JavaScript is today’s most popular programming language. JavaScript is everywhere. It powers the World Wide Web. It allows for interactive elements and is a fundamental component of many web-based apps.
JavaScript was initially used in frontend development. Now JavaScript can be integrated into server side. This has helped JavaScript gain even greater popularity. This change caused a significant discussion. Should you use JavaScript in your entire project, even though you can use it in the frontend? To put it another way, should you hire JavaScript full-stack developers to work on your website project?
What is Full Stack Development, exactly?
Understanding what a full stack developer does is the first step. A tech stack is simply a collection or tools and languages used to support applications. A web application stack, for instance, is made up of the operating system (web server), a database (and at least one language) and a programming language.
Software can have a client-facing or “the frontend” side, and a server side or “the backend”. Software engineers use two different stacks to describe the various layers of the entire tech stack. To create software that works, you need to address both stacks.
Others think it’s impossible to build both the front and the backend using the same stack. These full stack engineers have the required skills to create or optimize complete integration between frontend, backend systems via one code.
What is a JavaScript developer full-stack?
A full stack JavaScript Developer is an engineer who can build both the frontend or backend applications. This means they must not only master HTML and CSS, but also be able build a website, a server, or a database. MEAN, a popular stack to develop JavaScript full stack developers, includes:
MongoDB, NoSQL database programming program
Express is de facto the standard server framework of Node.js.
AngularJS, a frontend Web Framework
Node.js – A JavaScript runtime environment to support server-side scripting
As you can see, the components all use JavaScript. This supports JavaScript as a language for addressing all layers of a web site. This is why the stack is so popular with full stack JavaScript programmers like those you will find at https://anyforsoft.com/technology/javascript.
MEAN isn’t the only popular JavaScript stack. There are many technologies that can be used as alternatives for each component of MEAN. These include Koa (restify), React, Vue.js or MySQL.
Full Stack JavaScript – Pros
Increased development efficiency
Full-stack JavaScript Developers are able to work on a webapp entirely in JavaScript. This makes it easier and more intuitive for everyone on the team. In other words, all of the people in the frontend as well as the backend work in the same language. This makes it easier for them to keep track of the progress of the entire project. Additionally, only one team can manage the entire app, which results in a more efficient development experience.
More Code Reuse
JavaScript is used both in the backend and frontend. Therefore, it’s possible to reuse portions of code that use similar logic. This can help reduce the code full stack JavaScript programmers have to write and reduce the overall code line count for the entire project. This makes full-stack programming more efficient and makes it easier to maintain or update products.
High Performance
Node.js enables JavaScript full-stack developers to fully exploit non-blocking JavaScript programming and create fully asynchronous programs. This allows the applications to run multiple independent tasks simultaneously. This allows web applications written in JavaScript to run more independently, which leads to better user experiences and better quality products.
Access to Open Source Tools
The majority of MEAN stacks are open source. You’ll have free access to most tools. Their open-source nature means they are frequently updated by their communities. This has many benefits for their users.
More Development Talent available
According to the 2020 Stack Overflow Developer Survey JavaScript is the most commonly used technology with a remarkable 69.7% responding that they use it in one way or another. This means there are many people who understand JavaScript and can regularly use it. You can also always find new talent to help boost your full stack projects.
Plenty Of Resources
JavaScript offers web developers many tools, frameworks, libraries and other resources. However, it also has one the largest communities in the world. JavaScript developers can access many resources for help while they code their projects. This includes forums, documentation, ebooks and dedicated communities.
Cons of Full Stack JavaScript
Being a full-stack JavaScript developer will come with its own set of disadvantages. These are some of the most important.
Not suitable to be used in computation-heavy tasks
Node.js has many benefits for improving web applications’ performance, except when you need to process large amounts of data on the server. Yes, it is possible to break down the most difficult tasks into microservices with more compatible technologies. These microservices can then “talk” to your backend to preserve Node.js. It adds another layer to the project which is costly and takes more time.
Limited Server-side Capabilities
JavaScript gained its server-side capabilities in JavaScript’s wake of being exclusively focused on the frontend. An experienced backend engineer can see the limitations this lack of maturity brings, especially when compared to Java or PHP.
Limited Number of Full Stack Developers Who Are “True”,
While this may seem contradictory, it’s true that full stack JavaScript development allows you to have greater access to talent. JavaScript developers are often able to work on both the frontend as well as the backend. But they will always be more adept at one than the other. It can be hard to find JavaScript developers who are capable of both frontend and backend delivery.
What Should You Do with Full Stack JavaScript?
All this will give you a greater understanding of how to use full stack JavaScript developers in your web app development. Is it worth the risk? It’s difficult to say, as full-stack development can be great on certain projects but disastrous for others.
