I agree with much of your comment, but take umbrage with:
> the point of the entire backend of an app is to serve the front end
It’s a phoney argument. Once can just as easily say “the whole point of a front end is to provide simple access to the backend, rather than doing it via APIs”.
The whole system is important.
Some backends have appalling frontends and are still popular. The opposite is also true.
I was kinda hoping that the OP would counter with that line and then I would agree and make exactly your point haha. My point was simply that the system is interdependent as opposed to the OP's take that the FE consistency doesn't matter.
I think what he’s trying to say is that to the user of the system, the front end is the system. To a non-engineer its just an app and nobody knows or cares what end goes where.
> the point of the entire backend of an app is to serve the front end
It’s a phoney argument. Once can just as easily say “the whole point of a front end is to provide simple access to the backend, rather than doing it via APIs”.
The whole system is important.
Some backends have appalling frontends and are still popular. The opposite is also true.