A full stack developer is a person who is an expert in designing, building, maintaining, and updating both the front end and back end of a website or a web application. A full-stack developer is someone who can develop both client and server software. One should be well familiar with front-end, and back-end technologies frameworks and database management systems, and web hosting platforms.
Full-stack developers are a combination of front-end and back-end developers.
- A front-end developer is a person who makes the website “user friendly,” i.e., easy to use and understand. In short, a front-end developer works on the visible parts of a website, webpage, or app and also makes it interactive.
- A back-end developer is a person who is responsible for the interior functioning of a website, which includes everything that can’t be seen, but they keep the website running smoothly and efficiently.
Python is one of the leading languages that is used in both front-end and back-end development.
A full-stack developer is a person who takes care of both the front-end and back-end of a website. He should be an expert at using front-end and back-end tools. A full-stack developer should also be able to design, understand, and manipulate database queries, as database management skills are very important for a full-stack developer. So he/she must have good knowledge of database management systems (MySQL, SQL Server, and PostgreSQL; MongoDB; and Oracle Database) as well as version control, APIs, and web hosting platforms as knowledge of deploying and maintaining web applications is a must for a good full stack developer.
Full-stack development is one of the most challenging but rewarding roles because it combines crucial front- and back-end development responsibilities.
Some of the advantages of being a full-stack web developer are:
- High Demand: Fullstack developer’s demand is way more than a front-end and back-end developer.
- Higher Salary: Because of both end knowledge you will get paid more than the average of the front and back end developers
- Power knowledge: When you have the knowledge of both then you can easily provide help to both front-end and back-end developers and train them in new technologies. You can easily switch between front and back-end tools based on the team’s requirements.
- Cost Cutting:You can reduce the cost of the project because a single employee is handling both the front and back end.
- Time Management: You can reduce the time used for the development of a project or program.
Full-stack development can be stressful as sometimes the developers get anxious about solving problems in the development process. Working under the pressure of a tight deadline is stressful. However, as a full-stack developer, you’ll get plenty of opportunities to learn and implement innovative ideas in your work.
There are a lot of personal skills and programming languages that a full-stack developer uses. Some of the more common ones are listed below:
Frontend skills: Frontend technologies like HTML, CSS, Javascript, and their frameworks.
- HTML: The Hypertext Markup Language, or HTML, is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. HTML provides structure to the content appearing on a website, such as text, images, or videos.
- CSS: CSS stands for ‘Cascading Style Sheets’. CSS is used to style and layout web pages like altering the font, color, size, and spacing of your content.
- JavaScript: JavaScript, often abbreviated as JS, is a lightweight, interpreted, object-oriented dynamic programming language. JavaScript is used mostly in front-end development.
- Bootstrap: Bootstrap is a free and open-source tool collection for creating responsive websites and web applications. It is the most popular CSS framework for developing responsive, mobile-first websites. Nowadays, the websites are perfect for all browsers (IE, Firefox, and Chrome) and for all sizes of screens (Desktop, Tablets, Phablets, and Phones).
- AngularJS: AngularJS is a Javascript open-source front-end framework that is mainly used to develop single-page web applications(SPAs). It uses the Model, View, Control(MVC) pattern for developing projects. Its features like dynamic binding and dependency injection eliminate the need for code that we have to write otherwise
- Tailwind CSS: Tailwind CSS is basically a Utility first CSS framework for building rapid custom UI. It is a highly customizable, low-level CSS framework that gives you all of the building blocks that you need.
Some other frontend libraries and frameworks are React.js, Vue.js, Material UI, Ember.js, jquery UI, Backbone.js, etc.
Backend skills: Backend technologies and frameworks like Python, rust, PHP, NodeJS, ExpressJS, Django, Flask, and C++.
- Python: Python is one of the most popular and widely used programming languages in the world. Python was created by Guido van Rossum. Python is a programming language that is easy to code, easy to read, free and open-source, interpretable, portable, object-oriented and procedure-oriented, extensible, etc. Python is used for web development and software development. Python is a programming language that can be used on various platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Raspberry Pi, etc. Python is a programming language that is used for developing websites and software, task automation, data analysis, and data visualization. Python is written in C.
- NodeJS: Node.js is an open-source and cross-platform runtime environment built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine for executing JavaScript code outside of a browser. It runs JavaScript in a single thread, and the processing is asynchronous.
- PHP: PHP (HyperText Preprocessor) is a general-purpose scripting language well suited for web development. It is a fast, flexible, and pragmatic language which powers everything from blogs to the most popular websites.
- Rust: Rust is a back-end development programming language that empowers everyone to build reliable and efficient software. It is a multi-paradigm, high-level, general-purpose programming language that emphasizes performance and concurrency. Programs written in Rust are not only memory-safe but also fast. Companies like Microsoft are using Rust for the safety of their products.
Databases: SQL, Postgres, MongoDB, etc
- SQL: SQL stands for ‘Structured Query Language’. SQL is used in a lot of databases and it is commonly applied in back-end development. As most of the websites make use of back-end database storage, SQL provides a solid foundation in database-oriented literacy needed in full-stack development.
- MongoDB: MongoDB is one of the most popular NoSQL databases. It is a non-relational document database that provides support for JSON-like storage. It provides full indexing support and replication with rich and intuitive APIs.
Web Architecture: Website architecture includes planning, design, functional, and visual components of a website and it is used by website designers and developers as a means to design and develop a website because of this, full stack development goes hand in hand with web architecture. A full-stack developer must know how back-end data is structured.
Problem-solving skill and critical thinking: Problem-solving and critical thinking refer to the ability one must have to use knowledge, facts, and data to effectively solve problems. This doesn’t mean you need to have an immediate answer; it means you have to be able to think deeply about the problems and find solutions. Being a developer, you should know how to fix errors in your coding.
Communication skills: Communication skills are essential in any position. For a full-stack developer, it is one of the most important companions, as it is not necessary that you will be working alone all the time. As a full-stack developer, you may be required to communicate with clients, converse with other developers, and share report progress with company stakeholders via any of the available communication channels.
Patience: Patience is one of the most important factors for any developer as coding takes a lot of time, those with more patience entail greater productivity and are always a beneficial asset for the organization. Developers should always remain calm and active during their work, and a good level of patience is required to handle the level of stress that comes with solving complex problems.
A full-stack developer should be creative, internet- and tech-savvy, and have a keen eye for detail in order to solve complex problems. If you want to be a full-stack developer, you should study computer science, computer engineering, or a related field. Around 70–80% of software developers hold a bachelor’s degree. It is always an advantage if you have done internships before applying for any role in software development. There are numerous internship programs available for computer science students these days, and these internships in the early phase of their professional career are very helpful in getting them a dream job and a good position in the organization.
When it comes to pay range, a full-stack developer can earn more when compared to a front-end or a back-end developer because of their skills and expertise in using both technologies. Full-stack developers are high in demand and income, and they are very helpful in cutting costs for any organization, and it is just because of their proficiency in both front-end and back-end technologies.