MNRN

Our tech stack is the very tried and true MERN stack, with one exception, instead of Express as our backend, we are using .NET. So the new acronym would be M.RN. Or MNRN. Or NNRM. Unfortunately, it doesn't flow off the tongue as well. Just as exchanging "E" for "." or "N" complicates the acronym, I was worried exchanging Express for .NET will complicate my understanding of our application.

My partner and I decided to split up the backend and the frontend work, with myself as the frontend engineer and him as the backend engineer. That meant we each got to pick which tech we wanted to use. I chose React, and he chose .NET. As we began to build our program, naturally there was some work on the backend that I needed to do, as there will be work on the frontend that he may need to do. As I began with some of the backend work, I continued to run into confusion related to .NET. Confusion leading to feelings of inadequacy which led to frustration. It didn't help that in my attempt to solve certain .NET issues, I would search for the solution as if we were using Express, which always seemed like a simpler solution.

However, as I have worked through those bugs and have begun to familiarize myself with .NET, I realize that it isn't that different from Express or any other API framework. Prior to this project and my exposure to .NET, .NET looked and seemed foreign. Now, it is becoming more familiar and I can say that I have another tool in my tool belt.

As I continue as a software developer, there will be plenty of times (I would say more often than not) that I am be working with, not only a technology that I wouldn't have chosen, but a technology that I don't understand. Often those will be hand-in-hand. Yet it will always be my job to work through that initial frustration, stemming from miss-understanding, so that I can become of more diverse and experienced programmer.