Entering the IT industry: Choose front-end development or back-end development?

I. Introduction

Is it better to develop front-end or back-end? This is a common question, especially for beginners. In the programming world, front-end development and back-end development represent user interface and data logic respectively, like two different neighborhoods in a city. But which neighborhood is better for us as developers?

2. Comparative analysis of the two

First, let’s look at front-end development. As developers of user interfaces, front-end developers are responsible for designing and building the parts that users interact with directly. This includes the layout, colors, fonts, images, etc. of the web page. Front-end development requires an in-depth understanding of technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, as well as a good sense of user experience and design. If you have a strong interest in the aesthetics of user interfaces and user experience, then front-end development may be a good fit for you.

In contrast, back-end development emphasizes data logic and server-side processing. Backend developers handle the logic of the application, the management of the database, and the operation of the server. For example, when a user submits a form on a web page, a backend developer will be responsible for handling the request, validating user input, storing data into a database, etc. Therefore, back-end development requires an in-depth understanding of programming languages ​​(such as Python, Java, PHP, etc.), databases, and server technologies. If you have a strong interest in data processing and system architecture, backend development may be a good fit

3. Skill transfer and cross-field work

Let’s take a look at what knowledge we need to master as front-end and back-end respectively.

Front-end staff:

Here are some common skills and techniques in front-end development:

1. HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): A markup language used to describe the structure of web pages. Mastering the basic syntax and tags of HTML is the foundation of front-end development.

2. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): used for styling and layout of web pages. Mastering CSS can realize the beautification and style customization of web pages.

3. JavaScript: A programming language used to add interactive functionality to web pages. It can realize functions such as dynamic effects, form verification and data processing of web pages.

4. CSS preprocessors: such as Sass and Less, which extend the functionality of CSS and provide advanced features such as variables, nesting, and mixing, making CSS code more modular and maintainable.

5. Front-end frameworks: such as React, Vue, and Angular, etc., which provide a set of component-based development models, simplify the complexity of front-end development, and improve development efficiency.

6. Front-end tools: such as Webpack, Gulp, and Grunt, which can automate tasks such as code compression, static resource management, and code packaging to improve development efficiency.

7. Responsive design and mobile development: Mastering responsive design can make web pages automatically adapt to different devices and provide a good user experience. At the same time, understanding the technologies and characteristics of mobile terminal development is also an ability that front-end developers need to possess.

8. Browser development tools: such as Chrome developer tools and Firefox developer tools, which provide debugging and performance optimization functions to help developers better understand and debug code.

9. Version control: Git, for example, can help developers manage code versions and enable multi-person collaborative development.

10. Front-end performance optimization: Understand the techniques and strategies of front-end performance optimization, such as reducing HTTP requests, compressing code, caching and lazy loading, etc., which can improve the loading speed and performance of web pages.

These are just some of the skills and techniques in front-end development. The front-end field is constantly evolving, and new technologies and tools are constantly emerging. As a front-end developer, it is important to continuously learn and keep up with the latest front-end technologies and trends to stay competitive and adapt to industry needs.

Backend staff:

Backend development is the process of building and maintaining websites, server-side applications, and databases. Here are some common skills and techniques in backend development:

1. Programming languages: Such as Java, Python, PHP, Ruby, C#, etc. These languages ​​can be used to develop back-end applications.

2. Back-end frameworks: such as Spring (Java), Django (Python), Laravel (PHP), Ruby on Rails (Ruby), etc., which provide a set of development models and tools that simplify the complexity of back-end development and improve Development efficiency.

3. Database: For example, relational databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and non-relational databases such as MongoDB and Redis. Understanding the design and management of databases, and using SQL language for data operations and queries are the foundation of back-end development.

4. RESTful API: Understand the design and development API (Application Programming Interface), use common HTTP methods (such as GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) to create, read, update and delete resources, so that the front end and back end can perform data processing Interaction and communication.

5. Web servers: such as Apache, Nginx, etc., learn how to configure and manage servers, and handle HTTP requests and responses.

6. Caching: such as Redis, Memcached, etc. Understanding the principles and uses of caching can improve application performance and response speed.

7. Security: Understand network security and common security vulnerabilities such as cross-site scripting (XSS), cross-site request forgery (CSRF), etc. Learn how to secure applications and user data.

8. Operating system and command line: such as Linux, Unix, etc., understand the basic knowledge of commonly used command line tools and operating systems, and be able to manage and maintain servers.

