Everything about Front-End and Back-End that even Non-Majors can understand — Introductory Part 1
Hello, this is Sparta Coding Club🚀
Web development can basically be divided into front-end and back-end development. Did you know the front-end is the visible part of a web service that users can see and back-end is part of the service that users cannot see? If not, we recommend reading this series of articles all the way to the end!
We will explore the meanings of the two development types, the languages used, and the suitable developer traits for each development area. It will be helpful for everyone, from non-specialists to professionals who need to communicate with developers, and even for prospective developers.
🖐️ By the way, Sparta Coding Club is an online coding education platform for complete beginners in coding. We offer courses with a satisfaction rate of 97.8% and a completion rate of 90.8% for online lectures. If you are interested in coding but hesitate to take on the challenge, we recommend taking our 8-week Online Web Development Course that is being run in Canada and Germany!
👉🏻 Sign Up Here for Our Web Development Course
Table of Contents
· Meanings of Front-End and Back-End
· Front-End
· Back-End
· Languages Used
· Languages Used In Front-End Development
· Languages Used in Back-End Development
Meanings of Front-End and Back-End
Front-End
Web applications (which are the same as what we commonly call “websites”) are divided into front-end and back-end. Front-End refers to the screen that users can see, or the user interface (UI).
Front-End must be technically implemented to allow people to use web applications easily. This will make the service more popular and, eventually, become a competitive service in the market. Therefore, front-end developers should focus on developing services optimized for user interfaces and user experiences (UX).
Back-End
Back-End is the technology that manages the server and database, which are the areas that users of web applications cannot see. If front-end deals with user interfaces so that users can use web services conveniently, back-end manages data to provide the information that users want or operates servers to provide the service.
In other words, back-end processes the actions that users want to take on the front-end. Therefore, back-end developers engage in various development activities such as system component work, API writing, library creation, and database integration.
Languages Used
Programming languages used during development are quite diverse. Moreover, depending on the front-end, back-end, and development fields, different languages may be used. Which languages are commonly used in each field?
Languages Used In Front-End Development
1.HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language)
HTML is an essential language in front-end development. Even people who do not know coding have probably heard of HTML. If you interpret it literally, understanding the language will be fast. Shall we interpret it together?
HTML can be divided into two parts: hypertext and markup language. Hypertext means “goes beyond text.” We usually read and understand text sequentially to acquire information. We don’t read text by going here and there. However, the hyper text jumps over the sequential information acquisition process to quickly acquire desired information.
The term “markup” in markup language refers to the act of separating sentences by using specific markings. The term “language” refers to the language used to issue commands to the computer. In other words, markup language can be seen as a way of issuing commands to the computer through specific markings. To put it simply, the markup language is the language used to define the structure of a web page when developing web applications.
2. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
CSS plays the role of beautifying and decorating the web application built on the skeleton of HTML. CSS can be defined as a language that describes how markup languages are presented to the user. CSS is a dependent sheet, meaning that it is dependent on HTML and serves the purpose of decorating HTML.
Web applications can be decorated using only HTML tags. However, this method is time-consuming and inconvenient for editing since it requires the input of each tag individually. On the other hand, by using CSS, multiple contents can be modified at once using a single tag. Therefore, using CSS makes it easier to save time and edit web pages.
CSS is similar to the dress-up games we used to play when we were young, so its pretty easy to understand.
3. JavaScript
JavaScript is an object-based scripting language. A scripting language refers to a computer programming language used to control application software. Other scripting languages besides JavaScript include jQuery, PHP, Python, Ruby, and many more.
Let me briefly explain what object-oriented language is. When programming with an object-oriented language, multiple “objects” are created to interact with each other and build the program. For example, we create objects such as arms, hands, neck, chest, stomach, waist, hips, thighs, knees, calves, and feet that make up our bodies. Then, we can play the piano in the correct posture by giving specific commands like “move your arms naturally and play the piano” rather than saying “move your body to play the piano.” By using an object-oriented language, we can reduce the time it takes to run the program and fix errors more efficiently.
In front-end development, we use HTML to write the content or structure of the web, CSS to style it, and JavaScript to implement the web application’s behavior. The screen that users see when using a web application can be described as a combination of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Languages Used in Back-End Development
So far, we’ve looked at three representative languages used in front-end development. This time, let’s take a look at the languages used in back-end development.
1.Java
Java is one of the most popular programming languages and is a representative object-oriented programming (OOP) language. Java is mostly used for web application development, but it is also used in various fields such as servers, mobile, and embedded systems. Java requires a special virtual machine called Java Virtual Machine (JVM). This means that if you can install JVM, you can run programs developed in Java in any environment. For this reason, Java is used in various fields.
Java also has a large number of available libraries. If you use a well-written and verified open-source library, you don’t need to recompile the application, that is, convert it to binary language that the computer can understand. Therefore, programs written in Java have the advantage of being easy to maintain.
2. PHP
PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor, and it is a programming language mainly used on the server side in web development. PHP is easy to install and has a low learning curve, making it a popular language. However, this advantage of PHP can also be a disadvantage. PHP has a high degree of freedom, so the code can become messy very easily.
In the past, there were many web services created using PHP, but now it’s gradually decreasing. As you can see, the preference for PHP is rapidly decreasing nowadays.
3. Ruby
Ruby is a scripting language developed by Japanese developer Yukihiro Matsumoto and is also one of the object-oriented programming languages. Ruby is known to be easy to write commands in, as the developer intended to create a very user-friendly language.
As a human-centric language, Ruby is often compared to Python. Globally, Python’s popularity is much higher, and people prefer Python much more.
4. Python
Python is the best programming language that allows developers to efficiently integrate systems and work quickly. Since it is relatively similar to natural language, even beginners can easily program if they use Python.
In addition, Python is also used in the field of artificial intelligence. As the field of artificial intelligence is rapidly advancing, Python’s market share is also growing rapidly. Many companies, including global companies, are using Python for web development, so if you want to grow as a web developer, we highly recommend learning Python.
So far, we’ve looked at the meanings of front-end and back-end and some of the most commonly used languages. Before you choose a specific field you want to learn, you need to go through a process of figuring out what suits you best.
In Sparta Coding Club’s comprehensive web development course, you can create a web service from start to finish. You can try both front-end and back-end in the 8-week course, which is easy to follow even for beginners who are not familiar with coding. This is not a boring class where you just study theory, but a practice-oriented class where you can experience web development properly by creating your own web service.
Add software skills to your ideas and create your own world. Anyone can make an impact with software! Join Sparta Coding Club~
