What Is Full Stack Development, And Who Are Full Stack Developers?

If you want to manage your software development process and increase efficiency, look no further! Full-stack development can be a good choice for you. In this fast-paced world, organizations are relying on versatile developers who can develop both back-end and front-end and are experienced in both technologies.

Full-stack programmers are the jack-of-all-trades in this modern software development era. They have the expertise to handle different aspects of the SDLC. Whether it is developing an appealing user interface or creating robust server-side programming, they can perform them all with ease. They are skilled and can tackle the entire development stack. Here, we will see a comprehensive guide on full-stack development, and explore the benefits of this process.

Let’s begin with understanding full-stack development!

What Is Full Stack Development, And Who Are Full Stack Developers?

The process of full-stack development includes the process of creating, designing, testing, and deploying a whole web app from beginning to finish. It also involves working with different tools like front-end development tools, back-end development tools, DB development tools, etc. This is a term that describes a software programmer who works as a front-end and back-end expert for developing an app or a website.

A full-stack developer is skilled in working with back-end technologies and front-end platforms and powers up the project. They are responsible for developing the complete web app, from starting phase to deployment. This means they should have complete knowledge of the technologies and tools involved in the development process.

These dedicated developers should have a firm knowledge of CSS, JS, and HTML, along with server-side technologies like Node.js, Rails, PHP, RoR, etc. By understanding and using these technologies together, developers can perform full-stack development easily.

Full-stack developers are in high demand as they build the business project from start to finish, and quickly find and fix different problems that can arise. While hiring an expert dedicated developer who is well versed in full stack, you need to ask them about the technologies they are well-versed with.

Front-End Development:

The front end is the visible end of the web app or the website and is responsible for enhanced user experience.  The end user will directly interact with the front end or user interface portion of the project.

There are three main languages to be well-versed in for developing interactive front-end:

HTML:

HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) is used for designing the structure of the web page. Hypertext means linking up different web pages of a website, and markup language means documenting the tags to form a proper structure of the web page.

CSS:

Aka, Cascading Style Sheets refers to a language that is used to design and simplify the procedure of making your website’s web pages presentable. CSS will allow developers to apply various styles to the web pages. Most importantly, you can design web pages independent of HTML, and make them representable.

JavaScript:

JavaScript (JS) is a popular scripting language that develops the magic connection on websites to make them more interactive for the end-user. It is used to improve the functionality of different websites to run cool games and web apps or software.

Here are some front-end frameworks and libraries that are used popularly in modern development: React, Angular, Vue, etc. Each of these frameworks is beneficial and has drawbacks. So, let’s learn more about each language in brief:

ReactJS:

React is a popular choice for different programmers as it is quick and easy to implement and learn.

Angular:

AngularJS or Angular is a qualitative alternative for bigger projects as it is more feature-rich and quickly develops UIs for enterprise apps.

There are many different frameworks available for use in the market. We might bring a whole guide on front-end frameworks in the future. Additionally, it is not a matter of concern which front-end platform you choose. But ensure that you are known about it before starting your project.

Additionally, the frameworks themselves have several useful libraries that can provide quality supplements to your development efforts. Some of these libraries are:

Lodash, Axios, and Moment.js

Again, choosing a perfect library can be a tough task, because each library has its own specifications and unique capabilities.

Back-End Development:

Back-end development is the server-side development of a web app or website with some mandatory focus on how any website works. It is good for managing the database through APIs and queries by client-side commands. This type of website mainly consists of 3 parts, back end, front end, and DB.

The backend development is built using different frameworks, libraries, and programming languages like the one discussed below:

Java:

Java is a popular and widely preferred programming language that is highly scalable and has components that are easily available.

PHP:

This language is a server-side scripting language and can be designed specially for web app development. Since the code written in PHP is running on the server side, it is also known as the server-side scripting language.

CPP:

C++ or CPP is a common programming language that is used for days for performing competitive programming. It is used popularly as a backend programming language.

Python

It is a general-purpose programming language that will allow you to work efficiently and integrate systems quickly.

Node.js

This framework is a cross-platform and open-source runtime environment that is used for executing JS code outside the browser. You just need to know that Node.js is not a platform and also not a programming language.

Most people are confused that NodeJS is a language or a framework, but it is not so. This framework is often used for developing backend services like web applications or mobile applications. It is used by huge tech heads like Paypal, Netflix, Walmart, and many more.

JS (JavaScript)

JavaScript can be used for both back-end and front-end programming.

Some of the other famous back-end development frameworks are:

Express, Rails, Django, Laravel, Spring, Express, etc.

Moreover, other back-end scripting languages or programming languages are Ruby, C#, REST, GO, and many more to count.

Database:

A database is a collection of interrelated data that helps in quick retrieval, deleting, and inserting of information from the DB and also organizes the data in the form of views, tables, reports, schemas, and much more.

Here are some popular databases that are commonly used by full-stack developers while developing any project:

MongoDB:

MongoDB is a popular NoSQL DB that is open source and document-oriented DB. It follows a ‘non-relational’ concept. It shows that MongoDB is not dependent on the table-like database structure that is relational, but provides a completely different structure for retrieval of information and its storage.

Oracle:

Oracle is a DB collection that is used as a unit. The purpose of using this db is to retrieve and store data that is related to the query. It is a DB server that manages the information easily.

SQL:

Structured Query Language is a standard DB language that is used to maintain, create and gain relational DB.

After understanding the three main steps of Full Stack Development, now let’s see what are the advantages and disadvantages of it.

Pros And Cons Of Full Stack Development:

Before hiring a full-stack development team, you should keep in mind some benefits and potential risks of this technology.

Pros Of Full Stack Development:

• The primary benefit of full-stack development is that developers can understand the whole web development process easily. It can further lead to more successful and efficient development.
• Another pro of the full-stack process is that it makes the development procedure efficient completely. Full-stack developers can easily search for potential bottlenecks and issues by understanding the back-end and front-end development. This saves time and other resources by preventing future errors.
• The full-stack process also helps in developing more user-friendly and cohesive apps and websites. Developers having a deep understanding of both back-end and front-end development can create a better user experience that leads to improved loyalty and customer satisfaction.

Overall, the full-stack development process has many benefits that lead to more effective, efficient, and user-friendly web app development.

Cons Of Full Stack Development:

• One disadvantage of full-stack development is it has a broad range of skills. It might happen that they do not have deep knowledge in any specific area and hence could lead to very bad issues if the project needs in-depth functionalities or specific expertise.
• Another disadvantage is that full-stack developers have to work with different technologies, and they may have to spend more time keeping up with different developments than experts who have to focus only on one area.

Finally, full-stack development can be time-consuming and complex as compared to traditional development. So it may be the best alternative for small projects or projects having strict deadlines.

Here Are Some Popular Tech Stacks:

• MERN Stack- It consists of Express, MongoSB, ReactJS, and NodeJS
• MEAN Stack- It has MongoDB, AngularJS, NodeJS, and Express
• Rails or ROR (Ruby on Rails)- It uses PHP, Ruby along with MySQL
• Django Stack- This stack uses Django, Python, MySQL
• LAMP Stack- this tech stack uses Apache, Linux, MySQL, and PHP

Over To You…

Any Full stack development gives you an efficient development experience to create web apps. As a team members are equipped with the skills of various tools and technologies and can use their knowledge for development and future research. The well-known technology stacks are MERN and MEAN. Hence, you can choose the tech stack that fulfills your project requirements.