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What exactly do you know to become a full stack developer? This is a question we’re often asked. A full-stack developer is a software engineer who has expertise in both back-end and front-end development and can work on both ends of the project. This typically includes working with database models and programming languages like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS on the front end while also understanding server administration, web application frameworks like Ruby on Rails or Node.js; deployment; networks; security issues such as SSL certificates; etc.
It’s a term that was coined in the early 2000s, but it seems to have become more popular in recent years.
This means that when you are hiring your next developer or when you are looking for a job, when the listing says “Full-stack Developer” that means they are looking for someone with both front-end and back-end skills.
Examples of full stack developer stacks that you know to become a full stack developer
1.) MEAN stack
MEAN stack is a combination of MongoDB, ExpressJS, AngularJS and NodeJS (or the predecessor “MEAN” which includes Meteor). A full stack developer will be familiar with most if not all of these technologies.
2.) LAMP/WAMP Stack
LAMP stack stands for Linux, Apache , MySQL and PHP or WAMP stands for Windows, Apache , MySQL and PHP. These are the most common stacks used to power websites. The terms stand for open source software packages that make up web servers like nginx, Apache HTTP Server . It’s an extremely common set of programs that are used to create dynamic websites with server-side scripting support like PHP or CGI programming language.
A full-stack developer can be someone who has professional experience with all of the following technologies:
- Linux Operating System (or any Unix-like operating system) – XML/HTML/CSS/Javascript programming languages – PHP or any other server side scripting language – Apache web server – MySQL database – Git or SVN version control system
How can you be a full stack developer as a freelancer?
You might think that you need to be a full-stack developer if you want to start a freelance web development business as it makes it easier for you to take on more diverse projects. But as we mentioned above, this term actually came into existence because of the development jobs that companies were hiring for.
If you’re a programmer and you want to work as a full-stack developer, first and foremost:
a) You must be proficient in at least one backend heavy programming language (and preferably more than one).
b) Be able to work with HTML and CSS. You need to know “tags” and how they work together, how CSS works, etc. Ideally, also learn JavaScript if possible.
c) Be proficient in SQL or NoSQL database systems like MongoDB or MySQL.
d) You need to be proficient with deployment version control systems like Git, SVN, etc.
e) You need to know how to secure networks and web application servers.
f) Ideally, you should have experience with deploying with nginx or Apache using PHP/Nginx or other deployment servers
g) Know your tools! you also need to know how to use the following software packages to effectively work as a freelance web developer:
- i. Command Prompts /terminal usage
- ii. Vim, Sublime Text 2/3, text editor or IDE of your choice.
- iii. Git/Github for version control – Github or Bitbucket are two of the most popular options. You should be able to use either one without too much trouble. Ideally, you should be comfortable with either one of these tools for version control purposes at least semi-regularly, if not daily.
h) Be able to jump into a project and start working with it straight away.
i) Be able to communicate via email, Skype or some other tool as you would be creating a website or creating some web application.
As an added advantage, you should be able to understand the business requirements and the project scope as a whole. Once you see what needs to be done, you can figure out which technology will work best for the task at hand. If you’re not familiar with that technology, then that’s okay!
How can you start your journey towards becoming a full stack developer?
You just need to start looking for pointers on YouTube videos or Google searches that will help you learn more about it. And once you’re comfortable with that particular technology, then start learning how it works with the rest of the stack.
Conclusion
It’s not easy to be a full-stack developer, but it is possible. If you’re looking for a job or if you want to start freelancing, you need to start the learning process first.
As far as freelance work is concerned, this means that they will have different skill sets. Isn’t it great to know that you can choose the technology stack of your choice? As far as choosing freelance work goes, there are just no limits!
To learn more about open-source development lifecycle, see here.