What is Full Stack Development? A Complete Guide for 2024

What is full stack development? Full stack development refers to end-to-end web application development. The term “end-to-end” signifies the entire development process including, the front-end and back-end. While front-end development focuses on the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). This involves creating the visual elements, layouts, and interactive features that users interact with directly. On the other hand Back-end development, deals with server-side logic, database management, and integration with external systems or APIs. In 2024 as more and more businesses are going in for digitalization, full-stack development skills are in high demand.

If you’re a budding developer a professional or someone who is just curious about what is full-stack development, then this guide is a complete roadmap for you. In this comprehensive guide for 2024, we simplify the concept of Full Stack Development and also tell you about the required skills, and technologies involved. Also, courses to learn the skills from. In the context of full stack development, “stack,” “framework,” and “technology stack” refer to different components and tools used to build a web application.

Now, let’s briefly understand the terminologies :

Best Institute for Full Stack Development Course Henry Harvin

According to India Today and The Tribune India, Henry Harvin is the best upskilling institute in the country. This institute in India offers Full Stack Developer training to help you become a better engineer. This online course is designed to help full-stack developers learn Java and other languages quickly. In-depth knowledge of AWS, Angular, RestFul WS, JSPs, Hibernate, etc., will be gained throughout the hands-on training sessions. To get ahead in your career, you should learn to code better. Henry Harvin has some of the most seasoned experts in the business as his trainers.

Essential Features of 9-in-1 Training

• Project: Include app development, industry-wide implementation of many programming languages, and work in Java and Angular in your offer.
• Internship: The Certified Java Full Stack Developer (CJFSD) Course is an easy way to gain real-world experience in the field.
• Certification: Henry Harvin® is a government-recognized, award-winning institute in India that offers a Java Full Stack Developer Course with Hallmarked Certification.
• Placement: If you complete the Java Full Stack Developer course, you will be guaranteed a job within a year.
• E-Learning:  Easy availability of several resources (tools, videos, tests, etc.).
• Bootcamps: Spend the next year routinely attending industry-related Bootcamp sessions. Additionally, all #AskHenry Hackathons and Competitions are free to enter.
• Membership: To take the Java Full Stack Developer course, you’ll also need a gold subscription to Henry Harvin® Coding Academy for a year.
• Alums:  If you enrol in Elite Coding Academy, you will join the Henry Harvin® Alumni Network, which has over 3,000,000 members.

Ph No: +91 9891953953

Cost of the Training: 6,950 (EMI-7722).

Duration: 144 hours

What is a Stack in software development?

1. Stack: A stack, also known as a technology stack or software stack, is a combination of programming languages, frameworks, libraries, and tools used to develop a web or software application. It consists of two main components: the front end (client side) and the back end (server side).

The Frontend stack:

It typically includes HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), JavaScript UI frameworks, and libraries. These components are responsible for handling the user interface (UI) and client-side interactions.

The Backend stack:

It comprises server-side technologies responsible for processing requests, managing data, and generating responses. Common backend technologies include programming languages like JavaScript (Node.js), Python, Ruby, or Java, along with web frameworks such as Express.js, Django, Ruby on Rails, or Spring. Servers and Operating Systems(OS)  also form the backend stack.

What is a Full Stack Development Framework?

A framework is a pre-established set of tools, libraries, and guidelines that provide a structured approach to developing software and web applications. It simplifies the development process by offering reusable code, standard conventions, and built-in functionalities. Frameworks handle many common tasks, such as routing, database integration, authentication, and session management.

Frontend frameworks:

Popular front-end frameworks include React.js, Angular, and Vue.js. These frameworks help build interactive UIs, manage state, and handle component-based development.

Backend frameworks:

Examples of backend frameworks include Express.js for Node.js, Flask or Django for Python, Ruby on Rails, and Laravel for PHP. These frameworks provide the necessary tools to handle routing, database integration, and other server-side tasks.

What is Full Stack Development Technology Stack?

 The technology stack is also called the software stack or development stack. Precisely all the tools, libraries, and frameworks used together form the Technology Stack. Here also there is a frontend tech stack and a Backend Tech Stack.

Full Stack Development- The  Top Technology Stacks

As software development trends change in the blink of an eye, the choice of tech stacks in full-stack development varies with requirements and other factors. The leading technology Stacks are:

MEAN Stack:

The MEAN stack consists of MongoDB (database), Express.js (server framework), Angular (front-end framework), and Node.js (back-end runtime). Being an end-to-end JavaScript stack, you have the advantage of code reusability and scalability throughout the entire application. All of these technologies are open source and thus extensive community support is always available. This stack is easily deployable as it includes its own web server.

MERN Stack:

It is similar to MEAN Stack where REACT replaces  Angular. As UIs are given utmost importance in 2024, React is a very popular choice of framework. It can be used for developing high-end, single-page, interactive UIs. MERN stack stands to gain in 2024.

MERN + GraphQL Stack:

This stack combines the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js) with GraphQL, which is a query language for APIs. It offers more flexible data retrieval and is gaining popularity.

MEVN Stack:

  This variant of MEAN is gaining popularity. In this stack, Angular is replaced by Vue.js. Vue is a lightweight framework. It has the best features of both Angular and React.

LAMP Stack:

The LAMP stack comprises Linux (operating system), Apache (webserver), MySQL (database), and PHP (server-side language). It is a time-tested widely used technology for web Application development. Content Management Systems(CMS) like WordPress and Drupal use LAMP stack.

