In this article, we will discuss extensively what Backend Development is all about, backend development tools and technologies, we will go further to talk about the things to consider as a Backend developer, we will move down to the roles of a Backend Developer.

Let’s start right away..

1. What is Backend Development
2. Who is a Backend Developer
3. Backend Development tools and technologies
4. Backend Development: Things to learn
5. Roles of a Backend developer 

What is Backend Development

Backend Development is the term for the behind-the-scenes activities that happen when you do anything on a website or web application. Backend Development is mostly referred to as the server-side of an application and everything that communicates between the database and the frontend (browser). You can also say that Backend Development is the server-side development that focuses primarily on how the site works or the internal workings of a site.

Who is a Backend Developer

A Backend Developer is a skilled software developer responsible for or skilled enough to understand, plan, develop and test the server-side/business logic of an application.

In conjunction with other team members, he is responsible for deciding the best and suitable tools and technologies for the project at hand.

Backend Development: Tools and Technologies

Servers:

A computer that listens for incoming requests from the clients (frontend). Example of web servers are Apache Nginx, IIS servers, Tomcat.

A list of few things a Backend developer should learn under servers.

Types of Servers

• Static
• Dynamic

According to MDN:

A static web server or stack consists of a computer (hardware) with an HTTP server (software). We call it “static” because the server sends its hosted files as it is to your browser”. It response/server static content.

A dynamic web server consists of a static web server plus extra software, most commonly an application server and a database. We call it “dynamic” because the application server updates the hosted files before sending them to your browser visa the HTTP server.

In a simple term, Dynamic Server responses/serves dynamic contents.

Communication protocol (HTTP)

It comprises of the formal description of rules and formats of a digital messages.

Others

1. Load balancing
2. Message queues

Databases

Databases are frequently used on the Backend of an application.

These provide data persistence.

These databases provide an interface to save data in a persistent way to memory.

Types of database

1. MYSQL
2. SQlite
3. MongoDB
4. PostgreDB
5. etc

Things to learn in databases as a Backend developer

• Schemas
• Normalization
• Indexes
• Stored procedure and triggers
• Wide knowledge of SQL, DDL & DML
• Views
• Strong database optimization skills

Operating Systems

When it comes to operating systems, I think every software developer should have a strong knowledge of their operating system.

According to James Le

An operating system is a collection of software that manages computer hardware and provides services for programmes.

Types of Operating Systems

• Linux
• Windows
• Mac OS
• E.t.c

Every developer should have a basic knowledge of these OS concepts.

Things to learn in Operating Systems

• Memory management
• Cloud computing
• Processes & process management
• Inter process communication
• Threads and concurrency
• Input and output management
• Scheduling
• Distributed file system
• Virtualization

Take a look at the 10 operating systems concept software developers need to remember by James Le.

Software Stack

There are great list of server-side programming languages and frameworks to choose from in building the business/server logic of any application.

Check out the Top 5 Backend Frameworks To Learn As a Backend Developer

The list below shows a recommended list of common topics a Backend developer should master in any programming language of choice.

• Session management
• Authentication & Authorization
• Caching Mechanisms
• APIs & Web Services
• Software architectures (MVC)
• Software design patterns
• Algorithms and data structures
• Structured logging
• Debugging, profiling and tracing
• Deployment
• Software testing
• Frameworks and Package Managers

Backend Development: What you will need to learn

• Scalability
• Security
• Robustness
• Readability
• Performance Oriented
• Maintainability

Roles of a Backend Developer

• Understands the major goals of the software and profer effective solutions.
• Compile and analyse data, processes and write functions that assist in troubleshooting problems and as well identify areas of improvement.
• Collaborating with the frontend developers and other teams to establish objectives and design models (software architecture).
• Effectively manipulating data to ensure authorised access to it at all times.
• Developing, managing and working with external API resources across all devices securely.
• Organising the logic of the system and implementing proper algorithms.