Mobile development is a blend of both frontend development and backend development which means mobile development is full stack development.
The front-end of the mobile application represents the user interface while the backend encompasses the functionalities of the entire application.
To become a mobile developer, you need to have a solid understanding of both frontend and backend mobile development.
In this article we will analyze the frontend and backend aspects of mobile development, then present a comparison between the two.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
The Frontend Aspect of Mobile Development
Frontend is the implementation of UI/UX provided by the designer. It is the interaction between the user and the application.
A frontend developer is responsible for converting the UI/UX into interactive user experience through writing lines of code.
In mobile development, front-end is responsible for defining the user experience.
In simpler words, the user interface of the applications we see on our mobile phones is what we refer to as the front-end of the application.
There are different types of mobile phones: android phones and iPhones.
For developing the frontend applications interface across these two device types, we employ the use of different frontend technologies. These technologies include flutter, angular, react, XML and others.
A simple example!
Consider a mobile application, let’s use Youtube.
The visible homepage that displays the videos, menus, playlist and search bar are all the front-end aspects of mobile development.
“Frontend and Backend are interdependent in mobile application”
The Backend Aspect of Mobile Development
Backend is the functionality of the mobile application.
It includes the working of an application, database and server connections.
It is a necessary part or the backbone of the application upon which the proper functioning of the application depends.
A backend developer is responsible for writing lines of code for the server which includes proper optimization of the database, data processing and implementation of application programming interface (APIs).
The backend communicates with the frontend and performs the user’s request.
It is the deployment and maintenance of the application on the server side.
A simple example!
Imagine placing an order on a mobile app, as soon as the “place order” button is clicked, it sends requests to the server which processes you order behind the scenes and returns a successful check-out message or an error message depending on certain factors.
This development of this behind-the-scenes process that handles such requests, transactions, information/data storage and retrieval is what is referred to as backend mobile development.
To become a backend mobile developer, you should focus on backend technologies like node.js, MySQL, Mongo db, nginix, Java, Objective C.
“If frontend is the design and user interface of an application then backend is the backbone of an application. These two together result in mobile development.”
Frontend Vs Backend
| FRONTEND MOBILE DEVELOPMENT | BACKEND MOBILE DEVELOPMENT |
|---|---|
| It refers to client-side applications | It refers to server-side applications |
| Users can see and interact directly with the frontend | Users can’t either see or interact directly with the backend |
| Frontend involves colors, fonts and images. | Backend involves authentication, security, maintenance and scalability. |
| The frameworks used are Vue.js,React.js, Angular.js | The frameworks used are Laravel, Django, Flask |
| FRONTEND MOBILE DEVELOPMENT | BACKEND MOBILE DEVELOPMENT |
|---|---|
| It refers to client-side applications | It refers to server-side applications |
| Users can see and interact directly with the frontend | Users can’t either see or interact directly with the backend |
| Frontend involves colors, fonts and images. | Backend involves authentication, security, maintenance and scalability. |
| The frameworks used are Vue.js,React.js, Angular.js | The frameworks used are Laravel, Django, Flask |
A Quick Guide on Mobile Development
There are various platforms on the internet to study frontend mobile development or backend mobile development or full stack mobile development.
However, as technology advances, newer language versions are released and these platforms quickly get outdated.
Thankfully to our readers here at Website Hurdles, we’ve surveyed multiple learning platforms and online courses to pick out only the ones that’s worth your time and money.
Dr. Angela Yu’s course on Udemy: iOS & Swift – The Complete iOS App Development Bootcamp does perfect justice to learning iOS mobile development and sets you on the right track.
If you wish to learn freely on the internet, then you can check out developer android.
Conclusion
Mobile development consists of both frontend and backend development.
While frontend represents the user side of the application, backend is the application server side.
The technologies are different for frontend and backend and even different for the android application development and iOS application development.
You can choose to be a frontend mobile developer or a backend mobile developer.
You can also become a full stack mobile developer: which is someone with sound knowledge of both frontend and backend mobile development.
If you are starting a career in mobile development, then see our recommended Udemy learning course as it points you in the right direction.
And It’s a wrap!
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