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by steven_h 4757 days ago
If the stack, LAMP in this case, is Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP/Python? Why shouldn't you need to know about running servers, configuring databases, or other stuff to be a full stack developer?

Linux is the operating system of your server, you should know how to use it. Apache is your web server, you should know how to set it up and configure it. The same for your database MySQL. Obviously you had better know PHP(Python if that's what your P stands for) to develop any software.

I think you're mixing up Full Stack developer with Application developer. The application developer would take PHP and connect to a database to make the application and that's normally that. The full stack developer would set up the servers, configure them, create the application, deploy it, and all that jazz.

I'm not saying one is better than the other. You get more flexibility with a full stack developer but you can get more expertise with an application developer. It all boils down to the opportunity cost of having someone who can do everything well or 2-3 people should all be experts at their part of the puzzle.
1 comments
crazygringo 4757 days ago
I've never heard the term "application developer" in a web context before -- in all the jobs I've looked at and companies I've worked with, the terms have been "front-end", "back-end", and "full stack" which is the combination of the two.

I agree that a full-stack developer should have familiarity with Linux, setting up servers, configuring MySQL in basic ways, and whatnot -- that's what the "backend" part is built on, of course. As you say, they need to be able to deploy an app. But their main job is coding, not administration.

So they only need familiarity with deploying, not expertise -- they should be able to get a few servers running for a startup with load balancing. They should not be expected to know the intricacies of MySQL tuning, network security, Linux security, network management, and so on. You're not going to expect a full-stack engineer to know how to use Wireshark. (Gravy if they do, of course.)

I'm just making the point that full stack does NOT include professional-level systems administration or database administration. A full-stack engineer is not a magical go-to guy who knows everything. It's just front-end plus back-end. It's firmly in the realm of coding, not administration.

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