What is Tech Stack? Discover 7 Popular Components of a Tech Stack
Are you new to tech? You have probably heard the word “tech stack” or simply “stack” used in a few tutorial videos during your learning journey. But what do you think is the meaning of tech stack?
Simply put, a tech stack is a collection of technologies brought together to build a software application. It includes programming languages, frameworks, databases, and other related tools. One of the ways to judge a programmer’s expertise is to know which tech stack they use in their work.
7 Components of a Tech Stack
As a business owner, the product you intend to build determines how many layers there will be several layers to your stack. Later in this article, we will outline some popular stack models for chasing a career in tech. For now, here are some of the most popular layers to a tech stack when building a product:
#1. Programming Languages:
The kind of programming language you choose depends on what you want to build, the features you want to optimize for, how flexible you intend your product to be, etc. Examples of programming languages include; Python, Java, Javascript, etc. Another thing that affects the choice of programming languages is the kind of device/operating system you want to build for. Examples of such operating systems include Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS, etc.
#2. Servers:
Servers are basically remote computer systems that help your products to smoothly receive, process, and send requests. They are like a workbench on which your application will control its routing, caching, scaling, and general distribution. There are bigger, more popular services like Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, etc. Careers in this category include Cloud Engineers, DevOps Engineers, etc.
#3. Databases:
Databases allow you to store relational and non-relational or structured and unstructured data in data warehouses while providing a channel for setting up data pipelines to retrieve the data actively. Popular database services include PostgreSQL, MySQL, Azure SQL Synapse, MongoDB, Snowflake, etc. This is where you mostly find Data Engineers.
#4. Frameworks:
Frontend frameworks consist of services (usually based on programming languages) used to build the client side of the product or application. Frameworks here include React, Bootstrap, AngularJS, etc. Other alternatives to frontend frameworks are tools like HTML and CSS. Backend frameworks, however, consist of libraries, programming languages, services, etc., that help to build the server side of a product or application. These internal structures are what determine the application’s features become. Django and Laravel are popular backend frameworks today, and those who specialize in frontend and backend frameworks are called frontend and backend developers, respectively.
Those who use both backend and frontend frameworks are often called Fullstack Developers.
#6. API Services:
API is an acronym for Application Programming Interface. These services help connect your application’s front end to its back end through endpoints. They are also important tools on any developer’s workbench.
#7. Business Intelligence and General Analytics:
Analytics is an often overlooked yet incredibly important part of the tech stack. Whether it is monitoring performance in the different layers of your stack, monitoring customer behavior while using your product, or learning about your intended industry to make smart business decisions. Some important tools in this layer of the tech stack include Google Analytics, Tableau, Power BI, Mixpanel, Datadog, New Relic, etc.
Read Also: What is B Tech?
5 Popular Tech Stack Models Today
Having understood the meaning of tech stack, choosing the right combination of technologies to build your stack is very important. Overall, here are five popular tech stack models in the market:
- MEAN: MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS, and Node.JS
- LAMP: Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP
- MERN: MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.JS
- Flutter for Web: A cross-platform framework based on Dart Programming Language. Flutter builds for Android, iOS, and web applications from the same codebase.
- MEVN: MongoDB, Express.js, Vue, and Node.JS
