Baby’s got backend

As I started my schooling experience I have gained so much more understanding of web development. The first 6 weeks we were only working on front end, via React, and in these last 3 weeks we have switched to covering the backend. On a personal level I have found some of the concepts around the backend a bit confusing, while the actual application of it I really really enjoy. As such I decided to take a minute to talk about the backend and why it plays a role of importance in web development.

First and predominantly the reason the backend is so important is that this is how all of the main data on a site or app is stored. In order for our information to be stored, recalled, changed or deleted we have to have an active backend communicating with our front end, user and server. These days most apps or sites run a front end that, essentially acts as a shel or template for the backend data to be returned to you. From the article written on wikipedia to that drunken moment shooting your shot on twitter, all of this actual data ( the strings and integers that make up most of our communication) actually arrives on screen thanks to the backend!

The backend can also help with the frontend functionality, beyond simply storing status posts as well! When logging in to a website the front end is handling the user interface, but the backend is actually running the command and comparing information to return, such as is this username and password in our database? Is the timestamp on the password data beyond the site’s allotted 6 month password reset? Or when you run a search function on your site- the data is being passed from the frontend but the backend is actually handling the query, analyzing the data present on the server and returning data based on the search terms. The application logic is written into the backend so that the flow of data works according to the needs of the app and so that it is consistent for users, regardless of their front end experience.