What does a tech stack mean?
Tags: beginners, programming, stacks, techstacks
Published: 2022-08-06 11:31:00

As a beginner starting in tech, it is easy to get confused about the issue of tech stacks. You don't grasp the concept properly despite hearing it from experienced individuals. Is it just front-end, back-end, and full-stack? Let's discuss that in this article. 

## What Is A Tech Stack?

- A tech stack is a combination of technologies used to build an application. It is also known as a solutions stack.

- A tech stack is usually a combination of programming languages, frameworks, libraries, databases, and other technologies needed to build an application. Most tech stacks combine front-end and back-end technologies to develop full-stack applications.

- Web stacks can belong to one of three tech stacks. We have the front-end stack, the back-end stack, and the full-stack stack. 

### Front-end Stack
The front end of an application is the UI of the application when you look at it from a basic level. It is also called the client-side of an application. 
It is the part of an application that users see and interact with. Things such as clickable buttons, comment boxes, e.t.c. are part of the front end of an application. 
The front-end stack is the combination of technologies used to build the client-side of the application.

On a basic level, the front-end stack consists of **HTML, CSS, and JavaScript**. However, technologies such as ReactJS, AngularJS, VueJS, e.t.c. have been introduced to make the work easy and more scalable.

### Back-end Stack
In an application, the back-end refers to the server side, responsible for providing data to the front end on request (this can be as 'simple' as clicking a button). Users do not have access to the back-end of the application.

### Full-stack Stack
The full-stack stack is a combination of the front-end stack and the back-end stack. Most applications are full-stack applications.

You should notice already that a front-end stack isn't the same as a front-end role. It is also different from the definition of the front end of an app. The same thing goes for a back-end stack. Does this mean that choosing a front-end or back-end role isn't the same as picking your stack? You bet it does! Keep reading.

## Are There Pre-defined Tech Stacks?
Now that you know what tech stacks are, you're probably wondering how to decide on a tech stack. To solve this, several efficient stack models exist for developers to decide on a tech stack for themselves. Let's discuss some of these stack models in this article.

 **1. MERN Stack**: MERN is a short form for MongoDB, ExpressJS, ReactJS, and NodeJS.

- [**MongoDB:**](https://www.mongodb.com/docs/) This is the database in the stack. It is a NoSQL database and can store data in [JSON](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/JSON) format.

- [**Express Js:**](https://expressjs.com/en/starter/installing.html): This is the back-end technology in the stack. It runs on NodeJS.

- [**React JS:**](https://reactjs.org/docs/getting-started.html) React JS is a JavaScript library used to create front-end or user interface components of [Single Page Applications (SPAs)](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/SPA).

- [**NodeJS:**](https://nodejs.org/en/docs/) This is a runtime environment capable of running JavaScript on a machine.

This stack is quite popular among developers around the world. 

### Advantages of the MERN Stack

- **Open Source:** All of the technologies used in the MERN stack are open source. It means they are constantly improved. It also means the technologies have large communities that can aid your learning process.

- **Easy To Use:** Because most of the technologies used in this stack already have community support, it is relatively easy to learn them. Most of these technologies also have good documentation and articles written about them.

- **Flexibility and Performance:** The MERN stack is known to be used to create high-performance apps. It is also relatively easy to maintain apps built with this stack.

Other stacks similar to the MERN stack are the MEAN stack and MEVN stack. 
Both of these stacks use the same technologies as the MERN stack. Their differences lie in the front-end technology they use. 
The MEAN stack uses [AngularJS](https://docs.angularjs.org/guide), while the MVEN stack uses [VueJS](https://vuejs.org/guide/introduction.html) as their respective front-end technologies.

**2. Python-Django Stack:** The Python-Django stack is a web stack built on the Python programming language.

- It makes use of [Django](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.0/) as the back-end technology.

- It uses [Apache](https://httpd.apache.org/docs/) or [Nginx](https://docs.nginx.com/) as the server.

- It can make use of [MySql](https://dev.mysql.com/doc/) as the database. However, The choice of the database depends on the project you are building.
 
### Advantages of the Python-Django Stack

- **Easy to learn:** The Python-Django stack uses python as the programming language. [Python](https://www.python.org/doc/) is a language that is very easy and simple to grasp. It is as well the most human-readable language. Learning python is a good start for beginners.

- **Scalability:** Django is a highly scalable framework. It can handle applications that have millions of users. Django can be used to build full-stack solutions (together with HTML and CSS) and can also be used to create APIs for front-end technologies like ReactJS to call.

- **Cost Effective:** Due to its high scalability, Django makes it easy to reduce the cost of web hosting and maintenance. You can read more about the advantages of Django in [this article](https://datafloq.com/read/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-using-django/).

**3. LAMP Stack:** LAMP is an acronym for Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP/Python/Perl. It is a back-end stack that is secure, flexible, and customizable.

- It makes use of Linux as the operating system.

- It makes use of Apache as the server.

- It uses MySQL as the database.

- It also uses PHP, Python, or Perl as the programming language(s).

### Advantages of the LAMP Stack

- **Easy customization:** The LAMP stack uses the Linux operating system. It makes it easy for users to customize components and make them suitable for their projects.

- **Open source:** Like other tech stacks mentioned in this article, the LAMP stack is an open-source tech stack with a great community. 
[This article explains the LAMP stack in detail](https://phoenixnap.com/kb/what-is-a-lamp-stack).

Another stack similar to the LAMP stack is the WAMP stack. The only difference is the operating system. WAMP makes use of Windows OS as the operating system.

### Conclusion.

In this article, we discussed what tech stacks are, some of the different tech stacks available, and examples of tech stack models.
Let me know in the comments if this article was helpful to you in any way.