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Concept
Frontend and backend
Summary
In software engineering, the terms frontend and backend (sometimes written as back end or back-end) refer to the separation of concerns between the presentation layer (frontend), and the data access layer (backend) of a piece of software, or the physical infrastructure or hardware. In the client–server model, the client is usually considered the frontend and the server is usually considered the backend, even when some presentation work is actually done on the server itself.
In software architecture, there may be many layers between the hardware and end user. The front is an abstraction, simplifying the underlying component by providing a user-friendly interface, while the back usually handles data storage and business logic.
In telecommunication, the front can be considered a device or service, while the back is the infrastructure that supports provision of service.
A rule of thumb is that the client-side (or "frontend") is any component manipulated by the user. The server-side (or "backend") code usually resides on the server, often far removed physically from the user.
In content management systems, the terms frontend and backend may refer to the end-user facing views of the CMS and the administrative views, respectively.
In speech synthesis, the frontend refers to the part of the synthesis system that converts the input text into a symbolic phonetic representation, and the backend converts the symbolic phonetic representation into actual sounds.
In compilers, the frontend translates a computer programming source code into an intermediate representation, and the backend works with the intermediate representation to produce code in a computer output language. The backend usually optimizes to produce code that runs faster. The frontend/backend distinction can separate the parser section that deals with source code and the backend that generates code and optimizes. Some designs, such as GCC, offer choices between multiple frontends (parsing different source languages) or backends (generating code for different target processors).
Official source
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