Things That Newbies Should Know About Back-End Developers – Some beginners believe that it is enough to learn the required programming language – and that’s all, this knowledge by default makes you an excellent back-ender developer. But this is far from the case. To become real specialists, for example, as back end development services by Halo-lab, you need to go a long way.
Basis
Let’s start with the main thing – with the operating system. A good backend should be familiar with a unix-like operating system. It can be not only different Linux distributions, but also macOS or FreeBSD, but the generally accepted standard is still Linux. You can work on a PC or laptop with any OS, but you need to know Linux. After all, you have to quite actively interact with the servers, and most of them run on Linux.
The second point smoothly follows from this point – working with the command line. This is necessary in order to speak with the server in its language. It is necessary not only to know how to Google this or that command and what it does, but to understand the command interface. Again, the options are valid depending on personal preference or the literature you studied: zsh, bash, fish, but the standard is bash.
The next requirement is knowledge of version control systems. And here, without any special alternatives: you need Git, despite the choice. Learn Git itself and the mechanics of branching if you intend to work as a team. However, if you are interested in backend development and are now reading this text, you probably already have a GitHub account (and if not, you know what to do).
Basic knowledge of how the Web works as a whole will be very useful. We are not talking about a thorough study of HTTP and all the intricacies of DNS right now, but you should be aware of what exactly happens when you try to visit a site. What connects to what, what bundles work, what is loaded in the first place and drags the rest with it.
An additional advantage for a novice backend developer will be knowledge of at least one web framework – for Python, it’s Django or Flask. Plus basic knowledge of SQL.
Algorithms and Testing
In terms of basic requirements for a candidate and knowledge of the basics of the profession, companies are divided into two types.
In the first one there are serious practitioners who care only about what you know how to do. You can have any education, and if you prove to them that at the current stage of your life you are able to carry out all the tasks that they put on the backend, you are in business.
The second camp is more demanding – fundamental knowledge is important for them. Technical education, mathematical thinking and knowledge of algorithms – this is the set with which you need to enter such companies. Relaxation can be done in terms of education itself – it is here as an additional plus, because there are situations when a person has such knowledge, even without studying it at a university: there are many self-taught and courses too.
Employers have a similar attitude to testing. Someone is convinced that the junior should do testing, and this will be almost the first question in the interview. Someone notes that there are testers for testing. Someone does not test anything at all.
The main thing is to learn a lot and develop, as well as learn new things about software development front end.