Front and Back Ends

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What Does Front and Back Ends Mean?

Front and back ends refer to the beginning and ending points that delineate computer hardware and user layers. The front end works at the top layer and interacts directly with end users. The back end refers to indirectly linked devices that respond to end user activities or requests, e.g., routers, network servers and e-mail servers.

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Techopedia Explains Front and Back Ends

Front and back ends are the beginning and ending points of any software or network processing system.

The front end, which is the hardware device that protects the computer from traffic, is placed at the network link’s outer boundary. The back end is comprised of routers and/or servers (e.g., database and Web). Front and back ends have a broad application scope. The application’s front end receives direct user input, and the back end collects and manages user-inputted data.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.