If you can't figure out the difference between Front-end and Back-end, we have prepared for you a short excursion into the world of web-development.
In any application, there are two parts of that – front-end and back-end. In this article, the overview of both parts is presented to help you understand what is the difference between front-end and back-end, and why companies meed a full-stack developer.
Front-end – the user-accessible part of an application. In the application or on the website, users interact directly with the front-end sending a signal to a server.
Front-end developers work on the "front" part of a site or an application. What the user sees is created by front-end developers - so-called UI (User Interface) is completely created by front-end specialists.
Front-end development is primarily based on JavaScript.
Front-end specialists know HTML and CSS. They work in Git and understand the principles of working with various libraries.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) stores all the data about the page for the browser: headings, lists and so on.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) directs the browser which font and color to display elements on the page. For example, Times New Roman, 14 kegel, blue color.
To cut a long story short, frontend is everything that happens in a browser.
Back-end is what runs directly on the server side. Back-end developers work in programming languages such as Python, PHP, Ruby. They have pefrect understanding of SQL to work with databases. The back-end developer is fully responsible for the server side of a website.
A Full-stack developer knows both front-end and back-end development at the same time. Some full-stack specialists also do the layout of the site.
What are the advantages of a Full-stack developer?
If Front-end and Back-end are narrowly focused specialists, then Full-stack is a multi-field specialty. A full-stack developer is a jack of all trades. However, a Full-stack job has its advantages and disadvantages as well.
Minuses:
1. In some areas, you will lose out to narrow specialists. They may already know their field from A to Z, but a full-stack is a nearly inscrutable thing. It is impossible to know everything.
2. It is more difficult to develop and build skills because a full-stacker has so many areas for development. He needs to devote time to everything, respectively, the rate of development decreases.
3. A good full-stacker always has a strong workload at work. You have no clear division of responsibility, you understand everything and everywhere, so you are always given all the tasks.
4. It is more difficult for you to decide on vacancies. Because you know so much and know how to do so many things.
Pluses:
1. If you are a beginner and learning from scratch, you can choose what you like more front-end or back-end, what frameworks you are interested in, what technologies you like to work with. Full-stack is a great start.
2. The risk of burnout tends to zero, as you change projects and areas of activity more often than narrow specialists. The probability to get tired of the same-type and monotonous work is lower.
3. It is easier for you to grow up to a team leader.
You understand more, you understand the entire development architecture, so it is much easier for you to become a manager.
4. You're flexible!
You know several tools you can use to solve the same task. It is easier for you to assess the situation, get the essence out of it and solve the problem, since you possess knowledge in almost all fields, even if not as deep as a highly specialized specialist.
To summarize, it is always better to start with full-stack courses to understand what is more interesting for you and what you are passionate about.