What are the advantages of full stack developers? Why is it in demand?
The biggest asset for any organization is its employee. It is the ubiquitous worker who ensures that the projects are completed on time and the company grows. Every institution vies for the best talent and invests a lot of resources in hiring them. In the cutthroat world of immense competition, knowledge is the usual segregator. The world is rapidly transforming into a digitally connected village. The digital divide has been blurred and due to this, enormous opportunities have appeared. In this age of mobility, companies are therefore eager to take advantage of the combination of manpower and knowledge. A full stack developer is one of them. In this article we will find out who this individual is and how do they add value to the whole tech ecosystem.
What is full stack development?
Full stack technology refers to the entire process of the computer application and full stack development refers to the development of the entire system.
Who is a full stack developer?
A full stack developer is a specialist who straddles across both the front end and the back end. The front end of an application is something which the consumer sees and uses often whilst the back end is meant for admin. Backends also includes the server side, databases and the internal architecture. Both the back end and the front combine to form an application. The end user will have no idea of what’s running behind the scenes.
A full stack application can be compared to that of a restaurant. The visitors and patrons of the restaurant will never see what is happening at the back end, that is the kitchen or the admin area. They are concerned with the service and the quality of the food. Customers only deal with the front portion of the restaurant and are not concerned how the back end is managed as long orders are delivered efficiently and maintaining the highest quality.
Responsibilities of a full stack developer?
There are a host of responsibilities that a full stack developer must fulfil.
They must have superior design skills and must understand the design flow. A good design goes a long way in pushing an application up the charts. Full stack developers will need to understand the nuances and intricacies of HTML, CSS and JavaScript along with CSS pre-processors to build client facing designs and frameworks. A full stack developer must be the best designer available in the team since he/she would be handling the entire project.
Database management is a skilful affair since this is the heart of the application. The database links all the features and keeps the entity together. There are many types of databases, and a full stack developer needs to have knowledge of at least a few of them.
Server-side management is critical to the functioning of the application. Many a times, companies face server downtime resulting in loss revenue. A full stack developer must understand the intricacies of server management. The correct bandwidth and storage capacity is vital to the seamless operation of the website.
Functional coding across cross-platform entities is a necessity. A full stack developer should be able to navigate through the jungle of complex coding structures, each language has and the unique challenges each one of them poses.
A proper channel of communication with the design and the specialised development team is always necessary. A full stack developer will not be the only one working on a project. There will be a team of specialists who must always kept abreast with the progress. A clear channel of communication makes it easy for the transfer of ideas. A poor channel of communication is a recipe for disaster. As a full stack developer, who has knowledge on both sides of the paradigm, it will be easy for the professional to be at the helm of things.
The world of technology is a rapidly transforming one and newer ideas and innovations keep flooding the market in no time. It is therefore necessary for the full stack developer to be aware of the current market scenario and learn as much as possible. It is also a necessity since competition is tough and one must be at the head of the race.
What must a full stack developer need to know?
The knowledge that a full stack developer must know can be divided into Front End and Back End. The technology domains are disparate and varied.
Front End
Front end, as mentioned is the client-side interface that will allow the user to interact with the application. It needs to be easy to use, attractive and the navigability must be without any hitch. User experience is of optimum concern here and any fault on that front will have negative repercussions.
The skills that are requires for a full stack developer to be a qualified front end specialist are:
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HTML
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CSS
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JavaScript
These are universal skills and is applicable even for those who aren’t into full stack development.
Back end
The back end of an application, as previously mentioned, is the place where the actual action takes place, this is the server end and the location of the database. Every action that takes place on the front end is enabled here. A full stack developer must be able to not just code across platforms and languages but would also need to understand the limitations of each language. To master the back end, a full stack developer will have to have a robust set of foundational skills across the board. There are many programming languages and concepts that one can begin with:
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Java
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Object Oriented Programming
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SQL
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Python
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Ruby
This list is endless. The number of programming languages keeps growing by the day and so do their complexities. The back end is the more complex of the two and hence would require greater focus and diligence.
A full stack developer is someone who should also be able to troubleshoot when the application stutters. It is one of the important aspects of full stack development that is often overlooked.
