Full Stack Development is the need of the hour for every firm out there that wishes to build good web applications and creative websites. According to LinkedIn, it is among the top 10 IT jobs that will be in demand in 2024. In this blog, we will be covering everything about What is Full Stack Development.
Let’s discuss the following topics:
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Definition of Full Stack Web Development
The process of planning, building, testing, and launching an entire web application from beginning to end is known as full stack development. Full stack development is the combination of both the front end (client side) and back end (server side) portions of a web application.
Let’s try to understand what the front end and back end are in detail:
Client Side (Front End)
The front end is also known as the client side; it is a part of the website that the user sees and interacts with. It consists of a user interface (UI) of the website, and it runs on the user’s local system, instead of where it is hosted.
Server Side (Back End)
The back end is also known as the server side; it is responsible for all the logic and functions of any website. It includes things like database routing and API creation. The back end ensures that the server is up all the time and also manages the incoming traffic to the website.
Full stack developers require different skills and tools to develop the front end and back end of any web application. Let’s get into the role of a full stack developer.
Who Is a Full Stack Developer?
A full stack developer is an engineer who is proficient in working with both server-side and client-side programming software. They manage everything from front end development languages, back-end development methodologies, server handling, and Application Programming Interface (API) designing to working with version control systems.
Why Would You Need a Full Stack Developer?
Following are the multiple reasons why organizations require a Full Stack Developer:
- Full Stack developers ensure to keep the end-to-end web application running without any hiccups.
- Full stack developers can fit into multiple roles in the application development process, thereby greatly reducing the costs and time required to solve problems.
- Full Stack developers can actively debug applications alongside development and also extend help in testing and actively developing contingency protocols for the application.
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Advantages of Full Stack Development
- Versatility and Efficiency
One primary benefit of having full stack development is its versatility. A full stack developer is proficient in multiple programming languages and frameworks, which helps them handle multiple aspects of a project. A single developer can manage the front end as well as the back end, making the development process seamless and efficient.
- Rapid Prototyping and MVP Development
Prototyping and the minimum viable product (MVP) are easy to achieve when we use full stack development. Full stack developers have a wide range of skills that enable them to rapidly produce end-to-end working web applications.
- Enhanced Problem Solving
Full stack developers have a broad understanding of the entire tech stack used to build the whole application, which makes it easy to find and resolve bugs.
Full Stack Development Technologies
A full stack developer needs to know certain tools and technologies based on the application they are creating. Mainly, the Full Stack Development Technologies are divided into two parts: one for front end creation and the other for the back end.
Technologies to Develop Front End
The front end majorly focuses on the design part of the website. There are some very popular front end programming languages to build the UI for websites.
- HTML (Hyper Text Makeup Language): It is used to create the structure or skeleton of any website. By using HTML, you can add data and visual content to your website.
- CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): This is used for styling the HTML components to make them more attractive and create a more appealing layout by adding colors to them.
- JavaScript: Javascript can be used as a front end and back end programming language. In the front end, we use it to make dynamic and interactive components such as a responsive navbar that turns into a hamburger menu when the screen size changes.
Technologies to Develop Back End
The back end handles the data transfer between the front end and the database or server; it connects the webpage to the main server and establishes the connection between them. The most commonly used back end development languages are PHP, Java, Python, and Node.js. You can choose between these programming languages based on your requirements.
The back end can be further divided into 3 sub-layers:
- API Layer: It is responsible for connecting the back end to the front end.
- Storage Layer: It stores all the data coming from the front end; it also manages access to data based on the conditions provided by the developer.
- Logic Layer: This layer consists of all the logic for the website. It is the most important part because it ensures the working of any website.
Skills Required to Become a Full Stack Developer
A full stack developer requires a specialty in computer science and should have a high level of proficiency in both back end and front end programming languages and frameworks. They are skilled in PHP, Django, Node.js, Express.js, JavaScript, and HTML. Full stack developers are also knowledgeable about a wide range of DBMS (database management systems), including MongoDB, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.
What Are the Popular Frameworks for Full Stack Development?
