5+ Best Front-end And Back-end Frameworks For Developers
Hi guys, if you want to become a full stack developer, you have a great choice between frontend and backend frameworks. While frontend frameworks are dominated by JavaScript, the backend has many features for building server-side applications, such as Java, Python, Ruby, and even JavaScript.
The tech world is changing as fast as technology is changing, and so are tech jobs. Gone are the days when you could get a job just by knowing one technology or programming language, and somehow survive in that position for years without learning new things.
In today’s competitive world, more and more people are looking for full-stack software engineers, that is, those who know both front-end and server technologies and can independently develop a full-featured web application. If you look at the job description of any full-stack software engineer in internet companies, you will find that a full-stack software engineer needs to know front-end technologies like ES-next, Babel, React, Redux, Bootstrap, LESS, etc., as well as basic skills like Python, Django, Graphene (GraphQL), REST, MySQL, DynamoDB, Redis, Docker, etc.
In other words, expectations have become very high. If you are a full-stack software engineer or someone aspiring to become a full-stack software engineer, then you should be familiar with several front-end and back-end website development frameworks like React and Node, but it also depends on your background, such as whether you are primarily a Python background or a Java/JavaScript background.
In this article, I am going to share some of the best and most popular web development frameworks, which I think a full-stack developer should be familiar with. I have included both front-end and back-end frameworks for your reference. Depending upon your background, you can choose the related set of technologies to enhance your profile.
1. SPRING BOOT BACKEND + JAVA
The Spring Boot framework tries to solve the problems associated with using Spring for Java web development in the same way Spring solves the pain related to Java web development using Java EE or J2EE. By introducing features like auto-configuration and Starter dependencies, Spring Boot alleviates the pain of Java developers who spend a lot of time configuring Spring and finding a set of compatible libraries to work together. It seriously improves productivity as you can now create a new Java web project in much less time and with much less work, but at the same time, it’s a bit opinionated.
2. REACT.JS FRONTEND + JAVASCRIPT
At this moment, React or React.js is the most popular front-end framework for web developers. It has surpassed the leader in the group, Angular, and newcomers like Vue.js, and now more and more people are going towards React. Though there is no final verdict on React vs. Angular battle yet, going with the trend, it’s increasingly looking that React is going to win this epic war. ReactJS allows you to create a front-end using JavaScript and provides a component-based development model.
3. ANGULAR FRONTEND + JAVASCRIPT
Angular is another popular JavaScript frontend that makes the development of complex front-end easier. It was actually one of the first JavaScript frameworks which tried to standardize front-end development in JavaScript with modules and code structure. It allows you to write testable code, much like what you do in Java or any other mainstream language. If you don’t like to React and looking for options, then Angular is the next best front-end development framework for JavaScript developers.
4. DJANGO FRONTEND + BACKEND + PYTHON
Now coming into the world of Python, don’t worry; it’s not scary; instead, it’s a remarkable world full of useful frameworks and libraries for web development. It’s a full-stack framework and includes all the necessary features by default instead of offering them as separate libraries. With Django, you will get authentication, URL routing, template engine, object-relational mapper (ORM), and database schema migrations all in one pack.
5. NODE.JS BACKEND + JAVASCRIPT
This is another popular JavaScript web development platform, but it is server-side. 10 years ago, who would have thought that JavaScript should be used to write server-side code, but now it is quite reasonable. Node.js consistently ranks as one of the most popular frameworks in the StackOverflow developer survey and is the key to writing a web application from start to finish in a single programming language, i.e. JavaScript.
6. Flask Backend + Python
It’s another popular Python framework for web development. Flask is a microframework because it doesn’t need any other framework or library. It is inspired by the Sinatra Ruby framework and depends on the Werkzeug WSGI toolkit and the Jinja2 template. The main idea behind Flask is to allow web developers to build a solid web application foundation. From there, you can use any extensions you might need.
7. JQUERY FRONTEND + JAVASCRIPT
This is another impressive JavaScript library, which I think every web developer should be familiar with. Even if you are not a full-stack developer or just involved on the front-end or back-end side of work, you should learn jQuery. It’s very powerful and provides CSS-like selectors to change the behavior of several elements on the fly. In the last few years, jQuery’s popularity has come down due to other front-end frameworks, but I still think it’s a great tool, and a full-stack software engineer should know that.
8. BOOTSTRAP FRONTEND + CSS
In the old days, CSS was the main skill for front-end developers, but in modern web development, Bootstrap has replaced CSS. There is hardly anyone who is using plain old CSS to style their web pages; instead, most of them are using CSS frameworks like Bootstrap or Tailwind etc.
9. RUBY ON RAILS BACKEND + RUBY
If you are not from Python, Java, or Javascript background, then you must be from Ruby, another beautiful language for web development. It’s challenging to build a modern web application, but Ruby on Rails makes it much easier and more fun. It includes everything you need to build database-backed web applications according to the Model-View-Controller framework. There are many popular websites which programs use daily, like Github, which is built using the Ruby on Rails framework.
10. GRAPHQL BACKEND + JAVASCRIPT
You might think of another JavaScript library, Well yes but you just can’t ignore GraphQL anymore. GraphQL is a query language for APIs and also provides a runtime for fulfilling those queries with your existing data. GraphQL provides a complete and understandable description of the data in your API, gives clients the power to ask for exactly what they need, and nothing more, makes it easier to evolve APIs over time, and enables powerful developer tools. For example, if you need to show a list of posts and all the users who like the post with their photos and username, then you can do that easily using GraphQL.
CONCLUSION
That’s all about some of the most useful and popular web development frameworks a full-stack software engineer should know. As I have said, today’s web development world is very demanding, and you just can’t survive by knowing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You must know these new tools and frameworks to become a modern full-stack Software engineer everyone is looking for.
Though, you don’t need to learn all of these web development frameworks. You can choose one from the front-end and one from the back-end at a minimum, depending on your programming language of choice. Thanks for reading this article so far.
If you like this article and find these web development frameworks useful, then please share it with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, then please drop a note.
