Web development traditionally has two ends, theĀ front-endĀ and theĀ back-end,Ā but there also exist some processes which require involvement from both ends:
- TheĀ front-endĀ (presentation-oriented programming - what you see)
- TheĀ back-endĀ (data and logic-oriented programming - what you get)
Front-end
The front-end usually involves the following "3 S's":
- StructuringĀ (HTML)
- to enforce theĀ sensibility (order) of visual components
- to ensure that a web resource hasĀ accessibility to everyone
- StylingĀ (CSS)
- to enhance theĀ visual look-and-feel
- ScriptingĀ (e.g. JavaScript, React, Angular, jQuery, etc.)
- to manageĀ user inputĀ andĀ data changes
- to work with the back-end
Sometimes, front-end developers may have to take part in:
- ImagingĀ (e.g. Photoshop)
- to adjust (resize, crop, etc.) visual assets provided by a client
- to take the load off the design team who might work with more complex imaging and graphics projects
Back-end
The back-end usually involves:
- ScriptingĀ (e.g. also JavaScript, with some PHP, Ruby, Perl and older programming languages)
- toĀ process the resultsĀ from database querying
- Database queryingĀ (e.g. GraphQL, MongoDB, MySQL)
- toĀ get/set dataĀ from a database
- AuthorizationĀ andĀ authentication
- the former refers to allowing a user into a system
- the latter refers to determining that the user is genuine
Every-end
Each developer may also have to take part in:Ā ā
- VersioningĀ orĀ version controlĀ (e.g. Git or Mercurial)
- to not only submit content "to the cloud" but also to ensure backups if something goes wrong
- to allow for collaboration by multiple developers within the same project(s)
- DeploymentĀ (e.g. FTP, Jenkins, Netlify, Vercel, etc.)
- to get that web project onto the Internet servers!
- usually nowadays handled by a specialized team calledĀ development operationsĀ (orĀ dev ops)
- to get that web project onto the Internet servers!
- DocumentingĀ (e.g. GitBook!)
- to communicate cases and learnings for obvious reasons
- OrganizingĀ (e.g. SCRUM)
- to ensure that all the programming, layout, look-and-feel, content, images (and any other assets) all come together, so that the development experience goes as smoothly as possible
- Optimizing
- for more universal accessibility, better usability, improved speed
- for enhancing the experience of the "finished" product
- note: no product ever really gets "finished"
āAs one can gather, a lot of web development involves tasks other than simply programming!
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(Originally pubished in 2023)
nooks :web developmentcode
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