If you don’t know UX, you're not a frontend developer

Published on August 14, 2025 · Duration 01:07:23

Ever wondered how the world of coding has evolved? Or if your choice between tabs and spaces really matters? This week on “Bootstrapped for Cash,” hosts Giorgio Azzinnaro and Iván Peña wrangle five seasoned developers, each boasting decades of experience, to trace the fascinating (and often hilarious) journey of coding. From the ancient days of MS-DOS and Turbo Pascal to the cutting-edge “vibe coding” with AI tools like Cursor, this episode, titled “If you don’t know UX, you’re not a frontend developer,” is part one of a two-part special you won’t want to miss!

Get ready for an engaging Q&A that kicks off with some serious laughs and an unexpected timeline for what they affectionately call “warm-up questions.” Seriously, these warm-up questions run for over an hour!

Meet Our Code Whisperers:

Our panel of experts brings a diverse range of backgrounds and insights to the table:

• Mauro Foresti: A Graduate Electrical Engineer and PhD in Biomechanics, Mauro is a Chief Architect in the financial industry, helping banks navigate the complex migration to the Cloud.
• Juan Sanz: A Software Engineer with an Executive MBA, Juan serves as a Solutions Architect at a major Big Tech company, focusing on Private Equity.
• Marco Fischer: Holding an MSc in Informatics and a Master Thesis from ETH Zurich, Marco is also a Solutions Architect at a major Big Tech company, specializing in the Telecom sector.

These guys have seen it all, and they’re ready to share their war stories, insights, and some unexpected revelations!

Decoding the Past: Learning, Languages, and IDEs

The episode dives straight into memory lane, with guests sharing their earliest coding experiences. Mauro takes us back nearly 40 years to his 11-year-old self, programming in Basic on a Commodore 64 and saving files on cassette tapes! Marco started in the 2000s, messing with Flash and Dreamweaver, hilariously questioning if his CSS endeavors even counted as “proper” coding. Juan kicked off with MS-DOS commands and then, surprisingly, Haskell in university. Meanwhile, Giorgio, a true prodigy, admits to stealing his sister’s C books at just nine years old! Iván, ever the pragmatic, learned through “trial and error,” famously declaring, “I’m not a good reader.”

The discussion then moves to first programming languages and IDEs, conjuring images of Turbo Pascal, Emacs, Eclipse, and the much-dreaded Dev C. Juan recounts the “trauma” of PL/SQL, which thankfully pushed him towards the frontend world. Marco also gets a chuckle for his disdain for Microsoft FrontPage – a true relic of the past!

The Great Debates: Tabs vs. Spaces, Static vs. Dynamic, and the Frontend Frenzy!

As the “warm-up” (ahem!) progresses, the panel tackles some of the most enduring debates in the dev community:

• Tabs or Spaces? Marco firmly says “Tabs,” while Mauro, ever the diplomat, says he doesn’t care as long as there are common team rules. Juan delegates the decision to the IDE (smart!). Giorgio, however, declares “Both!” explaining how Go format uses tabs for indentation and spaces for alignment, making for a truly harmonious coding experience. Iván, on the other hand, just wants his code to “format automatically” or he’ll “panic!” – a relatable sentiment for many!
• Static or Dynamic Typing? Most lean towards static typing for “productive code,” with a collective shrug at the idea of debugging dynamically typed nightmares. The question “What’s debugging?” even gets thrown around, hinting at a world where tests (or AI!) handle the heavy lifting.
• Backend or Frontend? This one gets spicy! While Marco and Mauro appreciate both sides of the stack, Juan declares his preference for backend because it requires “less psychology” and more logic, contrasting it with the constantly changing frameworks and “styling skills” required for frontend. Giorgio and Iván wholeheartedly agree, with Iván humorously stating that “IT people are far from understanding human psychology,” hence their preference for machines. He provocatively suggests that if you crave “satisfaction” and “acceptance” from your community, you should become a frontend developer, as backend efforts often go unnoticed!

Full-Stack Unicorns, CSS Programmers, and the 10x Myth

The conversation doesn’t stop there. They dive into whether “full-stack programmers” truly exist or if they’re just “unicorns.” While they agree they can exist, being truly professional at both backend and frontend is a rare feat. Iván even throws down the gauntlet: “If you are listening to this and you believe that you are a front end front end developer and you don’t know about Cupertino [and] Material Design, at least you know the names, then you should think about it because maybe you are not a front end developer.” Ouch!

In a quick-fire round, the question “Does knowing only CSS make you a programmer?” sparks a moment of chaos, with a resounding “No!” (and one lone “Yes” from Giorgio, quickly clarified to include HTML). Iván then playfully dismisses Gemini, which apparently thinks knowing only CSS does make you a programmer.

The debate around 10x programmers is also hotly contested. Marco believes AI is making the concept obsolete, while Juan emphasizes the power of a team over a single “superstar.” Giorgio highlights that long-term success requires balancing compromises, and Iván points out the obvious: “Even if this 10 times programmer is an asshole and then nobody can work with him or with her with them, then why do you need one?”

Finally, the hosts and guests tackle the eternal struggle between speed and quality. While speed is crucial for getting a product out, the long-term maintainability and overall user experience demand quality. Iván provocatively suggests that “whoever in the world can go to whatever AI code tool and in one day can come up with a product, can go to production with it,” sparking a philosophical discussion on whether coding is purely for profit or a craft to be honed with care.

Don’t Miss Out!

This episode is packed with personal anecdotes, expert insights, and plenty of laughs. You’ll hear the genuine camaraderie and passion these developers have for their craft, even when they’re debating the finer points of indentation or the existential crisis of being a frontend developer.

Listen to Part 1 of “If you don’t know UX, you’re not a frontend developer” now to catch all the fun, and be sure to check out Part 2! You won’t want to miss where these discussions go next.