Boot.dev Blog - Pg. 5

Is Golang Best For Backend or Frontend Development?

Dec 19, 2022 by Natalie Schooner

Put simply, Golang is best for the backend side of a web application or website. There are many reasons that this is the case, so let’s dive in, but before we do, let’s cover some quick definitions.

What do Frontend and Backend Development Mean?

Dec 13, 2022 by Natalie Schooner

Soon after you dip your toe in the water of software development, you’re guaranteed to come across the terms “frontend” and “backend”. There are also frontend and backend developers, but what’s the difference? What do frontend and backend mean?

Snake Case or Camel Case? A Guide to Programming Naming Conventions

Dec 09, 2022 by Lane Wagner

The following names are all valid variable names in nearly every programming language: dogName dog_name DOG_NAME dog-name But which one should you use in your projects? Let’s chat about the popular naming conventions used in programming, and why you might choose one over another.

What is Backend-as-a-Service?

Dec 05, 2022 by Natalie Schooner

Plenty of people have heard of SaaS, or Software-as-a-Service, which is simply software made available by a third party over the internet. Think Salesforce, WordPress, or MailChimp. And most people know what a “backend developer” is, that is, someone who is responsible for things building server-side systems like user authentication and data storage.

Boot.dev Beat. November 2022

Nov 30, 2022 by Lane Wagner

I hope you’ve enjoyed your pumpkin spice lattes this fall, that is, assuming that you’re basic like me. The meme about programmers and their coffee will never be cliche right? Hope you enjoy this month’s issue.

The Top 22 Backend Technologies to Learn in 2023

Nov 16, 2022 by Natalie Schooner

A backend technology is anything used server-side to build stable and efficient web architectures. Back-end technologies include programming languages, databases, communication mechanisms, or frameworks that make up the building blocks of a web application’s back-end.

Add Libraries and Packages to Your Coding Portfolio

Nov 13, 2022 by Lane Wagner

Building a job-ready portfolio of coding projects doesn’t happen overnight, but if you’re like most self-taught developers, you’ve likely built up a nice collection of todo apps, calculators, and other toy programs. Here’s the thing, applications for end-users are great, but I’m here to convince you that adding a library to your portfolio will make you much more hireable.

How to Round a Float in Go

Nov 13, 2022 by Lane Wagner

If you’re rounding a floating point number in Go, it’s most likely you want to format it in a string. Use the built-in fmt.Sprintf() function.

What do Tech Layoffs Mean for Budding Developers?

Nov 11, 2022 by Lane Wagner

So we’re officially in a recession, and now the question is, “what does a recession mean to me as a brand-new developer?”. It’s scary stuff. As you can see in this chart, tech stocks are getting hit hard.

The 8 Top Back-end Programming Languages for 2023

Nov 10, 2022 by Natalie Schooner

A backend programming language is what a programmer like you uses to create internal systems that work in the background of a web application. Backend developers make a lot of money and are growing in popularity and desirability.

What is a DevOps Engineer's Salary?

Nov 01, 2022 by Natalie Schooner

The median DevOps engineer’s salary is $103,994 in base pay, with around $28,514 in additional pay through bonuses, commissions, and profit sharing according to Glassdoor. Salary.com estimates the average is closer to $125k, while BuiltIn puts the average closer to $128k in base pay, with an additional $15k in cash compensation.

Boot.dev Beat: October 2022 Edition

Oct 31, 2022 by Lane Wagner

Happy Halloween! We released a ton of new stuff on Boot.dev this October, and I’ve had a blast figuring out new mediums and tools we can use to create content. Anyhow, here’s to a great November glass clink. If you ever want to connect with me personally you can just reply here, I’d love to chat.

How Much Do Backend Developers Make?

Oct 25, 2022 by Natalie Schooner

The short answer? On average, backend developers make either $82,462, $95,472, or $104,865 per year in base pay depending on who you ask. (I asked Glassdoor, Indeed, and Salary.com respectively.) StackOverflow uses medians instead, and their survey suggests the backend developers actually make upwards of $150,000 per year.