There are more than 100 full stack frameworks available out there, but you don’t need to learn all of them to become a full stack developer. Here are the top 5 full stack frameworks you should know.
Node.js and Expreess.js (Javascript frameworks)
Node.js and Express are the two most popular frameworks for full stack development. According to W3Tech, around 3.1% of websites are developed using Node.js, which is around 6.3 million websites.
Node.js is a runtime Javascript framework that runs on the server side and Express.js works on top of node.js, providing robust features for building websites. It provides simplicity, flexibility, and cross-platform functionality, and it also provides great community support.
Ruby on Rails
Ruby on Rails offers many features, like continuous updates and a vast open-source library. Apart from that, it is very easy to learn and implement. Some of the most popular websites are built using Ruby on Rails, which includes Github, Airbnb, Shopify, and many more. It also offers security, and fast processing, and the architecture is based on a model view controller, making it one of the best full stack development frameworks.
Django
One of the greatest frameworks for full stack web development is Django, which is used by companies like Google, Instagram, YouTube, and NASA. It enables programmers to rapidly construct online apps without having to worry about tasks like creating HTML templates or database management. A template engine for producing HTML views, an object-relational mapper (ORM) for communicating with databases, and a multitude of tools and libraries for common tasks are all included in Django.
Spring Boot
Spring boot is one of the most flexible and compatible Java frameworks. It helps in developing a production-ready application, which means that you can directly deploy the application without worrying about bugs and errors.
Another benefit of using spring-boot is that it offers an extensive range of integrations and customizations, so you can make it work exactly how you want. Spring Boot is a great option, whether you’re searching for an easy approach to building web applications that are ready for production or need a very configurable framework.
Laravel
Laravel is a thoroughly documented PHP web application framework that offers a clean, intelligent syntax that helps you create web applications quickly and easily. Larvel comes with lots of functionalities, including ORM (Object Relational Mapping), routing, and authentication. Larvel also offers a huge collection of libraries and built-in methods that are useful in maintaining and developing web applications.
Which Is the Best Stack for Full Stack Development?
A tech stack is a bundle of different technologies that are used to build a whole full stack web application. Each stack contains one database, one back end language, one front end language or framework, and a web server.
Here are a few of the most popular tech stacks for full stack development:
- LAMP Stack
LAMP: Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP.
It is one of the first open-source web development tech stacks that efficiently handles dynamic web pages. LAMP uses Apache as a web server, which receives the request and sends it over to the PHP layer, which gets the data from the database, which is MySQL.
- MEAN Stack
MEAN: MongoDB, Express.js, Angular, and Node.js
It is an end-to-end javascript stack that lets you use a single programming language throughout the development process with MongoDB as a database. It is best for cloud hosting because of its flexibility and scalability.
- MERN Stack
MERN: MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js
This is also an end-to-end javascript framework that helps you receive single-page web applications. React is one of the most popular and widely used javascript libraries with simple JSX syntax, which works on the concept of a Virtual Dom that gives you a seamless user experience.
Full Stack Developer’s Salary
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary of software developers, which also includes full stack developers, is around $127,260 per year.
According to Glassdoor, the average salary of full stack developers with 1-2 years of experience in India is around 6,50,000 rs per year, and they also get additional cash compensation of around 50,000 rs, which can range from 20,000 to 1,00,000.
Conclusion
I hope now you have a clear understanding of what full stack development is and how full stack development makes the development process faster and more efficient. We have also explored a few of the best software stacks to build a full stack application, as well as the most popular frameworks used by the industry.
FAQs
What are the skills required to become a full stack developer?
A full stack developer requires a wide range of skills, which include front end programming languages and frameworks, back end programming languages, cybersecurity skills, and some knowledge of UI and UX.
Is learning full stack development easy?
Initially, the learning process could be a little difficult. However, it will be easier once you start understanding the tools, such as Node.js, React, etc.
Are software development and full stack development the same?
Software development is a general term, whereas full stack development is a subset of software development. Software development focuses on developing all kinds of software, which includes desktop applications, mobile applications, and websites. On the other hand, full stack development only focuses on web application development.