Web Application Basics

What is a Web Application?

A web application is a software program that runs on a web server and is accessed through a web browser over the internet.

Components of a Web Application

Frontend (Client-side)

  • The part of the application that users interact with directly

  • Typically built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

  • May use frameworks like React, Angular, or Vue.js

  • Responsible for presenting data and capturing user input

Backend (Server-side)

  • Processes requests from the frontend

  • Implements business logic

  • Manages data storage and retrieval

  • Often built using frameworks like Spring Boot (Java), Express (Node.js), or Django (Python)

Database

  • Stores application data

  • Can be relational (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL) or NoSQL (e.g., MongoDB)

  • Ensures data persistence and enables data retrieval

How They Work Together

  1. The user interacts with the frontend in their web browser

  2. The frontend sends requests to the backend

  3. The backend processes these requests, often interacting with the database

  4. The backend sends responses back to the frontend

  5. The frontend updates to display new information to the user

This cycle repeats as the user continues to interact with the application.