Web Stack

What Does Web Stack Mean?

A web stack is a compilation of software applications, often needed for web development, especially for developing web applications and implementing websites. A web stack is a type of solution stack, which is a collection of software for performing specific tasks. Web stacks are critical components for web applications as well as websites.

A web stack is also known as a web application stack.

Techopedia Explains Web Stack

A web stack is usually comprised of:

• Operating system
• Database application
• Programming language
• Web server

The operating system acts as the central interface between the hardware and software components. The web server helps in delivering the necessary documents to the clients who have requested them. Databases help in permanently storing volumes of data needed for the web project. The programming language or the script interpreter operates on the client side and helps realize dynamic web applications of websites. The collection of IT components in conjunction with proper server hardware helps in transferring essential information of the web projects to requesting clients.

Numerous variations are possible with software components in a web stack and can thus serve different application needs. Frameworks also help in expanding the web stack capabilities by providing additional features such as additional programming languages or proxy servers. One of the best examples of a web stack is the open-source bundle LAMP which makes use of Linux as the operating system, Apache as the web server, MySQL as the relational database management system and PHP as the object-oriented scripting language.

Classic web stacks are preferred over JavaScript-oriented stacks for designing and developing multipage web projects. Web stacks also help in improving the performance and stability of the projects, compared to other alternatives.