Steps to becoming a full stack developer
Full stack developer has become one of the most sought-after positions in the technology domain. The boom in this area has led to the mushrooming of both web-based and in-class training centers, which help individuals become full stack developers (and this has nothing to do with piling up a stack of pancakes at IHOP!). Some of these centers also support trainees to get plum coding jobs at the end of the course.
Who is a full stack developer?
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A programmer skilled in coding both the frontend and the backend parts of a web application is called a full stack web developer.
The frontend: This is the part of the web application that the user sees and uses.
The backend: These are parts of the application that function behind the scenes and execute the commands issued by the user. This usually includes:
- logical processes
- database-related processes
- validation of users
- server configuration
Step 1: Learn the necessary programming languages
A full stack developer needs to know the following technologies:
HTML/CSS
The web is built on these technologies. HTML is the tool that helps developers input content into a website and CSS is a designing tool used to alter the appearance of web applications. Both are essential tools for a full stack developer and are taught in all courses, whether online or in-person.
JavaScript
This is a must-have for any full stack developer. This can be used in both front-end and back-end processes. Browsers are built on it and JavaScript can be used as a server-side language as well.
Backend technologies
After mastering HTML/CSS and JavaScript, you need to learn at least one language used for coding backend processes. The functions occurring in the backend of a web application are database operations, user validation, and logical operations.
Step 2:Become familiar with all technologies but a master of one
As the scope of your leaning expands, you will realize that there is much more to learn than you possibly can master. Most programmers fail because they try to learn too much of too many things. There is no need for such efforts. Master one and understand the rest. Learn how to work in them and that should be good enough.
Step 3: Get practical exposure
The most challenging part of the process is when you have a thorough understanding of all the necessary technologies—HTML/CSS, JavaScript, back-end programming, databases, and HTTP/REST. Time has come to use all this knowledge in an application. For this, you need to know:
- The right way to structure code.
- Means to separate files.
- Environment to host large media files.
- The right data structures to use.
- Location of each computational task (client-side or server-side).
