Node.js and Express Course Overview

Course Structure

• Duration: 6 hours
• Chapters: 14

Course Topics

1. Introduction to Node.js

   • Open source, cross-platform JavaScript runtime
   • Built on the V8 JavaScript engine
   • Handles I/O operations using callbacks for non-blocking behavior

2. Why is Node.js Popular?

   • Uses JavaScript for both front-end and back-end
   • Has over 700,000 modules in the npm registry
   • Supports microservices architecture
   • Fast performance due to the V8 engine
   • Cross-platform capabilities

3. Applications Built with Node.js

   • Streaming services (e.g. Netflix)
   • Real-time applications (e.g. chat apps)
   • Microservices
   • RESTful APIs

4. Installation Process

   • Download from official Node.js website
   • Verify installation using node -v and npm -v

5. Setting Up Initial Project

   • Create folder and initialize using npm init
   • Create a package.json file
   • Set up index.js
   • Install Node.js modules and dependencies (e.g. nodemon)

6. CRUD Operations Basics

   • Create a simple Node.js server
   • Handle requests and responses
   • Use Express.js middleware for routing and error handling.

7. Middleware Overview

   • Application-level middleware
   • Router-level middleware
   • Error-handling middleware
   • Built-in middleware (e.g. Express.json, Express.static)

8. User Authentication and Authorization

   • Importance of securing API endpoints
   • Using JSON Web Tokens (JWT) for secure access
   • How to protect routes

9. Data Management with MongoDB

   • Connect Node.js app with MongoDB using Mongoose
   • Create user models and perform CRUD operations

Additional Concepts

• Understanding of promises and async/await
• Error handling in asynchronous operations
• Creating and managing an API for contacts, including endpoints for registration and retrieval of user data
• Explanation of RESTful conventions, such as GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, with HTTP status codes

Recommended Practices

• Constantly test your API endpoints during development using a tool like Postman or Thunder Client
• Handle errors gracefully and provide meaningful response messages
• Make use of environment variable files for sensitive information (like API keys)

Coding Conventions

• Use of camelCase for function names
• Modularize code by creating separate files for routes, controllers, and models
• Apply proper commenting for better code readability

Conclusion

This course will take you from the basics of Node.js and Express to building your own RESTful APIs and handling user authentication. It’s designed for beginners, with ample examples and hands-on projects.