In the beginning is the end. But which end?
Front end or back end? I choose to start with both. My decision is bold because it risks violating a much honored principle of web application development. The principle is called YAGNI. Say it again and again: YAGNI, YAGNI, YAGNI. It is Zen. It is Thoreau. It is more with less. It is: “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity” to quote Thoreau who, I admit, would probably not own a computer.
So what is this principle with a wickedly brilliant name? It means: “You Ain’t Gonna Need It!”, so leave it out. Don’t clutter up your app with lots of code that you don’t actually need for your app just because you think you might need that code later on.
So why create back end code right away when you may not actually need it or won’t actually need it for a while? I do like YAGNI. It makes me feel like I’m sitting by a rock garden drinking green tea and meditating. But, and yes there is a but, I’ve got a reason for also starting out with the back end. And that reason is. . .well, you’ll have to wait until the next post.