Full Stack Developers --- The Modern Jack of all Trade and still master of none
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by
Chris Phillips
As this blog may be particularly controversial I want to point out clearly that this is all my own opinion and not that of my employer or anyone else.
A full stack is everything from the end user interface to the system of record.
When we discuss the advantages of full Stack Developers it starts discussions (arguments) on one of two areas.
- [Full Stack Software Languages]
- [A single Developer who is responsible for building and maintaining the Full Stack]
Though I have my opinions on the Languages used for Full Stack development I am not going to talk about this today.
Traditionally we have experts in a number of camps. Three typical ones are
- [User Interface Design]
- [System of Records]
- [Integrating the two (I consider myself to be in the integration camp).]
As we move forward to the world that a single developer is responsible for all of these they must bring in skills from all camps. The concern I have though is this single developer will not have the depth in any of the three areas. They will know just enough to get it working, or a little more. This means that the important skills such as common user interaction patterns, asynchronous integration or Data Base storage will no longer be there.
Recently I have heard senior architects with 20years experience question why queuing was not used instead of HTTPS for communication between layers and the response they got from their full stack developer was, “What is queuing?”. (This was not at a place I was employed) Though I do agree there are times when HTTPS is better then queuing, it often requires a longer more detailed discussion.
I agree there is a place for Full Stack Developers, however they cannot be seen as the cheap alternative by replacing three existing developers. Full stack Developers need to bring together each of the camps but they cannot replace them alone!
Finally, I am not saying there are no full stack developers out there who are not expert in all camps. But to maintain the required level of skill in such broad areas would be a challenge.
By Chris Phillips on August 31, 2017.
Exported from Medium on April 6, 2019.