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>The idea of fullstack isn't that you have no preference at all between backend or frontend, but that you can do both. Either front/back specialist can google

>The idea of fullstack isn't that you have no preference at all between backend or frontend, but that you can do both. Either front/back specialist can google things these days and "do" both sides. If the only goalpost is simply "doing" front or back end, then that just backs my argument that fullstack is kinda BS. The impression I've always been given is that fullstack was good at both, not simply "able to write something that works" in both. This qualification is important because... >Just because we don't have a name for it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. ... the name for it has always been "doing extra work without getting appropriate compensation".

iends 8y ago
What does "good at both" even mean? Where I come from it's "good enough given our time and resource constraints" and generally that's a business decision and not a technical one.
ryanbrunner 8y ago
I think it might mean things to different companies, but in most places I've worked, there's definitely a feeling that either front-end or back-end developers should try to limit how much they modify "the other sides" code. It isn't just a question of capability, if your organization is set up with front-end and back-end developers Conway's law is going to result in a fairly separate front end and back end world that is worked on almost exclusively by the "right" kind of developer - similarly to how most developers will stop designing anything as soon as someone with "Design" in their title joins the company.
- pseudalopex 8y ago
  Conway's law says that your design will reflect your communications structure. Front and back end teams will produce front and back end systems. B2B and B2C teams will produce B2B and B2C systems. People have different skills and interests, so even a 100% "full stack" team tends to develop unofficial silos unless management prevents it.

iends 8y ago

What does "good at both" even mean? Where I come from it's "good enough given our time and resource constraints" and generally that's a business decision and not a technical one.

ryanbrunner 8y ago

I think it might mean things to different companies, but in most places I've worked, there's definitely a feeling that either front-end or back-end developers should try to limit how much they modify "the other sides" code. It isn't just a question of capability, if your organization is set up with front-end and back-end developers Conway's law is going to result in a fairly separate front end and back end world that is worked on almost exclusively by the "right" kind of developer - similarly to how most developers will stop designing anything as soon as someone with "Design" in their title joins the company.

pseudalopex 8y ago
Conway's law says that your design will reflect your communications structure. Front and back end teams will produce front and back end systems. B2B and B2C teams will produce B2B and B2C systems. People have different skills and interests, so even a 100% "full stack" team tends to develop unofficial silos unless management prevents it.