SIZ EDUCATION | An Overview of a Full Stack Developer

Hello, I hope you all are doing well. So, as I informed in my previous post that I would be covering different sectors of IT and explain them as much as I can. In this post, I wanted to talk about a Full Stack Developer.

I would be telling you about who is a Full Stack Developer, what do they do, what skills they must have and many more. So let's start with some introduction which will be needed to make a base to fully understand this sector.

INTRODUCTION

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You might have heard of terms like "Back-End Developer", "Front-End Developer", and the one I'm going to tell you about in this post. These terms are different and so is the work that is needed to be done by anyone who becomes one of these. All of them are an important part of an IT team and they put forth an amazing contribution to the development process. Full Stack Developer is probably the most celebrated position in IT industry, and it is a hybrid of both Back-End and Front-End Development. Yes! These individuals are responsible for handling both the things and must have the required skills to execute their work efficiently and effectively. Let me tell you a little about what it really means when we say Front-End and Back-End Developer.

FRONTEND DEVELOPER
It is a skill which helps present a website in the most presentable way possible. It focus on the layout of the website, how to position text, images, it also involves the colors, fonts, buttons, and another important thing. When a website is made, the size of the tab also has to be made flexible, and what do I mean by that? Have you noticed the difference when you open a website from your desktop, and when you open the same website from your phone or tablet, that difference. That is what I'm referring to as flexibility of the website. The individual has to make all of this work.

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There are 3 main parts of a good website, the content, the presentation which includes color, text, alignments and stuff like that, and the last, functionality and complex animations. And the languages which are a must requirement to do all of this are:

• HTML: The abbreviation opens upto Hyper Text Mark-up Language. It is the main backbone of any website, because it involves building up the main structure content of it. The current version which is frequently used is HTML5.

• CSS: It stands for Cascading Style Sheets. Once you have your structure, your content, now you must have a way to present it in the best way possible. To do that, CSS is used, it deals with the alignments and positioning of text, images, colors, fonts and you can even change the position or rearrange different HTML elements and make your site look attractive. The current version being frequently used is CSS3.

• JAVASCRIPT: Now, this language completely changes everything, because it lets you do certain specialization to your website, it involves the user interactivity part. And you can handle pretty complex animations with this. JavaScript has also been advanced in the previous years as now many different frameworks have been introduced such as jQuery, Node.js, and a few more.

• Apart from all these languages, another skill which will be useful but is not considered a requirement is learning and having a good grip on some tools including Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, why need these tools though? Because the task of a front-end developer is to enhance the idea or the design given by a client or anyone and turn it into something which is just amazing. These tools will create different designs and implement those creative ideas which will help in building a presentable website.

BACKEND DEVELOPER
Let's talk about this skillset now, this involves implementation which is hidden or what is happening behind the working of the website. The frontend is the part which the user can interact with, now the backend, the part which users can't interact with, but that doesn't mean it's not there, it's just as important as front end work. Why? You have developed your website, now how will you send your data that is changing, evolving or say dynamic to your website? How can you receive user input? How can you store that input? And how can you update your data? How can you edit it? All of this is done by the help of different programming languages such as PHP, Ruby and the popular ones Python, Java. These languages allows the developer to create different algorithms to manage all of this, and another important key element is storing data in databases. There is a language for that too, SQL, which helps in managing the data into tabular from and to easily store it in a way that can be easily fetched.

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Another point I want to highlight is that, JavaScript is said to cover about anything but it sometimes may act buggy and weird and it is suitable to use back end programming languages at that point. Furthermore, backend developers have to work hand in hand with the frontend developers so that they can coordinate what they are doing, what is required to do, communication is the key element between the two sectors to create a website that is pleasing and impressive.

FULL STACK DEVELOPER
Finally, let's talk about a full stack developer. As I mentioned earlier that these individuals work on both ends of software application, the backend which is also called as the server end, and also the frontend, also called client end. They are responsible for have the knowledge and skillset on how to shape up a website and also to know what limitations it would have. They have a wide range of knowledge about different languages, tools, and they are also very proficient in their work.

SKILLS OF A FULL STACK DEVELOPER

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These are some of the skills that these developers possess when they are required to handle different projects.

• The knowledge about frontend development, which in turn means, have a good grip on HMTL5, CSS3, and JavaScript.

• To know a range of programming languages including PHP, Ruby, Python, Java etc. They know a bit about every language but have usually mastered in one of the languages. Although, many people can master more than one too, and obviously it would benefit them as it would lead to more job opportunities.

• To know different tools such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and different web design tools that would help building up the website.

• To know different libraries of languages. Python is the one which has a vast span of different libraries which are used in different applications and projects. The individual also knows SQL, MySQL, and different database languages to help store data.

• They are not only computer nerds but they also know how to fluently communicate with the team and the client. Without frequent and proper communication, no matter how good they are at developing, they won't be able to convey their ideas and what they want, and it would ultimately lead to nothing but chaos.

• Having knowledge about version control systems such as GIT, they can update their sites, get the latest information, and make changes without affecting things. They are also familiar with different APIs (Application Programming Interface).

WHY SHOULD YOU BECOME A FULL STACK DEVELOPER?
There are different sectors of an IT, they also include frontend and backend, so when one has the choice to go master in one of these, why is then full stack developer more favourable and demanded? Think of it this way, there are two individuals who know two different things, and there is this one individual who knows both, who do you think would be more experienced in terms of handling different projects? The individual which has the knowledge of both.
And obviously, it's not necessary to become a full stack developer and start cramming stuff and ultimately forgetting them. It's just a point, an opinion, that a full stack developer can help both sides of the coin, he can help access the backend and frontend developers as he has profound knowledge of both of these domains. He can communicate with both and can be a leader, also he would have a better way of conveying one side's message to the other.

BECOME A FULL STACK DEVELOPER
So, now I've tried to tell you as much as I can, and a question arises now, that how can I be one? It's nothing rocket science but all you need to do is to be consistent, patient, and passionate about learning. And just constantly learning both the sides, the frontend and backend.

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While looking for jobs, you will find that Full Stake Developer and Full Stack Engineer are two same but slightly different things. The only difference is that, a full stack engineer is a senior in this domain and has quite more experience then a fresh developer.

CONCLUSION
After reading this, now you have an idea about what backend developer, frontend developer and full stack developer mean. It is your choice to select whichever suits you best. You need to stay consistent in whatever you do and before starting anything, ask yourselves questions and consult people who have gained from their experience.
While a full stack developer can have the key to every lock, every question, it also gives you the freedom to work on either backend or frontend for the time being.

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There is also a myth about full stack developers that they do everything by themselves, well they can if they are capable and are working alone or freelancing. But when they are in a system, an organisation, they are bound to divide the work between the members of the team and work accordingly.
But nonetheless, it surely is an interesting, hardworking, and a necessary and sufficient domain in the world of Information Technology.