Our world is becoming more and more digital. Our daily lives are flooded with applications and websites. If you think about it, it’s likely that almost everything in your life is a software product.
From the early morning alarm clock, to apps like Facebook and Instagram that you use to keep in touch with friends and family, to YouTube, where you probably spend hours watching videos – everything is a web app. So who is creating these apps? Who is working behind the scenes to make sure you see new photos or news on your Facebook and Instagram feed every time you hit refresh?
In this article, we will focus on understanding the role of full-stack developers, who they are, what they do, the skills required to become one, the roles and responsibilities of this job, etc.
What is a full-stack developer?
The websites and applications we use so frequently in our daily lives are created and maintained by web developers.
Depending on their role in the overall web development process, web developers are classified into several categories:
Front-end developers
Back-end developers
Full-stack developers
Before we talk about full-stack developers, let’s first understand what front-end and back-end developers do. There are many elements to a website: the look and feel, the layout, the server-side technology, etc. Front-end developers take care of all these elements.
Front-end developers take care of the overall user experience and visual aspects of a website.
Back-end developers maintain the technology needed to make the website work.
Full-stack development combines front-end and back-end development.
Full-stack developers are experts in both front-end and back-end web development processes. Because it involves knowledge and expertise from both sides, the role of full-stack developers is more complex than that of other developers.
What do full-stack developers do?
Full-stack developers can create websites and web applications independently. They master programming languages such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript, which are used on the front end of web development. They are also proficient in languages such as Ruby and Python, which are used for back-end web development.
Since full-stack developers can handle both the front-end and the back-end on their own, they save a company time and money.
How to become a full-stack developer?
Full-stack developers are in high demand in the field of web development. They are often employed by small companies to take charge of the entire development process of a website.
The first step to a career as a full-stack developer is to get trained. Learn the necessary programming languages and other technical skills.
You can either go the traditional route by getting a university degree in computer science or a related discipline, or you can follow other routes such as self-study or online training courses.
Become familiar with all the popular technologies, but master only one.
After you have obtained a degree or certification and mastered the technical skills, get some hands-on experience. This will help you to apply the knowledge and skills you have gained. Working on projects will help you understand the architecture of web applications and hone your coding skills.
Take on additional projects and assignments in areas outside your expertise. Employers appreciate such initiatives.
Skills needed to become a full-stack developer
Any profession requires you to have specific technical skills, or hard skills, as well as a particular set of soft skills. The same applies to the skills required to become a full-stack developer.
PravySoft team is always ready to help you, please contact us if you have any questions. Talk to our advisor today
Here are some of the key technical skills we provide for full-stack developers:
Front-end languages
1. HTML/CSS
HTML and CSS are popular front-end languages. HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. The text, colour images, headings and paragraphs you see when you visit a website are formatted using HTML.
On the other hand, CSS or Cascading Style Sheets are used to modify and style text, such as font type, text size, paragraph spacing, etc. Its purpose is to make the website content more pleasant and user-friendly.
2. JavaScript
If you want to become a full-fledged developer, learning JavaScript will be mandatory for you. JavaScript is an object-oriented, client-side programming language. It is mainly used to add behaviours to HTML, which increases the quality of the user’s interaction with the application. As a full-stack developer, you will also need to master the features of JavaScript, such as React and Angular. JavaScript helps full-stack developers create responsive web pages. As a full-stack developer, you should also know how to use DOM and JSON.
3. Git and GitHub
Git is an open-source version control system. Git can efficiently manage all the changes you make to websites, code, documents, etc. As a full-stack developer, Git will allow you to track all changes made to the application database. Good knowledge of Git will allow you to do your job better and collaborate with your teammates.
4. SQL
SQL stands for Structured Query Language, and its main use is in database management. It is a domain-specific language that is built for two central purposes. The first is to process and manipulate data stored in a relational database management system (RDBMS). The second is to process flows in RDBMSs.
Back-end languages
1. PHP – PHP is a highly compatible back-end programming language that works well on all platforms from Unix to Windows.
2. Python – Python is an easy-to-learn programming language with a syntax very similar to English.
3. Java – Java has many uses. It is used for developing mobile applications, desktop applications and the web.
HTTP and REST – As a full-stack developer, you need to master both HTTP and REST. HTTP and REST both have different functions. HTTP is a communication protocol used to facilitate all forms of interaction and communication with the client. On the other hand, REST is a protocol used to gather data between systems using the HTTP protocol.
Database storage – All data in web applications is stored in a database. The storage of this data is essential as it allows web developers to access it later. As a full-stack developer, you need to be able to know the finer points of database storage and relational databases. You should also be well versed in database management, including the design, understanding and manipulation of database queries.
Design skills – As full stack developers deal with both front-end and back-end web development, it is essential that they have basic design skills. Front-end development is about the visual elements of a website. When you visit a website, all the visually appealing features fall under the front end of web development. As a full-stack developer, you need to know the fundamentals of design, such as scalability, user interface, UX design, etc.
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