In that context, I’d call the web app (html, js, css… the stuff that runs in the browser, Angular, React Vue compilations, whatever) the front
The back would be the API server and the database, auth provider, remote services, whatever it’s calling, which the web app calls for the data it uses to populate the UI
I guess we could call the connections between browser and server kinda the line that separates front and back?
The customer (user) goes to the front desk (web app) and makes a connection with a representative (api) who goes back to the warehouse (database) to retrieve the item they requested
So everything the customer is doing is on the “front”, and everything the rep is doing is on the “back”
In practice, “backend” changes meaning depending on context. It’s a relational boundary between two layers of a system.
The most typical meaning I’ve heard is referring to the server side, where front is the web app and back is the API.
But I’ve heard developers refer to the database as the back, implying the endpoints are the front.
And I’ve even heard desktop app developers refer to the app logic as the back, where the UI is the front.
How to simplistically explain a web app and API ?
In that context, I’d call the web app (html, js, css… the stuff that runs in the browser, Angular, React Vue compilations, whatever) the front
The back would be the API server and the database, auth provider, remote services, whatever it’s calling, which the web app calls for the data it uses to populate the UI
I guess we could call the connections between browser and server kinda the line that separates front and back?
Let’s have a fresh look : could we bring in the comparison between the front office and the back office of any organisation ?
Or maybe the place where people sit and order and the kitchen in the case of a restaurant ??
Yeah totally, I dig it.
The customer (user) goes to the front desk (web app) and makes a connection with a representative (api) who goes back to the warehouse (database) to retrieve the item they requested
So everything the customer is doing is on the “front”, and everything the rep is doing is on the “back”