What are the typical layers in a web technology stack?

A typical web technology stack consists of four layers: the front-end, back-end, database, and hosting environment.

The front-end, also known as the client-side, is the layer that users interact with. It includes everything that users experience directly: text colours and styles, images, graphs and tables, buttons, dropdowns, and more. The main technologies used in this layer are HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is used to structure the content on the web, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is used for layout and appearance, and JavaScript is used for interactive features.

The back-end, or server-side, is where the application, server, and database communicate. The user doesn't interact with these components directly, but they do see the results of this layer's work such as retrieving the correct data, or saving data in the database. The back-end is built using programming languages like PHP, Ruby, Python, Java, and .Net. These languages often run on frameworks that simplify the common tasks of complex web applications.

The database is where all data is stored. It could be user profiles, posts, comments, or any other type of data that needs to be stored and retrieved. The most common type of database is a relational database with SQL (Structured Query Language) being the most popular language for managing and querying data from these databases. However, NoSQL databases like MongoDB are gaining popularity for use cases where a more flexible, scalable system is required.

The hosting environment is where the web application lives. This could be a traditional web host, a cloud-based host, or a company's own data centre. The hosting environment needs to handle the deployment of the application, usually with the help of version control systems like Git. It also needs to manage the scaling of the application to handle increases in traffic.

In summary, a web technology stack is made up of multiple layers, each with its own role and technologies. Understanding these layers and how they interact is crucial for any web developer.