Django Stack:

Django is a high-level Python web framework that is often paired with the Django stack, which includes Python (programming language), Django (framework), and MySQL or PostgreSQL (database).

Flutter for Web:

Flutter is a popular framework for building cross-platform mobile applications, but it can also be used to develop web applications. With the advent of Flutter 2.0, Flutter introduced the capability to build applications for the web alongside iOS, Android, and other platforms. When developing for the web using Flutter, you can leverage the same codebase you use for mobile development, which allows for code reusability and faster development cycles. Flutter for Web relies on a technology called Flutter Web, which enables you to compile your Flutter code into optimized JavaScript that can run in web browsers.

The Serverless stack:

Due to cloud services serverless stacks are popular in 2024. They are highly scalable and easier in infrastructure management. AWS Lambda Stack, Azure Functions Stack, and Google Cloud Stack are popular stacks.

Ruby on Rails Stack:

Ruby on Rails, often referred to as Rails, is a popular old application framework. It follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern and provides a set of conventions to streamline web development. It utilizes Ruby (programming language), Rails (framework), and PostgreSQL (database). Rails applications can be deployed on various web servers, such as Apache, Nginx, or the built-in WEBrick server that comes bundled with Rails for development purposes

What is Full Stack Development? -Choosing the right technology Stack

The choice of a technology stack depends on Project Requirements, Development Team skills and experience, scalability of the project, cost and budget, time-to-market, industry trends, compatibility and integrations with existing platforms, support, maintenance after implementation, etc.

Full stack development -The Skills required

Now that you understand What is full-stack development, let’s find out the skills required to be a full-stack developer.

1. Firstly a full-stack developer should be proficient in various programming languages and frameworks.  

2. One should also have an understanding of the software development lifecycle, version control, and deployment strategies.

DevOps:

3. Other than this the full-stack developer should be familiar with  DevOps and tools like Git and Docker framework to collaborate with teams and streamline the development process.

Knowledge of web architecture and APIs:

4. Full-stack developers should understand various web architectures (REST, GraphQL) and have experience in building and consuming APIs (Application Programming Interfaces).

5. Finally the most important skill a software professional should have is Soft Skills like problem-solving, communication, and the ability to work collaboratively in a team. They should be adaptable and eager to learn new technologies as the web development landscape is ever-evolving.

6. Transitioning from one layer to another is a seamless process for full-stack developers. They should possess the flexibility to switch between front-end and back-end tasks based on project requirements or collaborate effectively with specialized developers in each domain. This versatility is a significant advantage in rapidly evolving industries where agility and adaptability are crucial.

The RoadMap to Learning Full Stack Development

Moving ahead as you now are  well set with  knowing what is full stack development and the skills required to be a full stack developer Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:

1. Foundational Web Technologies:

Begin by learning the core web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These form the building blocks of web development.

2. Frontend Development:

  Familiarize yourself with popular frontend frameworks such as React, Angular, or Vue.js. These frameworks simplify the process of building user interfaces and provide efficient ways to manage application states.

3. Backend Development:

Choose a backend programming language such as JavaScript (Node.js), Python, Ruby, or Java. Learn the basics of the chosen language, including data structures, control flow, and object-oriented programming (if applicable). Also, you understand concepts like APIs, databases, and server-side frameworks such as Express.js (Node.js), Django (Python), or Ruby on Rails (Ruby).

4. Databases

Learn about databases and how to interact with them. Familiarize yourself with both SQL (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL) and NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB). Understand concepts like data modeling, querying, and database normalization.

5. Server-side Development:

Dive deeper into server-side development by learning about RESTful APIs, authentication and authorization, server-side rendering, and handling data storage and retrieval.

6. Version Control

Master a version control system like Git, which is crucial for collaborating on codebases, managing different versions of your project, and working with a team. Also learn project Management tools like Jira, Asana, etc.

7. Deployment and DevOps:

Learn how to deploy applications to production environments, including configuring servers, managing domains, and ensuring scalability and security. Explore tools like Docker and cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.

You may join some of these courses online to learn about What is Full Stack Development:

• MERN Stack developer Course
• Java full stack developer course online
• Python full stack developer course

Check out this Video on the Java Full Stack Program by Henry Harvin:

Before concluding the blog let’s have a look at the components of the Technology stack of Social Media Platforms Facebook and Instagram:

Facebook

The frontend stack is of React,  GraphQL, Redux Yarn, Babel, Webpack, and Yarn. The backend includes Cassandra, Hadoop, BigPipe, Apache Kafka HipHop for PHP, Memcached, etc.

Instagram

The front end comprises HTML5, React Native, Jquery, SASS/SCSS, Webpack, and Babel. The back end is Danjo Framework, Cassandra, and PostgreSQL, it also uses AWS and Google Analytics.

Conclusion:

Knowing what full-stack development is is essential for web developers in 2024. Skills in both front-end and back-end development make full-stack developers well-equipped to venture into the complete web development process. As technology evolves, staying up-to-date with the latest frameworks and languages will be the key to thriving in this dynamic field. Embracing full-stack development opens doors to diverse career opportunities and empowers developers to create robust, efficient, and user-friendly web applications.

For more information, you may read the following articles on Full-stack development:

15 Essential Java Full Stack Developer Skills