The demand for backend development is growing exponentially due to its massive contribution to developing seamless and functional websites.
In fact, according to research conducted by the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the demand for backend development will increase tremendously by 2028 due to the surge in demand for backend developers in the eCommerce industry.
Initially, the demand for front-end development wasn’t as great as the demand for back-end development.
However, with the advent of time, as more companies came into existence, the sudden demand for front-end developers was observed as companies wanted to stay ahead of the competition by developing awesome websites and attracting more visitors.
The growth in technology and the introduction of different Javascript frameworks, lack of a reliable workforce, complexities, and high-security demand brought full-stack development into force to handle both front-end development and back-end development efficiently.
In addition, it’s estimated that the demand for full-stack development is likely to increase by 30% in the upcoming years.
This article will dive into what full-stack development is, its history, and how it has evolved in recent years.
What Is The History of Full Stack Development?
Full-stack development has come into existence ever since the wide scope of programming got expanded.
However, the meaning of full-stack development has changed dramatically with time.
In the early 1980s, prior to the web and mobile programming, a software program was normally written from scratch to finish by a single person, with little interaction between the programmer and the hardware. The responsibilities of a software developer are pre-defined.
In the late 1980s, client/server computing was introduced to the globe, allowing groups of programmers to collaborate on the development of programs. The emphasis on teamwork began.
In the early 1990s, Internet computer technologies were broadly introduced. The demand increased and the individuals started working on them to dive more into the field of technology and become experts.
In the mid-2000s, the cost of development grew tremendously, resulting in a high cost where numerous experts had to work on one project. On the flip side, Web 2.0 became the new trend as it was more simplified and streamlined.
In the late 2000s, the technology got simpler and easier to the point where numerous programmers could constructively develop end-to-end applications and websites. At this point, the full-stack development came into force.
In the early 2010s, the drastic shift into more complicated technologies resulted in more complexities and difficulties for programmers or developers to maintain and hit the bar of full-stack knowledge.
The trend to hire more specialized and experienced experts in front and back-end development has emerged. This paves the way for the new meaning of full-stack development.
The current definition of full-stack development emerged in 2008 when developing websites and applications became the new in-demand trend.
Earlier, in the 1970s and 1980s, the term “full-stack development” was looked at in a different way.
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The main reason for this was that there wasn’t much of a difference between a back-end and a front-end coder at the time. A programmer was a person who could effectively manage and handle both the hardware and software aspects of the applications.
However, with the emergence of new technologies, the fine distinction between both the front-end and back-end technologies was observed, and full-stack development became the new trend.
Full-stack web development as a concept gained traction in early 2008, and it has since grown to become one of the most in-demand employment roles of our day.
What Does Full Stack Development Include?
It involves the development of both the front-end and back-end of an application. Full-stack web development is divided into three layers.
These layers include the presentation layer which extensively deals with user interface and user experience, the business logic layer which excessively deals with data validation, and the database layer which extensively deals with the storage of data.
What Technologies Are Included In Full Stack Development?
A full-stack developer is an expert in both the technical and business realms. They are the experts in the field of development that involves front-end, back-end, database queries, and multiple operating systems.
1. Frontend development
Front-end development is the development of the user interface of an application that the users can see. It’s easily visible and can be observed by the users. It’s more on the client-side.
Furthermore, how software or an app will look, interact, and work with the user is the responsibility of a front-end developer.
HTML5, jQuery, CSS3 (LESS, SASS), and the JavaScript Frameworks are covered.
The most popular JS frameworks are React JS, Backbone JS, and AngularJS.
2. Back-end development
Back-end development is the server-side development of applications and websites. It’s done to primarily focus on the workings of the back end of the website.
The management of databases through APIs and queries is covered.
To become a proficient back-end developer, the back-end developer should be well versed in Python, Ruby, PHP, or NodeJS and with the back-end frameworks such as Django, Laravel, Express, or Rails.
The back-end developer should also be able to handle application logic, user authentication, data operations, and MVC as well (Model-View-Controller).
In addition, the developer should also be familiar with CRUD operations, which stand for Create, Rewrite, Update, and Delete.
3. Database
The function of a database is to store data. Once the database becomes organized, it becomes relatively easier to retrieve, insert, and delete data in the form of schemas, reports, tables, and views.
Depending on the type of database utilized, the developer should be familiar with database handling strategies, query optimization, data encryption methods, and much more.
The popular and in-demand databases are Oracle, SQL Server, and Redis. Amongst them, the most prevalent database is MongoDB.
4. Servers
The developer must be well-versed with the Apache or Nginx servers.
Most companies prefer serverless solutions such as Google cloud platforms, Amazon web services, and many more.
5. DevOps
The acronym DevOps stands for Development and Operations. It’s a combination of software development and IT (Information Technology) management.
DevOps is used to facilitate the automation process between information technology teams and software development. DevOps refers to the set of practices that allow for the easy building and testing of software to make it more reliable.
DevOps has grown in popularity in recent years due to its ability to accelerate software releases, solve critical issues quickly, and better manage unplanned work. The DevOps process is trusted and believed to produce better results from developers.
To sustain the continuous delivery of products and services in a timely and dependable way, the developer has to comprehend agile operations and automation.
Read Also – Why Choose MERN for Development?
6. Hybrid Apps
The developer should be well versed in the technologies for developing hybrid applications. The best part about developing hybrid applications is that they can be easily run on any device or platform.
Some popular mobile app frameworks are Flutter, Ionic, Xamarin, PhoneGap, and React Native.
7. Version Control
Technologies continue to evolve with new features and functionalities. When a new feature is added to an application that was developed using a specific technology, the application must adapt to it as well.
It becomes a difficult task for developers. There comes the role of version control systems, which can assist in handling and managing changes and source code.
This is possible because it records every change to the code in a special database for each piece of software.
The developer should be able to manage and handle any document changes using any of the VCSs (Version Control Systems) such as GIT, Grunt, Subversion, and others.
8. Security measures
Security measures cover things related to databases, such as injection issues, malware attacks, and front-end and back-end issues.
9. APIs
The developer must be familiar with the various forms of request and response APIs. The most popular APIs are REST (Representational State Transfer) and SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol).
10. UX design
UX designers don’t need to have exceptional design abilities. However, as a self-employed professional, being aware of some UX design features might be advantageous.
It is important to learn and be well versed in UX principles and the ability to make websites more user-friendly because the need to advise clients on some changes may arise.
11. Testing
In testing, unit tests are required. Hence, it becomes essential for developers to run the tests on their code to get deeper insights into the automation process. It massively helps in developing and deploying tests.
12. Technology Stacks
The technology stack involves various stacks, such as LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySql, PHP), MEAN (MongoDB, Express, AngularJS, NodeJS), MERN (MongoDB, Express, ReactJS, NodeJS), Ruby on Rails (Ruby, SQLite, PHP), and Django are the most popular (Python, Django, MySql).
All of these stacks include a frontend language, a backend language, a framework, and a database.
Read Also – MEAN vs MERN Stack
What’s The Future of Full-stack Development?
When it comes to framing opinions about the future of full-stack development, most people support the cross-functional and other benefits of full-stack development.
It includes embracing the benefits of full-stack development and encouraging the developers to learn and optimize their skills. It eventually becomes easier to implement it after gaining insights about the technologies.
On the contrary, others believe that one developer can’t be an expert in handling both front-end and back-end development. Hence, there should be different developers’ epicycloids in two different developments.
Conclusion
Full-stack web development is considered an effective method for developing robust websites and applications. There’s no need for multiple developers to develop the front-end and back-end separately.
A full-stack developer can handle both the front-end and back-end responsibilities.
