Being a full-stack Developer
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A full-stack developer is awesome. Full-stack developers are early adapters of all aspects of technology pieces that make a software. It ranges from everything a software is built with — frontend technology, backend technology, operating systems configuration & maintenance, database understanding and database management systems — basically everything.
Laurance Gellert published the official manifesto for the full stack developer. He identifies this developer as “someone with intimate knowledge in seven layers of the full stack”. Anytime a developer learns something new in the field, they’d have to ask: “which layer does this fall under?”.
A full stack developer often has chosen himself a comfort zone that he/she calls a stack. A stack is a group of software that make an end-to-end solution. A web stack usually involves an operating system, web server, database server and programming languages. It can also often involve frameworks.
A full-stack developer is comfortable in:
- Defining data models
- Formulating business logic
- Building API layers
- Providing user interface & experience
- Deploying and maintaining
Such developers are ideally known to prepare great software in commendable time due to their versatile knowledge and broad spectrum of experience.
Such developers are ideally consultants to family and friends, and colleagues often.
The Balance
Like each individual is different, so is each developer. A full-stack developer may have his balance when considering the part of the stack. A MEAN stack (MongoDB, Express, AngularJs, NodeJs) developer may not necessarily be an expert at AngularJs, but can work his way around to implement a functional application. A specialist may find flaws, but that’s the thing about knowing everything — a specialist is more comfortable in the domain that’s out of your balance.
The know how
A full-stack developer knows his way around the pretty tools out there, as he has worked on getting them all talk to one another. He’s the kind of person who doesn’t run to a coffee shop when you say Mocha. He knows you’re not thirsty for tea when you say chai. He knows when you say Latte, you actually want one. He will respond to you calmly when you say Yeoman! And he will not embarrass you with a grunt, when you ask him to use so.
