DEV Community: Elchin Nasirov

What is a Web Development!

Elchin Nasirov — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 06:49:51 +0000

Web development, also known as web programming is a process of creating web application. Web applications are the web sites that people use everyday, like Instagram, Google, Amazon and etc.
Learning web development is not difficult, people say that it’s the best form of learning coding for beginners. It’s easy to set up, you get instant results and there’s plenty of online resources available. Once you learn how to develop websites, you can not only work as a web developer but also can work as a freelancer or even build a website for your startup.

There are two sides of web development, front-end development and back-end development. Front-end also called client-side development, and back-end is called server-side development.

Let’s starts with the front-end development refers to what users see when they load the web site, like it’s content, design, and how to interact with the website, such as buttons, scroll down menus, forms and etc. This is done with HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

HTML - “Hypertext Markup Language,” is a code used to build web pages and web applications accessed via internet, defining things like headlines and paragraphs, and allowing a developer to embed images, video, and other media. The code was developed at the dawn of the World Wide Web in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The language allows web developers to tell an internet browser how to display elements like images, text, forms, and interactive features.

CSS - “Cascading Style Sheets” with an emphasis placed on “Style.” It comes through and specifies your document’s style—page layouts, colors, and fonts are all determined with CSS. Think of HTML as the foundation (every house has one), and CSS as the aesthetic choices (there’s a big difference between a big mansion and a mid-century modern home).

JavaScript - is a scripting language that enables a web developer to create dynamically updating content, control multimedia, animate images, and pretty much everything else. (Okay, not everything, but it is amazing what you can achieve with a few lines of JavaScript code.)

What about back-end development?
That’s what makes the front end of a website possible and where all that data is stored. The back end of a website consists of a server, an application, and a database. A back-end developer builds and maintains the technology that powers those components which, together, enable the user-facing side of the website to even exist in the first place. In order to make the server, application, and database communicate with each other, back-end developers use server-side languages like PHP, Ruby, Python, Java, and .Net to build an application, and tools like MySQL, Oracle, and SQL Server to find, save, or change data and serve it back to the user in front-end code.

What is Full Stack Web Development?
Full stack development includes pretty much any project where web developer working on (or building) both the front and back-end of a site or app at the same time. Essentially, it’s any web development project that would normally require both a front end developer and back end developer—but instead, a full stack developer fills the role of both.

How to learn web development?
There are many ways to learn web development, and the best way for you will depend on your learning style and the time you have available to devote to learning. Some people prefer to learn by reading books or articles, while others prefer to learn by building projects or taking online courses.

If you are just starting out with web development, you might want to begin by learning the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You can find a lot of resources online that can help you with this, including tutorials, articles, and online courses.

Once you have a basic understanding of these technologies, you can start building your own simple websites and web applications. This will give you the opportunity to practice what you have learned and to apply your knowledge in a practical setting.

As you continue learning and building projects, you can also start exploring more advanced topics such as server-side programming with technologies like PHP or Node.js, or using databases to store and retrieve data.

No matter how you choose to learn web development, the most important thing is to be consistent and to stay motivated. It can take time and effort to become proficient as a web developer, but the skills you learn will be valuable and in demand in the job market.

What is a programming language?

Elchin Nasirov — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 06:07:05 +0000

A programming language is a formal language, which comprises a set of instructions that produce various kinds of output. Programming languages are used in computer programming to implement algorithms which involve a computer performing some kind of computation or algorithm and possibly control external devices such as printers, disk drives, robots, and so on.

Let’s explain it in a different way, as we know as a human being a language has been our primary tool for communication for thousands of years. A language contains words that have meanings and we, humans use it to communicate to each other.

When we look at the computer and study how it works we could see that it’s not much different than human communication. Let’s explain it more deeply, so, computers have two components, first one is hardware and the second one is software. And, programming languages is a communication tool between these two. Thousands of different programming languages have been created, and more are being created every year.