Trends in Developer Jobs: A Meta Analysis of Stack Overflow Surveys

Oct 24, 2022 by Lane Wagner

I’m really interested in the trends we see in the software engineering job market. Sometimes it’s really hard to tell a cohesive and accurate narrative about what’s happening because it just happens so dang fast, and very few people are collecting data on the matter.

Makefiles to improve your life

Oct 19, 2022 by Casper Andersson

During development you may sometimes notice you run a lot of commands to set up, build, test, and manage your project. Sometimes, these end up requiring several steps, or you have trouble remembering the exact command. One way to manage this is to set up aliases in your shell configuration. While this would work fine for yourself and for a single build system, it would not be possible to share it in a convenient manner.

The 6 Best Backend Project Ideas for Beginners

Oct 19, 2022 by Natalie Schooner

Want to become a backend developer? Not surprising. Backend developers enjoy an average base salary of $160k per year, not to mention comprehensive benefits. And best of all? You no longer need a four-year degree to learn backend development. With the help of some of the best backend projects, you can prepare yourself for a backend development job in about nine months, even if you’re a total beginner.

All the Kinds of Functions in Python

Oct 13, 2022 by Eteims

Functions are one of the most versatile tools in any Python programmer’s toolbox. They enable code reuse and provide a form of abstraction. Python offers many different types of functions. In this article, I will be discussing the different types of functions you will encounter as a Python developer.

Should You Learn Front-end or Back-end Development First?

Oct 13, 2022 by Lane Wagner

So you want to get into web development, and you keep hearing about “front-end” and “back-end” positions. The question is, which should you learn first? As someone who’s held both front-end and back-end positions, and even been a hiring manager, read on and I’ll give you my thoughts.

The 7 Best Backend Bootcamps of 2022

Oct 11, 2022 by Natalie Schooner

So you’re looking for the very best backend bootcamp of 2022. You’re not alone – most backend engineers earn over six figures according to Glassdoor, plus they have wide and varied job prospects. It’s a good gig.

Full-Stack Ops: Back-end and DevOps Roles are Merging

Oct 10, 2022 by Lane Wagner

It’s time for some speculation on my part 🔗 I believe that the job duties of “back-end” and “DevOps” engineers will coalesce to include almost everything that “the user doesn’t see”. There will still be room for specialization, but these roles will become less distinguishable overall.

CI/CD Isn't Just About Efficiency

Sep 26, 2022 by Lane Wagner

DevOps principles, and CI/CD specifically, are generally presented as a more efficient way to run a software development organization. While I hold the belief that CI/CD is more efficient and effective than manually testing and deploying code, I’d like to talk about something we don’t bring up quite as often.

Backend Engineer vs Data Engineer: What's the Difference?

Sep 21, 2022 by Natalie Schooner

The sexiest job title of the decade, data scientist, has spawned about a dozen equally sexy but somewhat confusing and overlapping job titles. The primary offshoot of a data scientist is a data engineer. Let’s talk about the difference between a data engineer and a back-end engineer, because frankly, the lines can get quite blurred.

Do Better in Coding Interviews by Being Confident and Humble

Sep 20, 2022 by Lane Wagner

I think we often do a great job of flogging the dead horse of whiteboarding problems when giving coding interview advice. Heck, that’s what I’ve dedicated the entirety of Boot.dev to. While the hard skills you’ll need to be able to solve technical interview problems are necessary, it’s also critically important to work on your soft skills.

New 'Learn SQL' Course Launched on Boot.dev

Sep 19, 2022 by Lane Wagner

I’m happy to announce that today we launched our new Learn SQL course! It was a ton of fun to write, but I also had a blast building the back-end infrastructure that allows students to write and execute SQL in the browser. If you’ve been wanting to gain a solid foundation of SQL skills, this course is for you!

The More Mentors, The Better (When Learning to Code)

Sep 13, 2022 by Lane Wagner

Vim or VS Code? Tabs or spaces? Rails or Django? The world of programming is fraught with decisions to be made. Sometimes experienced developers are able to share their beliefs in a somewhat objective way. That said, we’re all human, and opinions can come across as gospel when we’re not careful.