What is the difference between frontend and backend

Imagine we're talking about a person, not software. The interaction between frontend and backend development is similar to the coordinated work of the human body and nervous system. Subcutaneous receptors send information to the brain. It processes the received data and sends a response pulse, causing the body to react.

• Frontend is responsible for how the product looks.
• Backend - for how this product functions.

About communication between clients and servers, or How it works in computer language

There are several clients. Clients can be regular browsers on a computer or mobile device. One of the clients is your computer's browser. You want to get information from the Internet. Make a request: enter your question in the Yandex or Google search engine. A page with the information you need immediately opens.

How does it really work? Your client, aka the browser, sends a request to the server. First, to the user's server - frontend. The frontend server (computer) processes the request, selects a backend server that is currently free, and sends a request to it from the browser. The backend server processes the request, accesses the database, and sends a response to the request back to the frontend server. And the frontend, since it is responsible for user convenience, already displays the response to the request in the form of an HTML page.

Frontend and backend development on the example of creating websites

Web development is the process of creating websites and web applications, which consists of many stages. To understand how it works, let's understand what a website consists of.

Site structure

Any site consists of user and server parts. On a web page, you see text, buttons, panels, images, and videos. You can navigate the site, freely explore the content. Before you is the user part of the site and the result of the work of the frontend developer: visualization, interactivity and understandability of the interface. You see a beautiful design, highlighted buttons and interesting typography, the site is easy to use. But how does it all work from the inside?

The server part, which is hidden from the user, is responsible for the logic, performance and proper functioning of the site. It is created by a backend developer, and only the site administrator can manage it through a special interface.

Any request the user makes is passed to the server. All work is done there. The request is processed, filtered, and the response is sent back. Backend development is responsible for the correct execution of this process.

Let's take an ordinary computer as an example. You can move freely through files and folders, you can delete and change information, add new information, do whatever you want. But access to the server part is closed for you. The computer hides folders with system files so that the user does not do stupid things and does not affect its correct operation. The same thing happens with the site. You only have access to those parts that do not affect its operation. That is, you can use the product, but do not have access to the code.

The server and user parts are interconnected. And they can give a good result, that is, an understandable and functional site, only when they work together.