A full stack developer provides a plethora of advantages to a team. Let us now quickly investigate the various advantages one provides towards the completion of a project successfully.
Advantages of having a Full Stack Developer
Is an accomplished developer
A full stack designer is an accomplished developer from all angles. They are usually experienced and have faced some of the toughest challenges in the world of technology. Full stack developers are tough nuts to crack. One of the biggest benefits companies get from hiring full stack developers is that these individuals can build applications from the ground up. If an investor wishes to expect a handsome return from a said project, then it is a must for them to have them on board. A full stack developer is also a repository of knowledge. Specialised manpower is also vital but only a full stack developer will be able to provide a 360-degree perspective.
Versatility
Being skilled in both the front as well as the back end provides a great amount of versatility, not just to the individual but also to the team. This is great from the perspective of project management. While back-end developers create codes for the front end to be useful, the front-end developers design and build the same for the back end to be active. A full stack developer does both. This adds great depth to the team and an immensely effective support system.
Experience
As mentioned previously, most full stack developers are vastly experienced. They have undergone the arduous journey of traversing numerous technologies, upheavals and challenges and are currently immensely qualified to understand and forecast present and future dangers. Experience is the second most important thing in the life of a professional, the first being knowledge. With experience, individuals become more self-reliant and confident, and it is a fact that many of the project managers who are at helm of large projects have been full stack developers at one point in time.
The larger canvas
It is only a full stack developer who can predict the workflow of a project. Being a designer and the coder, the individual is better placed than any to correctly forecast the outcome and any remedial measures that need to be taken would be mentioned too. A full stack developer is not just another run of the mill programmer whose job ends with designing and coding. The professional duty goes much beyond that. The full stack developer acts as the de facto consultant with innate knowledge of technology and its management.
Technology Upgradation
The world of technology is an ever-changing landscape. It is difficult for most with limited knowledge to understand the change. Hence it is important for the team to have an individual who understands the effects of a technology change and does prepare the team accordingly. Full stack developers play this role with elan. They have the capacity to implement strategies based on their knowledge and experience. A website or an app must keep reinventing to remain relevant in front of intense competition. To achieve this, a full stack developer needs to be at the helm.
All inclusive
As has been mentioned multiple times, a full stack developer’s work is all inclusive. The create new features, build frameworks, represent the company and lead conferences in front of stakeholders. Their ability to effortlessly move from domain to another is what makes them an irreplaceable entity on the board. Full stack developers all turn out to be successful project managers and team leads. That is because they understand the areas of concern while dealing with obstinate bugs and bad designs.
Troubleshoot
Full stack developers are trouble-shooters par excellence. They can identify challenges and communicate the same to the concerned parties. An experienced full stack developer is well versed with the entire software development life cycle as well as the design flow. They are knowledgeable enough to identify the areas of concern and flag them at the earliest. They are also great with implementation of long-term solutions, since they are well versed with complexities of technology. Optimising resources to successful run website operations is also one of their forte.
Budget
Full stack developers may not be a cheap proposition themselves, given the vast amount of knowledge they come with but having them on board is already a cost-effective measure. Imaging having to run two sets of teams, one each for the front end and back end. They would have cost the company many more than what a few full stack developers will. However, it is also a myth a full stack developer is a hugely costly affair. Anyone wanting to build a fantastic website on a limited budget would need a full stack developer. The individual will be able to complete the project at a cost, that is much lower than what an entire team would have costed.
Time management
Experienced Full stack developers are excellent time managers and understand the importance of timely deliveries. Also, since most of the responsibilities lie with them, it is easier for them to manage time. Having a full stack developer as part of the team will ensure timely deliveries of milestone. Any time overrun is generally a sign of inept project management.
Complete ownership
Only a full stack developer can assume full ownership of a project. The reason being the professional has knowledge and experience about every part of the development process. It is easy for them to predict the time and cost that would be required to complete it. They also have the ideas to push the product to the top of the heap.
Final Words
A full stack developer is an asset for any team. The individual is experienced with the trades and tools of the job and understand the business of technology. The bottom line is simple. If an investor wants to build an MVP, then the person to lead that project will need to be a full stack developer.
