Server-side work.
WHAT IT COVERS
Handling requests Business logic Data storage and retrieval Authentication and authorisation Integration with other systems Background and scheduled work
WHAT IT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT THE FRONTEND IS NOT
Anything requiring trust: authorisation, pricing, secrets, correctness of data.
WHY
Everything in the browser is under the user's control.
WHAT LANGUAGES ARE COMMONLY USED
Several, each with established frameworks.
WHAT TO CHOOSE ON
What your team knows What your hosting supports What the problem requires What is maintainable
WHAT NOT TO CHOOSE ON
Novelty, or benchmarks unrelated to your workload.
WHAT EVERY BACKEND NEEDS
Input validation Error handling Logging Configuration outside the code A way to be deployed and reverted
WHAT TO ESTABLISH EARLY
Where it will run, and what that environment supports.
WHY
It constrains what you can build.
