Gradually, our affinity toward full stack development is increasing thanks to cost efficiency and convenience like benefits come with it. Becoming a full stack developer is not easy but with careful planning for a roadmap makes it possible. Let’s see which technologies a developer has to grasp to a seasoned full stack developer in the current post.
Full stack development is abuzz today. Initially, it was used for the web development niche only, but today it also applicable for mobile app development and other emerging technologies.
Let me clarify first that what is full stack development and why we need full stack developers today more than ever. Today, web development is not one-person effort or can accomplish the process with knowledge and skills in a handful of technologies. It requires command over front-end, back-end, databases, and integrations of various external services.
The reason behind the increased trends of full stack development is the demands of the market. Clients are always looking for ways to have the shortest timeline for their projects so they can server their two purposes, cost-effective development, and early time-to-market.
At another end, web development companies are looking for fast turnarounds of projects with limited resources to increase their profits without missing the train of growth and rapport. Therefore, recruiters are looking for an experienced and talented pool of full stack developers. It has inspired many beginners to mid-career developers to full stack developers.
To help those folk, I am going to give you a short but effective roadmap to go for full stack development.
Step One – Lay Foundation with Basic Web Development Technologies
HTML:
It is a short form of Hypertext Markup Language. Whatever the programming language of your source code on the server, your web browsers will receive outputs in HTML. Moreover, HTML code also absorbs the code of other scripts such as XML, CSS, JavaScript, and other programming languages like PHP in it seamlessly.
HTML and XML are static documents and lay the foundation for static to dynamic web designs. XML helps developers to do whichever not possible with HTML elements. Therefore, it is still evolving with the evolution of HTML itself.
CSS:
Cascading Style Sheets or CSS in short form is a script to provide various styles to the web page, such as fonts, color, shapes, layouts, and so on. CSS could be in line or the external files.
There are a lot of printed books and eBooks are available on the web to learn the latest version of HTML and CSS. Today, HTML 5 and CSS 3 are the latest versions. Many universities are running Bootcamps to provide working gigs to update their skills where you also can learn all these basics.
Step Two – Learn Basic Scripting Technologies
Many programming scripts are differing from the programming languages in several aspects. For instance, JavaScript, TypeScript, jQuery, Media Query, VB Script, JSON, and AJAX.
Fundamentally, scripting languages provide a run-time environment to automate tasks for execution. Among these all scripts, JavaScript is the king and used widely in the web as well as cross-platform mobile app development. Therefore, learning and getting mastery over JavaScript is pretty an essentiality to step in to become a full stack developer.
Today most of the JavaScript-based frameworks are used in front-end as well as a back-end web development. Of course, TypeScript is an addition to JavaScript and users of Visual Studio prefer it the most for advanced tooling and functionality.
Step Three – Learn Advanced Programming Technologies
It was PHP, which has laid the foundation of dynamic programming languages with tons of open source platforms and frameworks. PHP is object-oriented language at one perspective and dynamic server-side script at another angle.
Java is another best bet to get supremacy in coding, and most of the universities are teaching Java right from the beginning. Today, Python is the most sought after programming language due to increased use in upcoming technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things) and AI technology stacks including machine learning (ML).
ASP.NET framework related technologies are king for Microsoft technology fans. C#, VB, VB script, and a few emerging technologies are extensively used in web and mobile landscapes, particularly, enterprises. So, if possible dive into Dot net technologies, especially C# for Unity 3D like gaming platform coding.
Step Four – Learn Database Programming Technologies for Data-driven Web Development
The initial stage of web development, we used to apply SQL as a database query language to retrieve or feeding data in mostly tabulated databases. Now, our web applications are accumulating heaps of data that SQL databases like MySQL and PostgreSQL cannot handle and even process. Therefore, document-based (No Table) databases have evolved like MongoDB and become famous as NoSQL databases.
Thus, it is imperative for full stack developers to know both SQL and NoSQL programming, analysis, and processing tools.
Step Five – Be Familiar with Development Methodologies
Apart from traditional waterfall like software development methodologies, you must have familiarity with Agile Development methods and experience how sprints or iterations are going on and how to tackle issues with it.
Step Six – Learn DevOps Technologies
DevOps skills are must for a full stack development because with each sprint of iteration in software development lifecycle and processes, develops must take actions. You should learn NanoBox a DevOps platform to attend local Dev, staging, and deployment, as well as production management like tasks.
Step Seven – Learn Cloud Technologies
Today, cloud computing is getting momentum. We need to learn the integration of various cloud services through various APIs. Apart from the basic Map, GPS, storage, and hosting services, several software development services are getting popularity due to immense benefits come with the cloud. Pass, IaaS, SaaS, DBaaS, MBaaS, and BaaS are leading ones. Your familiarity with AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Akamai, and other custom clouds can help you a lot in the career.
Practical Experiences Matters More
Learning programming always involves active experiments. Apart from bookish knowledge and tutorial, practical experiences with a seasoned developer or a team make a lot of differences and increase your value in the market. Therefore, working with an established full stack development company is essential.
I think Perception System, San Jose, USA is a pool of seasoned full stack developers with 17+ years of experiences. If you have any query regarding full stack development, it is the best place to get the right response. If you are looking for a right partner for your next full stack web development project, feel free to start conversations with the team.
Author Bio:
I am Jaki Watson, a full stack developer at Perception System, San Jose, USA. After working for years, I realized that now it is time to speak out secrets of the full stack development and unveil a roadmap to be a seasoned full stack developer with the help of right team and mentors.