SO WHAT DOES A DEVELOPER REALLY DO?

When we think of programmers or web developers, we automatically think of coding. Line after line of what appears to be gibberish, only understood by those with the expertise.

In reality, coding is just a small part of the programming world and after speaking to GRADUAN®’s very own Fullstack Developer (we’ll explain what this means), we begin to better understand and appreciate what developers really do.

“A lot of people think that being a developer is a real difficult task but the truth is, with all the resources readily available now, studying programming has become so much easier! There are also so many open source (read: free) software that can help you achieve your programming needs,” our developer explains.

So what exactly does being a programmer involve? Here’s a brief dive into what it takes to develop a software.

CODING
Synonymous with programming, coding is basically the development of software. During the coding process, the programmer communicates with computers using different coding ‘languages’ such as Java, Python, C, C++, C# and many more. According to StackOverflow, the most loved code among programmers is Rust with Python coming in at second. The difference between the codes? Tons. But the most obvious one is the syntax or ‘grammar’ used in the languages.

MANAGEMENT
This part of programming does not require extensive knowledge on IT but rather those involved act as middlemen between developers and stakeholders. Among the jobs of those in the management filed is to estimate the time in which a project can be completed. A lot of the paperwork is done by the management team. The developer believes that “the management team does not usually need to deal with computers as much but it won’t hurt if they did know more on this as it’ll help them better understand what developers need to fulfil requests”

TESTING
After the development process, the system will need to be tested. Our developer describes the testing process as “One of the most important parts of software development. Some firms take about two to three months for the testing process to be completed to ensure even the tiniest details are up to par!” Testers will need to check for bugs and see whether the developers completed the requirements as requested by the stakeholders. “The weight of the burden is mainly carried by the tester,” he emphasises. “If anything goes wrong, the finger of blame will be pointed at the tester before the developer.”

Then there are the different types of developers out there:

FRONTEND DEVELOPERS
The Frontend developer’s job is to convert designs into codes that will in turn be displayed in the interface. Basically, everything you see and click on this website is thanks to the Frontend developer.

BACKEND DEVELOPERS
Unlike the frontend, these guys work behind the scenes. Backend developers ensure that data or services requested by the user through the frontend is delivered. They’re also in charge of core databases.

FULLSTACK DEVELOPERS
They do a bit of both. A jack of all trades.

The three above are only a tiny tip of the iceberg. Other kinds of programmers include mobile app developers, java engineers, data scientists and sooo many more.

So what do programmers really want you to know about their job?

• No, programmers cannot fix the printer; they’re software engineers.
• Programmers definitely cannot hack into the WiFi. First of all, that’s illegal and secondly that falls under cyber security which is a whole different aspect of IT.
• Coming up with a neat website will take some time. Give them a reasonable time frame to get things done.

Like we mentioned earlier, learning to be a programmer has become easier these days so if you’re really interested, you can sign up for courses or learn some basic programming in your own time (check out the net for resources!). There are many job opportunities for a developer so join the community!

Photo by Kobu Agency on Unsplash