Questions

I know that term is thrown loosely around, but I want to know how I can become a full stack ruby on rails developer, with additional knowledge on using frameworks such as ember/angular. I also know a bit of photoshop/illustrator and would like to add UI/UX to that. Or am I just kidding my self here? This is what I have figured out from a bit of digging around 1. Learn front end development: HTML, CSS, Javascript, JQuery, Angular, etc. 2. Learn RoR 3. Continue to dig deeper into JS frameworks. 3. Pick up UX & UI principles along with tools such as Photoshop, Illustrator, UXpin and Sketchup. Or should I just replace 1, 2 and 3 with the MEEN stack? (MongoDB, Ember, Express, Node)

The "full-stack" is a vague term, but in the context of web development I would define the following group of skills:

* HTML/CSS (the basics)
* JavaScript (extent may vary on the platform)
* A script-based programming language (one that allows you to think in procedures as well)
* An OOP language (or the flavor of the first language with all of the OOP paradigms in it)
* Database programming
* Design patterns
* MVC in particular - most frameworks out there are MVC-based

That would help you to program in most popular languages out there and be effective while working HTML5 paradigms, JavaScript libraries and frameworks, and incorporate them in all web-driven languages or platforms. Depending on the type of work there may be other sections, such as:

* Computer architectures - I don't believe you can be a senior backend engineer without understanding the actual hardware components responsible for everything
* Networks and server management - some good basics of hosting management skills
* Security - related to everything before, but it's another important topic for full-stack developers to always take into account
* Performance and scalability - writing a high-performance code is a skill that depends on your understanding of the server stack, the memory layer, CPU executions etc.
* DevOps paradigms - testing (all sorts of), continuous integration, tooling (version control, automated deployment, staging setup)

UI/UX/etc don't click with me when I hear "full-stack web developer" - that is more of a frontend developer/designer aspect, and is definitely not a requirement for full-stackers. It's always helpful to be able to wear more hats - design, UI/UX, marketing, soft skills could help you build a better product, lead your team or be a mediator between the team and the client, but it's hard to juggle with everything and the first group is easier to keep together in the same basket while improving your skills.


Answered 9 years ago

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