, site license, and terms of service are posted. Also included are an introduction to the language, guides, references, and videos, as well as an online playground where people can practice coding in Ballerina. An information blog is included.
https://ballerina.io/
As an open-source project, the development of Ballerina is maintained by the Ballerina community and supported by WSO2. Hosted on GitHub, the code repositories are available for download under the Apache 2.0 license. An overview of the language is provided, and issues with any of the Ballerina repositories may be reported, and links to other online resources are posted on the site. Projects and packages are featured, and profiles of the people involved with the project are provided.
https://github.com/ballerina-platform/
Nordic APIs is an international community of API practitioners who help companies make smarter tech decisions using APIs. On the site, Kristopher Sandoval provides a review of the programming language, including an introduction, its justifications and motivations, design principles, and unique elements. Also included are code examples designed to show what Ballerina's code looks like. The author's conclusion is that the language solves a problem, and does so very well.
https://nordicapis.com/review-of-ballerina-a-programming-language-for-microservices-and-apis/
