In this video, I'm going to explain all the core technologies you need to learn to become a backend developer. My name is Beau Carnes and I've created many courses about backend development for the FreecodeCamp.org YouTube channel. You can learn a lot from this video on its own, but it also serves as an introduction to a massive curriculum that will teach you every technology I talk about in detail.
Each week we publish a lot of content on the FreecodeCamp.org YouTube channel. And new people sometimes wonder where to start and what order to watch the courses. Well, if you want to become a backend developer, this is where to start.
This is our backend developer roadmap. We've curated a collection of top-notch courses on all of the key technologies you need to learn, and you can watch them right here on our channel for free. So let's start by defining what backend development is. A backend developer is a type of programmer who focuses on creating the underlying logic and server-side software that powers websites and applications. Their primary responsibilities include server-side logic.
They write the code that runs on web servers which handles the business logic of an application. This includes processing user requests, interacting with databases, and controlling the flow of data between the server and the front end of the website or application. Database management Back-end developers are often responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining databases.
They manage and manipulate the data that's stored in these databases, ensuring its integrity and security. API development. They often create application programming interfaces, or APIs, which allow different software applications to communicate with each other.
These APIs are crucial for the integration of different systems and for enabling front-end applications to access server-side functions and data. Server management. They may also be involved in configuring and managing the servers where the applications run. This can include setting up cloud-based servers, managing server resources, and securing uptime and performance. Security Ensuring the security of the web application is a key part of a backend developer's job.
This includes protecting against various types of cyber threats, securing data, and implementing authentication and authorization schemes. Becoming a backend developer typically begins with acquiring a strong foundation in computer science. The core of this learning journey involves mastering server-side programming languages such as Python, Java, JavaScript, Node.js, and.NET, and getting expertise in database management with systems like SQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL, or MongoDB.
Additionally, familiarity with server management, cloud services, and containerization technologies is increasingly important. Practical skills can be further developed through personal projects, internships, or contributing to open source projects. Continuously learning and staying updated with all the latest technological trends, as well as engaging with the developer community, are crucial for anyone who wants to be successful as a backend developer.
So here are some of the essential technologies you need to learn. You can watch a full comprehensive course on each of these technologies right here on the free code camp.org YouTube channel as part of this back end learning path. Understanding the basics of the internet is crucial for back end developers.
This includes knowledge of how data is transmitted over the internet, how DNS work, and the roles of protocols such as HTTP and HTTPS. A solid grasp of these fundamentals allows back end developers to build more efficient and secure applications. There are many programming languages used for back end development. One is JavaScript. JavaScript was once confined to the browser, but now it's become one of the most popular languages for back end development.
Thanks to environments like node js. It's asynchronous nature and event driven model make it suitable for developing scalable and high performance applications. Python is renowned for its readability and efficiency. making it an excellent choice for back end development. Its vast ecosystem of libraries and frameworks, such as Django and flask, allow for rapid development of applications across various domains.
And there are a lot of other commonly used languages for back end development, such as PHP and Java. Git is a version control system that allows developers to track and manage changes to their code base. GitHub is a web based platform, which leverages get and enables developers to collaborate on projects, review code and manage changes.
Understanding Git and GitHub is essential for back end developers to maintain code integrity and collaborate effectively with others. relational databases store data and tables, which can be linked to each other through relationships, knowledge of relational database management systems like MySQL, PostgreSQL or Oracle. is vital for back end developers to design query and manage data efficiently, ensuring data integrity and performance.
Application programming interfaces or API's allow different software systems to communicate with each other. Back end developers must understand how to create manage and document API's as they enable the front end to interact with the back end, fetch data and perform operations. Knowledge of restful services and Graph QL is particularly valuable.
caching is a technique to store copies of data in a temporary storage area. which helps in reducing the load on the backend system, decreasing latency, and improving the performance of web applications. Backend developers need to understand where and how to implement caching strategies effectively.
API security is paramount to protect sensitive data and prevent unauthorized access. Backend developers should be familiar with best practices such as implementing authentication, authorization, data encryption, rate limiting and regular security audits to safeguard the API's testing is critical to ensure the reliability and functionality of back end code. Developers should be proficient in various testing methodologies, including unit testing, integration testing, and end to end testing to detect and fix bugs, improve code quality and enhance the stability of the application. Understanding software design and architecture is crucial for creating scalable, maintainable, and efficient back end systems.
This includes knowledge of design patterns, architectural styles, and principles that guide the structuring of software systems for better performance and scalability. message brokers like Rabbit MQ and Kafka facilitate communication between different parts of an application through a reliable asynchronous messaging system. They're essential for building distributed systems, enabling decoupling of application components, enhancing scalability, and improving fault tolerance. Containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes are essential for creating, deploying and managing applications in an isolated, consistent and scalable environment.
Docker packages applications into containers, while Kubernetes orchestrates these containers. managing their lifecycle across multiple environments. Ingen X is a popular web server known for its high performance, stability and efficient resource usage.
Back end developers should understand how to configure Ingen X to serve static files, proxy requests, and handle load balancing, which is crucial for building scalable and reliable web applications. Graph QL is a query language for API APIs. that allows clients to request exactly the data they need, making it an efficient alternative to traditional REST API's back end developers should understand how to implement Graph QL servers to provide flexible and efficient data access.
MongoDB is a NoSQL database that stores data in flexible JSON like documents, allowing for fluid data models and rapid development. It's It's particularly useful for applications that require scalability, fast querying, and the ability to handle a variety of data types. Firebase provides a comprehensive suite of tools for building web and mobile applications, including real time databases, authentication and hosting.
It's favored for rapid development and its ability to scale automatically, making it a popular choice for startups and agile projects. Redis is an in memory data structure store used as a database cache and message broker. It's high performance and support for various data structures, such as strings, hashes and lists make it invaluable for scenarios requiring fast access to data such as caching.
Understanding the underlying infrastructure is crucial for back end developers. This includes knowledge of servers, networks, cloud services, and how they interconnect to deliver applications. familiarity with cloud providers like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, and services like virtual machines, container orchestration, and serverless computing can significantly enhance the efficiency and scalability of applications. Back in development is a constantly shifting and evolving landscape with new technologies emerging and best practices being refined regularly. Keeping up with these changes and remaining adaptable is essential in this field.
This roadmap lays a solid foundation, but the journey of learning and growth and back-end development is continuous. There are numerous popular tools and frameworks not included in this roadmap. However, starting somewhere is important, and the technologies I've mentioned are an excellent beginning point. Engage actively with the developer community, experiment with emerging tools, and always aim for excellence in your work.
The realm of backend development has many opportunities. With the right set of skills and knowledge, you can develop powerful, efficient, and secure backend systems. So good luck on your learning journey.