Back-end languages

- When users visit websites, each receives a slightly different experience depending on the data stored by those websites. Web developers, especially backend specialists, need to be able to work with databases. To do this they'll need to know data languages like Structured Query Language which is also called SQL. And this is a popular way to store and retrieve information. Now you may hear SQL pronounced as sequel. There are many variants but they're pretty similar. There's another important category of databases that you should be familiar with. They're called NoSQL, and you can tell by the name that they're very different than SQL. Now sequel databases have clearly defined structures which is sometimes referred to as the schema. In contrast, NoSQL databases are the hippies of databases. They have like no pre-defined structure and store information in dynamic schemas. I know if you're an organized person like me, you're probably thinking how can all this disorder be any good? NoSQL databases can actually be faster and more efficient because some of that structure in sequel ends up as overhead and makes them run slower. Now on the other side of databases, you need a language that can take the data and merge it with templates to display customized info. They are languages like PHP, Node.js, .NET and Ruby on Rails that combine templates with data and build custom pages for each user. The set of tools that each company uses is often called the Stack and it varies sometimes even between different projects. Some stacks can become their own specialized platforms. The most famous of these is WordPress. Which started out as a blogging platform but has grown to let you build full website infrastructures. New web developers need to study at least one structured database language. One NoSQL language and at least one language for merging that with templates. Now this is one place where your choices can affect where they work. I suggest starting with PHP and then explore some of the other options like Node.js, .NET, or Ruby on Rails. Also WordPress is so popular that it powers 30% of the web. So you should at least know how to set it up. Now entire businesses are built around the WordPress stack. It pays to be flexible when you're starting out but once you make some decisions it will pay even more to develop deep knowledge in one environment.