Being a nomad isn't easy, but it's what life has given me. I spent most of my childhood in Balikpapan, Borneo island. It was a lively place with beautiful forest and beach 🏖️. Now, I live in South Tangerang. Life here is more urban and fast-paced. Moving around has been challenging, but each place has given me unique memories and experiences.
You can call me Alkahfi, Kahfi or Alfi.
I really enjoy playing with laptops; this simple reason led me to believe that computer science was the only suitable field of study for me. During college, I learned a lot of programming fundamentals, but not much in-depth technical practice — I wasn’t paying enough attention, though. Programming is like an ocean; you never know how vast it is or where it ends.
In college, I studied programming concepts, languages, databases, problem-solving, tools, software documentation — and, of course, building apps.
In terms of work, programming roles or professions are usually quite specific. I've worked as a Frontend Developer, a role responsible for developing software on the user interface side — the part you see and interact with, such as the input box where you type an Instagram caption. A contrasting role is the Backend Developer, which focuses on developing the server-side application that supports the frontend, such as supplying or storing data.
Here's another example: if your friend likes your Instagram post, that “like” and your friend's username must be saved so that when you open Instagram, your post shows your friend's like.
For the jack-of-all-trades type of role, many call it a Fullstack Developer or Software Developer. These roles require both frontend and backend skills — pretty cool, isn't it?
There are three common types of software: web, mobile, and desktop-based applications. I guess you've used them before. Their main difference lies in where the software is installed. As a frontend developer, we often work on web-based software — applications that run in a web browser (Google Chrome, Firefox, and so on). These can be websites or web applications.
My homepage, the one you're visiting right now, is a website — or rather, a webpage, since it contains a few pages and doesn't have additional functionality. Of course, that doesn't exclude the possibility of building applications that can run across multiple platforms, especially when there isn't a dedicated developer for a specific platform, such as mobile or desktop.
Programmer, Developer, and Engineer are similar roles, though the last one often involves more planning and software design — a more comprehensive scope. On the other hand, Programming, Development, and Engineering refer to the activities themselves. These terms or jargons might not be universally agreed upon, but I hope you get the idea. What really matters is their problem-solving ability — helping humans solve problems through Information Technology.