Frontend
The frontend is an application’s user-facing interface. Helpful browser feedback does not replace authoritative server-side checks.
The part people operate directly
The frontend is the part of an application with which people interact directly. In a web application, this includes page structure, input fields, navigation and browser feedback. The interface presents information and receives user actions.
In a fictional ordering portal, the frontend shows the entered quantity and flags missing information beside the field. The server must check whether the order is permitted and which customer price applies. Values shown in the browser are not trusted approval for those decisions.
Frontend therefore means more than visual design. Understandable errors, keyboard operation and behaviour while a request is pending also belong to it. The backend handles the corresponding server-side tasks; the two parts must work together correctly.
Sources
Related terms
- BackendThe backend handles an application’s server-side rules and data. It is more than a database or an administration screen.
- HTMLHTML describes the structure and meaning of web content. It identifies elements such as headings, tables and input fields.
- CSSCSS describes the presentation of structured content, including layout, colours and typography. It must fit interaction and actual content.
- JavaScriptJavaScript is a programming language for application logic, in browsers and elsewhere. Its role differs from HTML and CSS.
- Legacy systemAn existing system still in use, with technical and business dependencies accumulated over time.
- Multi-tenancyMulti-tenancy supports separate customer or group scopes in one solution. A tenant is not automatically one person or one database.
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