INTRODUCTION TO FULL STACK DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTION TO FULL STACK WEB DEVELOPMENT - ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

Welcome to the first class of full stack development, a lot of collaborations and preparation have taken place. This full stack class was designed with beginners in mind and because of this all our courses will be taught from scratch for beginners to assimilate easily. 

Today we will be talking about the following:

1. What is full stack development
2. What it means to be a full stack Developer
3. Difference between full stack development and software engineering
4. How to Identify full stack Development roles
5. What do full stack Developers do
6. Are full stack developers in demand
7. What do you need to know as a full stack Developer

Basically we will be answering all the questions related to full stack development and clarify all your doubts and preconceptions in both work related and career related areas.

WHAT IS FULL STACK DEVELOPMENT

A full stack developer is a type of software developer that can perform front end and back end operations plus has a rich comprehensive set of programming skills, programming languages and problem solving aptitude. This simply means the developer can build the back end and front end of web applications.

Front end development has to do with the user interface of an application, what the users see like buttons, images, text and colors etc.

Back end development has to do with implementing the logic behind how the platform works, the work of a backend developer cannot be seen with your eyes but you can experience the effect of his code by how well this application works.

Apart from just front and back end, a full stack developer is able to make database queries to manipulate data, he/she also tests software and fixes bugs to improve user experience. The developer must have a grasp of programming languages and frameworks like html, css, javaScript, React.js, Angular.js, Node.js, Python Django, Java Spring etc.

Let's look at a real life example to illustrate how the front end and back end of applications work. Imagine a popular restaurant you know, when you step in, you find out that everything is organized, beautiful and you are treated well by the staff. All this represents the front end of an application because the user can see and experience it. The backend of this restaurant however comprises the kitchen and all the preparations made behind the closed doors to make sure customers are satisfied, In this case the chef is the developer and the ingredients are his frameworks, libraries and tools to prepare food for the end user. The store where the food and ingredients are kept represents the database, the chef knows the particular ingredients to fetch at any particular point in time to prepare a great meal.

The example above should give you a very good understanding of full stack development, this also means that you understand that a full stack developer has a lot responsibilities since he is responsible for the visual and logical part of an application or website.

Front end developers are majorly concerned with the following technologies: html, css and javaScript.

Html which stands for hypertext markup language is the building block of a website, it is the most basic part that gives the website structure and defines all the sections just like building blocks in real life

Css which stands for cascading styles sheets is responsible for design and beauty of all elements like buttons, headers and more, in real life it would represent paint, fixtures, fittings and more.

JavaScript is one of the most popular programming languages and even though it has a lot of functions, it is incharge of the website behavior in terms of front end web development. 

DATA MANIFESTATION IN FULL STACK DEVELOPMENT

Full stack development concerns itself with data in three manifestations:

1. Data as presented.
2. Data in motion.
3. Data at rest.

Data as presented 

This has to do with what the end user sees when they view an application in web browser, mobile devices, car dashboards and more.

Data in motion

It is data that is used within the processes and algorithms that determine how an application works, in other words the rule of what the application should do.

Data at rest 

It is data that is stored on and accessed from, files, disks for use by applications in the database for users. This shows you what a full stack developer is concerned with, which is data as presented, in motion and at rest.

WHAT IS INVOLVED

Full stack development refers to the entire depth of a computer system application and full stack developers straddle two separate domains: the front end and back end as previously mentioned.

HOW DEVELOPERS IDENTIFY THEIR ROLES

A recent survey of developers shows the following statistics:

1. Back end - 55.2%
2. Full stack - 54.9%
3. Front end - 37.1%
4. Desktop - 32.9%
5. Mobile - 19%
6. Devops - 12.1%
7. Database - 11.6%
8. Designer - 10.8%

RESPONSIBILITIES OF A FULL STACK DEVELOPER

Full stack developers take on a broad set of responsibilities. They must be fluent in creating websites with a robust internal architecture and delivering an interactive and intuitive interface to clients. A full stack developer must be well versed in HTML, CSS and javaScript and know their way around back end technologies and database structures.

ARE FULL STACK DEVELOPERS IN DEMAND?

Full stack developers are highly in demand, and if you are a full stack developer with all the skills needed getting a job should not be too difficult and that is the advantage of being in demand.

WHAT IS SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

A software developer is one who develops software that can work on multiple platforms, they

are more specific to a part of the developmental process like the front end or back end of the applications. They make software and test them to make sure they are working perfectly.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FULL STACK DEVELOPER AND A SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

A full stack developer is concerned with both front end and back end while a software developer could be specialized in front end or back end applications as the case may be.

Full stack developers interact with team members more and consult with supervisors for corrections and strategy meetings while the software developers do not really meet with team members.

The above written will help you understand what full stack development and how to be a full stack development, thank you, you are advised to start taking tutorials with online resources to make life easier during classes.