A Journey to Backend Development

Embarking on the Software Engineering Journey

Getting into the realm of software engineering sounds like becoming a warrior just like in super-hero movies. But when one puts his/her feet in this field, they got to see many paths to follow. Every software engineer is not a master of every direction. One has to choose a single path and start their journey. As it is said: “No one can be everything to everyone, just as no one can know everything about every field”. More or less the most basic sides of software engineering are “front-end” and “back-end”. Let’s know about one of the basic field that is Backend Development.

Understanding Backend Development: An Introduction

To begin with introduction of backend let’s gave you an example of a Restaurant. In a Restaurant, the eye-catching interior, dining tables, and lighting are all served as Font-End (what user see on screen – User Interface). Whereas, the waiters that takes order and serve food act as API’s (specific protocols that transfer information from backend to frontend). Now, the Chefs that works in kitchen prepare orders and provide it to waiters (API’s) are actually known as Backend in terms of software development. Concluding the discussed example, backend processes the incoming requests and generate response in return what the user has asked for. Let’s say, user has clicked on a certain file to download it, the backend first checks if the user has the right to access it and ensures it’s secure. Then, it finds the file, prepares it for download, and sends it to the user while logging the event for record-keeping.

Evolution of Backend Programming Languages

Technology evolves every 6 months, a new programming language or core components came into existence to replace the old ones. Speaking of, since the rise of tech era many different programming languages are introduced. Programmers learn these languages and write their programs in it. Discussing the backend languages, the old ones that are still used are:

• Java: Known for its stability and scalability, widely used in enterprise applications.
• C/C++: Used for system-level programming and high-performance applications.
• PHP: Popular for web development, powering sites like WordPress and Facebook.
• Perl: Used in text processing and older web applications.
• Ruby: Known for Ruby on Rails, still used for building web apps.

Whereas, the new technologies that are on finger tips of most coders are:

• Golang: Valued for its simplicity and high performance in building scalable apps.
• Rust: Known for safety and performance, ideal for system programming.
• Kotlin: Gaining popularity for web backends and Android development.
• Elixir: Built on the Erlang VM, used for highly scalable applications.
• Node.js: Popular for real-time applications due to its non-blocking, event-driven architecture.
• Python: Python is a general-purpose programming language with many different libraries for data processing. For back-end development, Python enhances productivity through its simple syntax and short code length.

Core Components of Backend Processing

To know how backend development works, let’s discuss the core components or events that occur in processing backend. Backend processes and manages data, logic, and operations behind the scenes, enabling frontend to function.

1. Receiving Request: Backend receives request from user through frontend e.g. submitting a form.
2. Processing Logic: It process the request using server-side logic e.g. validating the data, applying business rule, or handling operations.
3. Database: According to the request, it interacts with database for retrieving the data, updating, deleting, or stores the data as per request. As in submitting the form user is storing its information into database.
4. Security Check: Backend validates the authentication and authorization of user to ensure system security and prevents from harmful thefts.
5. Response preparation: backend prepares the processed data in form of JSON or XML to send a structured response to frontend.
6. Sending Response: Response is sent to frontend using API’s (application programming protocols).

Backend Architectures: An Overview

A clear picture of information processing is discussed above. Delving into backend architectures, there are many that are followed according to software need. Some of the architectures are as follow:

• Monolithic Architecture: A single, unified codebase where all components of an application are interconnected.
• Micro services Architecture: A system where the application is divided into independent services that communicate through APIs.
• Server less Architecture: Runs backend code as discrete functions on cloud platforms, triggered by events without managing servers.
• Event-Driven Architecture: Components react to events, allowing for asynchronous processing and scalable, real-time interactions.
• RESTful and GraphQL APIs: The conventional architecture for designing networked applications using standard HTTP methods.
• Layered (N-Tier) Architecture: Divides the backend into layers like presentation, business logic, and data access.
• MVC (Model-View-Controller) Architecture: Separates the application into three interconnected components for better structure.