9. Version control: For example, Git, master the basic operations and workflow of version control, and you can effectively manage code versions and collaborative development.

10. Performance Optimization and Debugging: Learn how to optimize the performance of your application, and debug and troubleshoot issues to provide a better user experience.

These are only some of the skills and technologies in back-end development. The back-end needs to master a wider range of skills.

Front-end and back-end work analysis:

Based on the above analysis, the front-end pays more attention to interaction and beauty; because it is for users to see, interaction plays a vital role. If the interaction makes users feel cumbersome, ugly, problematic, and silly, then No matter how excellent the logic written on the back end is, it will not be acceptable to customers or users.

The back-end stuff may be more extensive, involving interaction, database, logic processing, service deployment, etc. Therefore, the requirements for development are relatively high. Developers with different levels of the same demand logic will write different codes. Some experts write very clear logic, high efficiency, and good performance; some code written by beginners The logic may be more cumbersome; code reuse rate is low and processing performance is poor.

Of course, the above is just a basic introduction to front-end and back-end development. In practical applications, front-end and back-end development often cooperate with each other. Without a stable and reliable back-end, the front-end cannot obtain data and perform logical processing; without a beautiful and smooth front-end, the functions of the back-end cannot be fully reflected. So as developers we can choose to focus on one, but also understand the basics of the other to be able to collaborate with other developers.

To give a specific example, the development of an e-commerce website. A front-end developer will be responsible for designing and building the website's interface to make it easy to navigate and engaging for users. They need to use technologies such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript to achieve the layout and interactive effects of the website. Back-end developers are responsible for processing user purchase requests, verifying payment information, updating inventory, and other operations. They need to use programming languages ​​and databases to implement these functions. Through the cooperation of front-end and back-end developers, a complete e-commerce website was finally realized.

Four: Introduction to full-stack development

Beginners may have heard of full-stack engineer, but they don’t know what it means. As the name suggests, full-stack engineer can do everything.

First, full-stack engineers need to have broad technical breadth and be able to cover all aspects of front-end and back-end development. They can skillfully use a variety of programming languages ​​and frameworks, such as JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Java, etc., as well as related front-end and back-end technology stacks, such as HTML/CSS, React, Vue, Angular, Spring, Django, etc. Full-stack engineers need to be familiar with different levels of development, including user interface design, front-end development, back-end development, database design and management, API design and development, etc. Mastering these skills can help them with end-to-end development and maintenance throughout the application development process.

Secondly, full-stack engineers also need to have technical depth and have in-depth understanding and expertise in a certain field. This can be in terms of front-end development, back-end development, data analysis, cloud computing, etc. Full-stack engineers can choose one of the fields for in-depth study and specialization to become an expert in that field. By delving deeply into a field, a full-stack engineer can make connections between multiple technology areas and provide comprehensive solutions in projects.

A full-stack engineer is a generalist with a comprehensive set of skills and extensive experience. They not only master the technology stack of front-end and back-end development, but also understand system architecture, database design, security and performance optimization. Full-stack engineers can independently complete the development of the entire application, from the front-end user interface to the back-end data processing and storage, from building the server to deploying and maintaining the application. They have the ability to solve problems, collaborate across disciplines and learn new technologies quickly, playing an important role in different projects and teams.

Small companies usually have limited resources and manpower, so full-stack engineers are needed to take on more technical tasks and responsibilities. On the one hand, it is to save costs, and on the other hand, it is to iterate quickly, so small companies often recruit people who require more comprehensive development. They are not required to be proficient, but it is best to be able to do it. As long as the functions are completed and the project can run, it will be fine.

As a company grows in size, large companies typically have more resources and specialized teams to handle various technical areas. Large companies prefer to hire professional teams of engineers to delve into specific areas and provide more professional solutions to ensure system reliability and security.

Five: Summary

Front-end or back-end, this is a long-term question. Many people have worked on the front-end for several years and found that they have learned more about the back-end and have a more thorough understanding of business knowledge. There are also many back-end people who have worked for a long time and found that the back-end is very Tired, having to take care of everything, troubleshooting every problem, working overtime every day, not as comfortable as the front-end. There is no regret medicine in life. Even if you choose another option, if time comes again, you will still regret it.

Even if time goes over again, we will still make the same choice, because we only have so much mind and experience at that time, we can only make the best decision at the time