A programming language is a computer language engineered to create a standard form of commands and it is a way of giving computers instructions about what they should do next. These instructions are known as code, and computer programmers write code to solve problems or perform a task. These commands can be interpreted into a code understood by a machine. Programs are created through programming languages to control the behavior and output of a machine through accurate algorithms, similar to the human communication process. The code is pretty much like writing a paragraph of instruction or creating a to-do list to computers. Unlike us humans, the to-do list and instructions you write for the computer have to be extremely detailed and written in some logic. With a programing language use can solve very complicated problems within a second.

Another question is

Where can I use a programming language?

A programming language is used in Web Development, this is a process of building a websites. If you are interested in building a website then you need to learn programming languages, like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, Java, C++ and etc.

It’s also used in Game Development, if you are interested in making a game for mobile phones, tablets, or even gaming consoles, then you need a programming language, like Python, C++, C# and etc.

For Data Science and Machine Learning, if you are interested in Artificial Intelligence (AI) then you need to learn a programming language, like Python, Java, C++ en etc.

In conclusion, we can say that in order to really understand what is a programming language and how it works you need to understand how computers work at least in a basic level. You can read online or watch videos online for free to learn Computer Science concepts. And, if you are willing to learn a programming language, first you need to decide what you are going to make, and then choose specific languages to learn. First language is always difficult to learn, which is normal, it requires a lot of practice, practice, practice. But, after your first programming language second and third languages are going to be very easy to learn.

Every Software Developer should write a blog

Elchin Nasirov — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 03:12:27 +0000

As a software engineer it’s been a couple of years that I’m saying to myself that I’m going to start writing blog posts tomorrow, next week or even next month, but truth is I never did write a single blog post. The reason I didn’t start was, I thought, I’m not an expert of anything, not a famous person, and not good at writing, but a regular software engineer. Therefore, why should I take my time write a post and nobody even read it. That always stoped me starting a blog. But recently, after I read couple of blog posts from programmers and software engineers I changed my mind and decided blogging.

Now, I have many reasons to write blog posts as a programmer, also, I think every software developer should have blog. Let’s see why I decided to write a blog:

Learn faster and improve your technical skills

I learn much faster when I try to explain or to teach somebody. I know this from Computer Science class group work projects from the college, because I still remember everything I tried to explain and show to other group members. Explaining pushes you to learn more about the topic which is good not only for your readers but for your own self as well. Starting a programming blog is very similar to teaching because in your blog you will be teaching the world about programming and computer science.

Market yourself and kick start your career

Your blog will open the doors for various networking and business opportunities that you might not find otherwise. Through the blog, you can get a lot of connections and leads for an upcoming freelance and contractor career. I’m going to tell you a real life example about one of my friends, he started learning Java programming language, and shared his progress on his blog, and he had recruiters sending him job offer that he never applied to, and they found his posts shared online. And, he started his software engineering career even before he finished his Java course.

Document your progress for giving back

How many times a week do you find the perfect StackOverflow article that solves your problem and saves you hours of banging your head against a wall? How many times do you spend hours solving a problem, but no one else ever benefits from your solution?

Even if you write post from time to time, weekly, you can show what kind of challenges you faced, how you solved them, which methods and techniques you used and which one you avoided. After a year when you look back you will see really helpful documents you provided to others with useful insights and show how you approach problems.

Also, people with very little programming experience can much better show how they struggled with certain topics and where are the traps and non-obvious parts compared to experienced programmers. So, people who read your posts won’t fall into the trap that what you wrote about.

Learn how to communicate and present your ideas

Believe it or not but your software career heavily relies on how good you are at communicating and presenting your ideas. Even if you are a good programmer, without a good communication, and presenting yourself your software career won’t shine, and be limited. Also, many programmers claim that writing articles help them also write a better code.

Remove your stress

Disconnect from your daily routine of coding life, give yourself some freedom, be with your thoughts and write about something that you would like to share, share your own opinion, write it down and publish. It will make you feel relaxed.

In general, blogging as a software developer is an amazing way to increase your personality. Writing a blog can boost whatever you do or planning to do. It opens doors where you would never expect them. It worths to try, and see its benefits.