What does the name of the course, Full stack web development, mean? Full stack is a buzzword that everyone talks about, but no one knows what it means. Or at least, there is no agreed-upon definition for the term.

Practically all web applications have (at least) two "layers": the browser, being closer to the end-user, is the top layer, and the server the bottom one. There is often also a database layer below the server. We can therefore think of the architecture of a web application as a kind of stack of layers.

Often, we also talk about the frontend and the backend. The browser is the frontend, and JavaScript that runs on the browser is frontend code. The server on the other hand is the backend.

In the context of this course, full-stack web development means that we focus on all parts of the application: the frontend, the backend, and the database. Sometimes the software on the server and its operating system are seen as parts of the stack, but we won't go into those.

We will code the backend with JavaScript, using the Node.js runtime environment. Using the same programming language on multiple layers of the stack gives full-stack web development a whole new dimension. However, it's not a requirement of full-stack web development to use the same programming language (JavaScript) for all layers of the stack.

It used to be more common for developers to specialize in one layer of the stack, for example, the backend. Technologies on the backend and the frontend were quite different. With the Full stack trend, it has become common for developers to be proficient in all layers of the application and the database. Oftentimes, full-stack developers must also have enough configuration and administration skills to operate their applications, for example, in the cloud.

This course serves as an introduction to modern web application development with JavaScript. The main focus is on building single page applications with ReactJS that use REST APIs built with Node.js. The course also contains a section on GraphQL, a modern alternative to REST APIs. The course covers testing, configuration and environment management, the use of databases for storing the application’s data amongst other things. The course is totally free of charge. You can get a certificate and even the University of Helsinki ECTS credits for free. The course is worth 5-14 credits, and the content is the same as in the Full stack course held at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Helsinki in Spring 2023. There is also an associated project that is worth 1-10 credits. Partners and affiliates of the course include Houston Inc, Terveystalo, Elisa, Unity Technologies and Konecranes. See here for guest lectures on course-related topics given by various experts from our partners and affiliates. Participants are expected to have good programming skills, basic knowledge of web programming and databases, and to know the basics of working with the Git version-control system. You are also expected to have perseverance and the ability for independent problem solving and information seeking. Part 0 of the course material goes through the content and conduct of the course in more detail. Make sure to read the material and instructions thoroughly. You can discuss the course and related topics in our dedicated group on Discord and on Telegram. Please join the conversation!