Backend Development

Introduction to Node.js:

• What is Node.js? Why use Node.js for backend development?
• Install Node.js and use the Node Package Manager (NPM).
• Basic Node.js environment setup
• Overview of the Node.js Event Loop and Non-Blocking I/O.
• Introduction to core Node.js modules: `fs`, `path`, `http`, `URL`.

JavaScript Refresher:

• Variables, Data Types, Operators.
• Functions, Arrays, Objects.
• Understanding scope, closures, and `this`.
• Asynchronous JavaScript
• Callbacks, Promises, and `async/await`.
• Error handling in asynchronous code.

Working with HTTP in Node.js:

• Creating an HTTP server with the `http` module.
• Routing basic requests and responses.
• Creating a basic RESTful API with Node.js.

Practical:

• Build a simple “Hello World” API using Node.js.
• Implement a small app that reads and writes files asynchronously using the `fs` module.

Introduction to REST:

• What is REST? Understanding REST principles (Statelessness, Resource-based URIs).
• HTTP Methods: `GET`, `POST`, `PUT`, `DELETE`.

Building RESTful Routes:

• Setting up routes using the `http` module or Express.js.
• Understanding route parameters and query parameters.
• Handling JSON requests and responses with `express.json()`.

CRUD Operations:

• Create, Read, Update, Delete operations in a RESTful API.
• Implementing CRUD operations using Express.js.

Basic Error Handling:

• Using `try/catch` blocks.
• Creating custom error messages.
• Handling 404 and 500 errors.

Practical:

• Build a RESTful API for managing a simple resource (e.g., tasks or products).
• Implement CRUD operations using Express.js, with error handling for each operation.
• Test API endpoints using Postman or curl.

 Introduction to Databases:

• What is a database? SQL vs. NoSQL databases.
• Introduction to MySQL (SQL) and MongoDB (NoSQL).

Working with MySQL (SQL):

• Setting up MySQL database.
• Using the `mysql2` library to connect Node.js with MySQL.
• Performing basic SQL queries (SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE).
• Setting up a simple CRUD API using MySQL.

Working with MongoDB (NoSQL):

•  Introduction to MongoDB and Mongoose (ODM for MongoDB).
• Setting up a MongoDB database.
• Performing CRUD operations with Mongoose.
• Introduction to schema design in MongoDB.

ORM/ODM:

•  Introduction to Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) and Object-Document Mapping (ODM).
• Setting up Sequelize (SQL ORM) for Node.js.
• Using Mongoose for MongoDB operations.

Practical:

• Build an application with both SQL and NoSQL database connections.
• Implement CRUD operations for the same data in both MySQL and MongoDB.
• Compare the different approaches for structuring data in SQL and NoSQL.

Introduction to Authentication & Authorization:

• Difference between Authentication and Authorization.
• Why use JWT (JSON Web Tokens) for authentication?

   User Authentication:

• Implementing user sign-up and login with Express.js.
• Introduction to Passport.js for handling authentication.
• Storing user passwords securely with bcrypt.

JWT Authentication:

• How to generate JWT tokens for user sessions.
• Protecting routes with JWT and middleware.
• Token expiration and refresh tokens.

Role-based Access Control (RBAC):

• Implementing role-based access control in a Node.js application.
• Protecting routes based on user roles (admin, user, etc.).

Practical:

• Create a login and registration system using JWT.
• Implement middleware for role-based authentication (e.g., only admins can access certain routes).
• Secure your API with token-based authentication.

Understanding Middleware:

• What is middleware? How does it work in Express.js?
• Built-in middleware in Express.js (`express.json()`, `express.urlencoded()`).
• Creating custom middleware for logging, validation, etc.

Advanced Error Handling:

• Handling asynchronous errors in Express.
• Custom error handling middleware.
• Sending appropriate HTTP status codes and error messages.

Request Validation:

• Using libraries like `Joi` or `express-validator` for input validation.
• Handling bad requests and sending meaningful error responses.

Logging Requests:

• Logging requests with `morgan` or `winston`.
• Understanding request life cycle.

Practical:

• Implement custom middleware for logging and authentication.
• Create custom error-handling middleware.
• Validate request bodies with `express-validator`.

Testing Node.js Applications:

• Unit testing with Mocha and Chai.
• Writing integration tests for REST APIs

Deployment:

• Setting up a production environment with Docker.
• Deploying a Node.js app on Heroku or AWS EC2.
• Environment variables and configuration management.
• Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Deployment (CD) pipelines with GitHub Actions.

Performance Optimization:

• Caching with Redis for performance improvement.
• Load balancing and scaling applications.
• Optimizing database queries.

Best Practices:

• Code structure and project organization.
• Using environment variables for configuration.
• Keeping sensitive data safe (e.g., database credentials, API keys).

Practical:

• Write unit and integration tests for your app.
• Dockerize your application and deploy it to Heroku.
• Optimize and deploy your app using CI/CD.