A web programmer is one of the most trending IT majors. According to forecasts by CareerCast, by 2024, the popularity of the profession will grow by another 24%. In Russia, a site developer receives from 90 thousand rubles for his work, and the upper salary threshold can reach 600 thousand. But money is far from all the benefits. What does a specialist do and how does it feel to be a World Wide Web programmer, read on.
Profession Description
Who is a web programmer? This is a person involved in the creation of the technical part of sites and applications. To make it clearer, open any page in the browser. Everything that you see in front of you was created by the joint efforts of webmasters.
The designer developed a sketch, thought out the color scheme, favicon, the location of the footer and the header. The layout designer translated the designer's ideas into a language that the browser understood and created markup. The contractor filled the resource with text, headers, the necessary information, and at this stage the static version of the site is ready. Why then a programmer?
In order for visitors to interact with a web resource, register in guest books or subscribe to updates, the site must be dynamic. This is exactly what a web programmer does.
Thanks to the efforts of the developer, content is not reflected in static HTML pages, but is generated in the process. The content is formed depending on the HTTP request and the user URL. The site actually "recognizes" its visitors and communicates with them. So, the essence of the profession of a web programmer is to develop interactive websites and applications.
Frontend vs backend
Programmer's activity consists of two stages. The first is the development of the client side or frontend, the second is the backend, that is, the server side of the application.
The frontend includes the entire visible part of the resource, which, after a request, opens in a browser window. Slide shows, drop-down menus, various forms for filling, buttons that respond to pressing. Each interactive element is created by a web developer.
What the web-programmer of the client side of the application should know:
- HTML markup language
- CSS cascading style sheets
- Javascript
Back End-development consists in writing a part of the application that is hidden from the user, located on the server. Backend web programming is much more complicated. It includes work not only with the application itself, but also with the database and server.
To write code, the programmer no longer uses the client HTML and JS, but the server languages Python, PHP, Ruby. Also, backend development involves the use of the following technologies:
- Oracle
- Microsoft SQL Server
- MySQL
- IBM DB2
- Apache
- MongoDB.
This is a relational database management system containing all the information about the site.
Developer Tools
Application development is a complex and painstaking process. To control it, programmers have identified for themselves a set of basic tools.
A text editor is one of the most important elements. Using the editor, the web-programmer interacts with his code, forms the elements of the future site design.
Text editors have their own criteria. The developer simultaneously works with several files. Therefore, the editor should ensure a comfortable and quick use of the file system and code adjustment.
Also, editors come with a graphical interface and terminal, working through the command line. The former, of course, are more convenient, they have hints and syntax highlighting. Among the editors with GIU, Coda, Text Mate, and Sublime Text are most popular.
There are integrated development environments like Eclipse or Visual Studio. They provide quick editing and code management, but are difficult for beginners and include many tools for developing industrial software, rather than web applications.
Programmers use the version control system to create breakpoints in the code that the entire development team sees. At the same time, each project participant works on his fragment, without disturbing others. The most popular are Git, SVN, Mercurial.
The browser is an indispensable assistant to the programmer. Most often for web development, they use the FireFox, Google browsers on the Chromium engine and Safari on the WebKit engine.
Benefits of the profession
Each type of activity has its positive and negative sides, and web-programming is no exception. The obvious advantage of the profession is its relevance. Unemployment does not threaten web programmers. Each self-respecting company or company has its own website with which you need to work and manage it.
Another plus is the salary. Web programmers receive solid salaries, and sometimes earn more than the director of the company. If the requirements, schedule, conditions are not satisfied, the developer can always go into freelance.
In addition to the salaries of the young and energetic, the profession is attracted by the opportunity of self-study. A web programmer does not need an official diploma. All knowledge is on the Internet. For additional education, free platforms and many interactive online courses have been created:
- Codecademy
- Udemy
- Courses from Google
- Coursera;
- Stepic.
For beginner web programmers written a huge number of books that are freely available. The best publishing house for learning the basics of coding is Oreilly. On YouTube, enthusiasts have posted a lot of training videos of any complexity.
Why it's hard to be a web developer
The main disadvantage of the profession of "web programmer" is that it is a sedentary job. Labor is fraught with pain in the wrists, back and lower back, problems with the spine, poor posture. Surely you noticed that most computer scientists wear glasses.
During the development process, the web-programmer interacts with team members, and it is not always possible to reach consensus. Sometimes there are difficulties with customers, who are sometimes far from programming and do not always clearly explain their requirements. Another disadvantage is irregular working hours. When urgent revision and editing of a project is required, programmers spend days on top of the code.
Representatives of this profession have to constantly adapt to the latest trends in technology and engage in continuous self-education. Web programmer is not a profession in which, having reached a certain level, you can rest on our laurels.
The World Wide Web is the most volatile and ever-changing field. Every day new developments, tools appear, web 2.0 turns into 3.0, and the programmer must be aware of all the new products.
Who is this profession suitable for?
You want to become a web programmer, dream of creating interactive applications and live in Silicon Valley. But where is the guarantee that the profession suits you? There is a risk that if you spend thousands of rubles and hours studying, you will eventually be disappointed. This profession is suitable for you if:
- You love the Internet and everything connected with it, notice the subtleties of page design, know what progressive applications are and are interested in the news of the www world.
- We are ready to work in a team, collaborate with designers, project manager, adequately accept the requirements of the customer and management.
- You are diligent and can do monotonous work for a long time, because that is how code writing looks.
- You have a rich imagination, creative taste and you like to come up with something new.
If these statements fully describe you and you are not afraid of upcoming difficulties, then the profession is really for you.
How to become a web programmer
So, you have made up your mind to develop websites and applications. The first thing you should do is pull up your English. It is in this language that free courses are held, libraries and all official documentation are written.
The next step is to learn HTML, CSS and JS. There are two ways to do this:
- On your own, through books, videos, and online platforms.
- With the help of a teacher, enrolling in paid courses.
In the process of training, write simple applications, one-page websites. Be sure to practice and gradually get to know Node.js to implement scripts on the server. Having mastered the frontend, go to the backend, libraries and database.
Server language selection
It is not enough for a web programmer to know one language. In addition to JS, you will need other server languages to write full-fledged applications. According to the TIOBE index, the headliners today are:
- Java
- Python
- C #;
- JavaScript
- PHP, but its ratings are gradually falling.
We recommend staying at Python. It is an object-oriented language with great features. A lot of libraries and modules are written for it. The language has a very simple and clear syntax that is easy to learn in a short time. In Python, not only web applications are written, but desktop programs and even video games.
After choosing a language, learn frameworks for it. They significantly increase application performance and ease the development process. For Python, this is Django, the most popular Laravel framework for PHP in the USA. If you are determined to work with JS, then Angular.js will come in handy.
Promotion of your services
The first thing you need is a portfolio. Gather your work in it, advertise them on social networks and stackOverflow. Be sure to create an account on GitHub with colorful examples of your creations. Potential employers should see what you are capable of. You will also compare your portfolio with others and better understand your weaknesses and what to strive for.
Join large communities of web programmers, communicate on forums and stay up to date with all the news, subscribe to important updates. Register on freelance sites and try to take some simple orders. After creating an impressive portfolio, go to the next level. Take on complex projects, startups, advertise yourself and do not stop learning.