Full Stack Developer - haven't we heard about these supposed code ninjas for a while now? Yes. Are they any good? Sure! But I need a backend Node JS person... (faceslap) What did you think Full Stack was? Another framework?
Who is a Full Stack Developer?
A developer who can code in all stacks of the application - backend as well as the frontend. A Full Stack Developer can by definition build an entire product end to end. While this is not always true, and you need specialised skills for parts of the application, this is largely true for business or enterprise applications that move data around and execute some type of workflows.
Are They Any Good?
You must read up all the way through this post to figure that out, but the short answer is - yeah sure. A better answer is - Full Stack Technologies are awesome! If I as a developer can learn TypeScript/React/Angular and build end to end Web, Mobile and Desktop apps for all platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, I am the holier than thou divine being who descended from the heavens. But most of the developers who call themselves Full Stack Devs are incapable of doing this, and there's your caveat. There are nuances to each Operating System and platform you are building for and unless you have done it hands-on, it is unlikely that you carry that capability. Which is why we came up with the Foundational Full Stack Developer training for our engineers.
A Brief History of Full Stack Development
Since the 2000s, complexity of development has resulted in developers getting clustered in stack camps - Microsoft Stack, Java Stack, Frontend, Backend etc. However, what a lot of people forget is the time from the 90s, when technologies like Foxpro and Visual Basic ruled the application development market. In a technology like Foxpro, you write database code, business logic and front end code in the same code block. Most programmers of the 2000s would aptly react like this -> 😳. Because that is when most Technical Architects not only agreed, but strongly advocated a tiered application development approach, where your backend application logic would be neatly separated from your front end logic and your database would be separated from the business logic. This made sense, and does make sense even today. So why would we be talking about Full Stack Developers?
On 2nd of September 2008, Google launched the Chrome browser. Packaged within the browser was neat little Javascript runtime engine called the V8. The performance efficiency of the V8 was beyond any Javascript engine ever written before and dominates the industry even today. It was the silent rise of the a tiny little scripting language originally designed to liven up a static HTML web page. On February 11, 2009, MongoDB was released which was a JSON and Javascript based NoSQL database. On May 27, 2009, Ryan Dahl released a server-side runtime framework called NodeJS which could run Javascript code on the server side and perform speedy backend operations. Javascript was back, and back with a vengeance. A Javascript programmer, who knew the frontend really well, could now write an application in Javascript with backend also in Javascript all the way down to the database level. This began the rise of the Full Stack Developer, and not in the Foxpro way, but in line with the clean tiered approach that became popular in the 2000s.
Future of Full Stack Development
After having been through the highs and lows of Full Stack Development by now in 2020, we know one thing for sure - Full Stack Developers are here to stay. They enable cross-functional teams like never before. They have a dramatic impact on Continuity of Business plans for any organization. But we also know they cannot be the code ninjas we expect them to be. What they theoretically should be, is not what they practically are. Expertise of certain facets of the application development cycle is always going to be there, and there will always be developers who are excellent in say, cryptography or financial modeling or machine learning etc.
The Foundational Full Stack Developer
This is purely coming from us, but this is how we see the future. Every programmer who enters the industry will be, or expected to be, equipped with fundamental knowledge of full stack development and make use of its ability to develop cross-platform Mobile Apps, Web Apps, Desktop Apps and Backend Services and then further develop specialised skills in certain domains. This gives them a disproportionate advantage over standard technology focused developers like say - an iOS Developer or a Java Developer. For a new startup - they can build tools (mobile apps, or backend APIs) and products spanning over the entire technology horizon thereby allowing for newer companies to rapidly build parity with well established companies.
Wait, what? Mobile, Desktop, Web?
Are you caught by surprise having learnt that a single Full Stack Developer can develop and produce iOS and Android mobile apps, Windows/macOS Desktop apps as well as Web apps? Don't be. It is true. And this claim stands on shoulders of giants - Ionic Framework, ElectronJS Framework and Angular/React Frameworks. If a Full Stack Developer is trained hands-on on these technologies, they are bound to become the product ninjas you expect them to be.
Foundational Full Stack Developers @ Gritsa
Identifying this need in the industry, where we as an agency can hire smart entry level engineers and train them on Full Stack Foundations for companies like yours to hire. They are trained on Ionic Framework, ElectronJS Framework and Angular/React Frameworks. This gives you low-cost high-return resources who can then work with your team to build great products. If you are interested in trying out a Foundational Full Stack Developer from Gritsa, head over to our Developer-as-a-service page and schedule an appointment with us.
Cross-Functional Teams @ Gritsa
Now let us take all of this and look at building a team. If we take three Foundational Full Stack Developers each with one specialised area, we can have a full blown product development team ready for you to hire and churn out fantastic product features. If you are interested in trying out a Cross-Functional Team from Gritsa, head over to our Development-as-a-service page and schedule a consultation with us.
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