What’s the difference between a “software engineer” and “Front-end developer”. For example, if someone is designing the code for Google, who is designing the look of the app?
Like take a popular app like Outlook. I understand that software engineers design the code and stuff, but who decides how it looks, where the reading pane goes and stuff like that.
I googled “Front end developer” and was getting a lot of info about WEB developers, but that isn’t the same right? Like are the same people who design the look of how Microsoft Paint (where the paint brush goes, where the scroll wheel goes, etc), are those the same people that design the menus for a video game?
Are all those people “front end developers”? Are they “designers”?
In: Technology
Good rule of thumb is that a “developer” is someone who writes code. A “designer” usually does not write code but instead uses sketches and drawing tools.
A “software engineer” is just a synonym for “developer,” although some people may be pedantic about trying to make minor distinctions.
A “front-end developer” is someone who is responsible for writing the code that affects how an application looks. This is in contrast to a “back-end developer,” who would be responsible for writing code that makes the application work but not how it looks. For example, a back-end developer on Google Search might be working on code that improves your search results.
Many front-end developers are web developers, but they don’t have to be. Someone writing code that affects how a mobile app looks could also call themselves a front-end developer, for example. You could be more precise by saying “front-end web developer” or “front-end mobile developer.”
Front-end developers may or may not have influence over design. If there is a design team, then they may just code up whatever they are given by the design team. If it’s a small operation and there are no designers, then a front-end developer may also come up with designs.
This is all in general terms of course, things can vary from company to company and roles can be fuzzy.
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