Common Keywords in Front-end Software Engineering Everyone Should Remember!
To look like an expert in a subject, you have to know a few common keywords, which are nothing but the key phrases in the industry or a topic. Knowing such keyphrases can help people to know more about the topic or look like they know everything whenever they are in a group of people.
For software engineers, there are a few technical terms. These common keywords in front-end software engineering are essential for the freshers looking to build their career. Front-end engineering is a reputable career and has pros and cons.
Even if you are learning front-end skills, knowing the core technical keywords will help you get a grasp of the basics. We know you are eager to know about these keywords about front-end engineering. Let’s talk about the common front-end engineering keywords.
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Common Front-end Engineering Keywords to Remember
Adding these keywords to a front-end engineer’s resume and having knowledge about all of them will give you an upper edge in your career.
#1 – HTML, CSS and JavaScript
The Holy Trinity of Front-end development is HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These three languages form the base of the entire front-end part of the web apps and even some software programs. HTML is HyperText Markup Language, which forms the barebone structure of websites and apps.
CSS is short for Cascading Style Sheets, is another language for styling the barebone HTML making your apps look better than ever. CSS boosts the HTML by improving the overall looks with a variety of UI and UX features. There are numerous libraries or preprocessors of CSS that reduce the coding work and provide structured approach while designing a website.
Adding functionality to the sites and apps? JavaScript is meant for the same. It’s a programming language that is widely used all over the world. According to a survey from StackOverflow, more than 65.82% of professional developers use Javascript. JavaScript is one of the most demanded front-end software engineering skills, and you must know it. JQuery is another form of JavaScript that is commonly used to simplify the coding structure of apps.
Must Have Language Skills
- JavaScript (ES6+)
- TypeScript
- HTML5
- CSS3
#2 – Frameworks
Frameworks are nothing but readymade structures that are meant to make your coding job easier. With the JavaScript frameworks, it becomes easier to code complex apps and software programs with structures.
There are numerous JavaScript frameworks like Angular, Vue.Js, and the most popular, React JS. The main purpose of such frameworks is to speed up the development process. It’s quite easy to make the development process simpler and faster by using the chunks of code provided in the frameworks. The AngularJS framework was developed by Google, and the React framework was developed by Meta, formerly known as Facebook.
There are several CSS frameworks that are commonly used by front-end engineers, not just JavaScript. It’s imperative to choose the right set of frameworks to build software or a web app.
Few Frameworks You Should Learn
- React.js
- Vue.js
- Angular
- Svelte.js
- Tailwind CSS
- SCSS/SASS
#3 – Version Control Systems
While building the software, it’s quite common to have multiple versions of the various components. Managing all the versions of the code becomes difficult at some point. In such cases, version control systems like Git are used to manage all the files and components.
Managing the entire codebase is quite efficient with the version control systems. All of the project members can access and contribute to the codebase. As of now, Git is one of the best and most widely used version control systems used all over the world.
Different Version Control and Collaboration Tools
- Git
- GitHub
- GitLab
- Bitbucket
- JIRA
- Trello
#4 – Applications Protocol Interface ( API )
Application Protocol Interface is the communication protocol between the server and the applications. APIs are very important for the front-end development, as it helps engineers to connect the servers with the softwares.
REST API are quite common in the web development scenario, as they are used in almost all of the web apps. The REST APIs can be used with the various programming languages like Ruby, Python, PHP and also JavaScript. Even though this is primarily used by backend engineers, having deep knowledge of APIS is beneficial for the fronend software engineers.
#5 – Cross-Browser Development
The front-end engineers usually work on the web apps and the software that runs on the browsers. There are numerous web browsers available, and software and websites are being developed that work on all of the browsers. As all of the browsers work differently and interpret code in a different manner, it’s important to make sure the apps work efficiently on all of them.
Be it Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Brave Browser, Opera Browser, or anything else, the main concept is that the software or app should work on all of them.
#6 – Responsive Design
One of the key aspects of the front-end development is responsive design. Majority of the people are using mobile devices to use apps and access websites. Responsive design means the functionality or the resolution of the software programs, apps and website change as per the device resolution.
In this part, the codebase remains the same, but the way it interacts with the different resolutions, device types and system requirements is the core concept essential for front-end development.
Must Know Tools for Responsive Design
- Figma
- Sketch
- Adobe XD
#7 – Performance Optimization
User experience is a part of the front-end development and focusing on the performance optimization helps improve the experience. In performance optimizations, the software engineers have to focus on making webpages or the apps to load faster.
Reducing the size of the pages, reducing the required resources, lazy loading and many other things. Optimizing the performance and making apps and websites more user friendly and improves the user retention.
Must Know Skills for Performance Optimization
- Lighthouse
- Web Vitals
- Lazy Loading
- Code Splitting
- Caching
- Content Delivery Network (CDN)
#8 – Testing and Debugging
No code is perfect, and there can be some bugs and issues. That’s what the testing and debugging has to do. The testing part is conducted to confirm the reliability of the software and websites.
Finding the bugs and fixing them helps engineers to make software or apps more reliable and free of errors. There are numerous types of testing methodologies like Unit Tests, UI tests, and many others.
The engineers have to write the tests that test the entire codebase to errors and issues. The UI and Unit tests are some great skills to have and must have keywords in front-end engineers’ resumes.
#9 – Accessibility
Just like we have special accessibility options for disabled people, websites and apps have to be accessible to everyone. With the accessibility principles, the engineers have to develop websites and apps to accommodate all types of visitors.
There are color blind people, partially blind people, deaf people and people with disabilities, and front-end engineers have to make websites and apps for everyone. As per the protocols provided by W3C Web Accessibility Initiative.
Final Words
Treating the common keywords in front-end software engineering as technical skills is very important for a wonderful career. Be it the education or the resume, engineers have to use these keyphrases in their resumes or career paths.
With the continuous development in the software industry, the engineers must keep themselves updated with the keyphrases. With these common front-end technical terms, you can stay updated with the dynamic world of software engineering.
