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During the last few years, we have witnessed enormous growth in the IT industry. Each day, we learn about different programming languages, platforms, innovative tools, and techniques. As the world continues to shift towards online platforms, mobile applications, and cloud computing, the demand for web programmers, mobile app developers, and software engineers with holistic programming backgrounds is gaining pace.

You come across thousands of job openings for Java, Flutter, PHP, Python, .Net, CSS programmers, database engineers, JavaScript experts, etc. Instead of hiring programmers who are experts in one or two programming languages, companies now prefer recruiting full stack developers. Scroll down to learn what is full stack development and what skills you require to become a full stack developer.

What is Full Stack Development?

In web and mobile app development, full stack development refers to developing a full-fledged web-based application with both front-end and back-end programming.

A web-based application typically has two types of code, client-side (back-end) and server-side (front-end). Server-side programming contains most of the functionality of the web-based application, and it is responsible for interacting with the server, processing client requests, communicating with the database, generating results, and displaying results on the client-side browser page.

Many amateur developers want to know what is a full stack developer and what they do. A full stack developer writes code for back-end and front-end web applications and application programming interfaces (APIs). They are responsible for designing, developing, implementing, and testing web and mobile apps. They create a complete web architecture for the application and ensure each client and server stack communicate efficiently and precisely.

Prospects in Full stack Development

Full stack development has become a fad in the IT industry. While some developers get in-house development jobs in reputed organizations, most full stack developers either work for an IT company or freelance. Since full stack developers know how to program in many languages and can program a complete web application in close collaboration with their development team, these professionals are highly in demand. They get a highly-paid job with additional benefits.

Full stack developers have great potential for career growth due to their expertise in all areas of software development. They can progress to become full stack software engineers, team leaders, IT project managers, and director of IT.

Skills Required to Become a Full stack Developer

To become a successful full stack developer, you must master technical and non-technical skills. Here are the eight most important skills required to become a full stack developer:

1. Programming

Coding or programming sits at the core of full stack development. To become a successful full stack developer, you must be a programming guru in numerous languages. Here is a list of programming languages you must have hands-on experience with:

Client-Side Programming

• HTML/CSS: HTML is the basic programming language for creating websites and adding elements to the web page. It contains various tags in proper order, and the text between them determines the content and its placement on the page. CSS is a webpage design and modeling tool for website styling like font, colors, webpage layout, etc. CSS allows websites to display seamlessly on various browsers, screen sizes, and operating system types without disturbing the placement of various elements; CSS works with XML-based markup language.
• JavaScript: JavaScript is one of the most powerful and commonly-used programming languages to write client-side codes. It works with frameworks like JQuery, Vue, React, Angular, and Webpack. JavaScript runs at the client-side browser and manages user interaction with the website. It handles client-side exceptions and queries for database connection and monitors session and application variables.

Full stack developers must have in-depth knowledge and experience in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and their frameworks and environments. They must be able to debug an existing piece of code and improve client-side coding to avoid data exposure.

Server-Side Programming

A full stack developer can code an entire website, including client-side and server-side coding. Server-side programming is relatively more complex than client-side web applications and needs in-depth knowledge of certain programming languages. Here is a list of programming languages you need to master for server-side coding:

• Java: Java is one of the most powerful programming languages in the computing world. It creates system software, operating systems, web-based applications, desktop software, and mobile apps. Java works with an array of development frameworks and environments. It is one of the most commonly-used programming languages for server-side programming.

• C#: C# is a preferred choice for programmers to create server-side web applications in Windows environments. A thorough understanding of C# code and experience in server-side programming is a must for full stack developers.
• Python: Python is today’s most popular programming language in the IT industry. Its flexibility, ease of use, and English-like syntax make it one of the most commonly-used programming languages for server-side programming. Most full stack developers use Python frameworks like Django and Flask for developing back-end applications. Python is open-source software with a huge community that allows programmers to easily find ready-made code and components.
• PHP: PHP has remained one of the most popular server-side programming languages for over two decades. PHP is also an open-source, cross-platform programming language used to write complex code and handle large data arrays.

2. UI/UX Designing

To become a successful full stack developer, you need to have a grip on the design elements of a website. Since responsive websites include mobile screens apart from conventional browser websites, full stack developers require an in-depth knowledge of UI/UX design. 

UI refers to ‘user interface,’ which entails screen design, elements, strategic placement of web components, etc. UX refers to user experience, which considers a human’s experience with the website from the landing page to the exit. 

A full stack developer should know the basics of prototyping, typography, font and colors, buttons and links, visual content, and structural design elements.

3. Database Management

Database management, connection, data insertion, updating, deletion, and replication are basic skills you need to become a full stack developer. Most websites must maintain a back-end database on the web or database server. To display the relevant data on client-side applications or process queries from the user, a full stack developer needs to communicate with the database, update it simultaneously, and commit transactions at the end to make the changes permanent. With a background in RDMS concepts, data structures, SQL, and MySQL, you can program both clients- and server-side applications effectively.

4. Debugging and Quality Assurance

Quality assurance is finding syntax and logical errors or bugs in the system, identifying weaknesses in the web application and checking for compliance of a website with client requirements to ensure all client needs are met. Debugging is a part of quality assurance where QA engineers identify a logical error in the web-based application, and programmers alter the code to fix the error. Full stack developers must be able to debug both client-side and server-side applications and make sure the website is free of functional errors.

5. In-Depth Knowledge of Web Architecture

To become a successful full stack developer, you need to understand the complete web architecture. You must know what structural and user interface elements are required in a web-based application, how to incorporate them, and how to use and set up a domain name server (DNS). You should also be aware of creating and communicating with database servers, local or remote.

6. Web Hosting Platforms

Web hosting platforms are the grounds on which you deploy your website. You must be aware of popular web hosting platforms like Google Cloud, Azure, Amazon web services, and more.

7. Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is necessary for database, document management, and web hosting. You need to be well-versed with public and private clouds and how to interact with applications and databases in remote server environments.

8. Non-Technical Skills

Since most full stack developers need to collaborate closely with development teams, higher management, and clients, they need to have some non-technical skills apart from the ones mentioned above. Here are some key non-technical skills a full stack developer is expected to have:

• Teamwork spirit
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Creativity to engage the target audience
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to plan a complete software lifecycle
• Ability to work under stress and meet tight deadlines
• Ability to learn quickly and incorporate new methodologies into work

Final Thoughts

Full stack development is an emerging new field in the IT industry. To become a full stack developer, you must practice client-side, and server-side programming languages and have an in-depth knowledge of web architecture, database management, development frameworks, cloud computing, and web platforms. We hope this list will help you develop your skills to become a successful full stack developer and progress in your career.