Backend vs Frontend: Everything You Need to Know
If you’re involved in the IT industry, you must have heard a lot about backend and frontend development. But do you really know how they function? They both, somehow, sound like the same thing, but they actually have different roles in that industry.
We understand it could be hard for some, especially beginners to differentiate between those two. Hence, in this section, we will explore more about these two web development tools.
Backend and frontend development are different in terms of:
- Frameworks
- Languages
Let’s go through the frameworks first.
FRAMEWORKS
Backend Frameworks
Frameworks are basically the basis or foundation for websites and web apps. Just like a template, developers use them to create and support any web service. These frameworks adhere to the old adage of avoiding reinventing the wheel; someone has already established the groundwork, with prospective site files, databases, and other aspects ready to be utilised as a project’s starting point.
These are the common backend development frameworks:
- Django: A high-level Python web framework with a safe, feature-rich development environment that may be used for a variety of applications. Django is popular among developers because it is one of the fastest frameworks available, with a less steep learning curve than other frameworks.
- Spring Boot: Spring Boot is a Java-based framework with features such as readily customisable app attributes, support for Jetty and Undertow, and enhanced dependency management. The open source framework is great for apps and provides Java applications with functionality.
- Laravel: This backend framework has a flexible packaging mechanism as well as a dependency manager. It’s useful for accessing relational databases, live commenting, caching, improving authentication, and making the API procedure easier.
Frontend Frameworks
A frontend framework is a set of files, languages, and tools that may be used to quickly build and scale the front end of a web project or website. It performs functions such as website styling, processing AJAX requests, and determining how backend files are used and presented on the frontend.
Learn some of the popular frontend frameworks:
- React.js: An open-source JavaScript toolkit for creating single-page applications’ user interfaces. The features include user interface components that remain stable and safe throughout the development process; an SEO-friendly collection of tools that can be reused in other parts of the app or on other projects; fast debugging; increased speed; and unidirectional data binding.
- AngularJS: The AngularJS frontend framework was created by the Google team. It employs the Typescript programming language, as well as real-time synchronisation between the development model and the final product view. The TypeScript language was included in Angular to help developers find defects faster, avoid writing errors, and keep their code clean and clear.
- Bootstrap: If you’re making a responsive website’s frontend, you’re probably looking into the Bootstrap framework. Some call it a framework, but it’s more of a library with a great frontend toolkit, prebuilt components, and some impressive plugins for mixing with whatever HTML, CSS, or JavaScript files you want to use in a mobile-friendly website.
These are bits about the frameworks. Let’s hop into the next category.
LANGUAGES
Backend Languages
Other than frameworks, programming languages also play a big role in web development. They provide developers with a means to write scripts, instructions, and site files that will eventually be executed by a computer. Thus, it is crucial to ensure one’s fluency in that particular language before building an app.
Here are some examples of languages often used for backend development:
- PHP: It is a general-purpose programming language that may be used for any type of online development. It interacts with HTML on the frontend, but not in the same way that JavaScript does. It supports all major operating systems, provides error reporting, is secure, and allows developers complete control without requiring them to write large lines of code.
- Python: One of the mainstream server-side languages. It is used on apps and websites like Instagram, Facebook, Quora and plenty of other other larger IT companies. Python works best for software development, math, scripting, as well as backend web development. The goal of using Python is to enhance readability.
- Java: Even though it’s a free and open source language, Java is safe, fast, simple to use and can be used in a variety of major operating systems.
Frontend Languages
As it sounds, frontend languages’ main focus is client-side development. Frontend languages are very familiar to the general public as they are often mentioned in conjunction with the use of web development.
Frontend languages are synonymous with producing user-friendly websites. Developers use frontend languages in order to generate high-performance webpages, beautiful interfaces, and all the other things you see when you visit a website.
These are the most commonly used languages by frontend developers:
- HTML: Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the primary markup language used to create any form of internet website. HTML can create anything from text to graphics, links to headings, and it can also style them to show where they might appear on the page.
- CSS: CSS or Cascading Style Sheets is another tool used to make frontend elements more appealing. While HTML includes the real frontend content of the website, CSS provides the styling for that particular content, which is kept in external style sheets that go into CSS files on the server.
- Dart: Dart is a mobile app development and programming language that is similar to Java and C. It can be used to construct apps, websites, servers, and desktop software.
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