Full Stack Course

Lesson 1 • Setting Up the Dev Environment

Installs and configures a code editor, terminal, version control, and browser dev tools. Creates a reproducible workspace for all course projects.

Lesson 2 • How the Web Works

Covers DNS resolution, HTTP request-response cycles, and status codes. Establishes the communication model every subsequent chapter depends on.

Lesson 3 • Version Control with Git

Practices branching, committing, merging, and resolving conflicts using Git. Establishes the workflow used throughout every project in the course.

Lesson 4 • CSS Layout and Styling

Applies the box model, Flexbox, and Grid to control layout and visual design. Connects directly to building responsive UI components in later chapters.

Lesson 1 • Functions and Scope

Explains function declarations, expressions, arrow functions, closures, and the call stack. Builds the mental model required for callbacks and async code.

Lesson 2 • Asynchronous JavaScript

Teaches the event loop, callbacks, Promises, and async/await for non-blocking code. Foundational for all API communication covered in subsequent chapters.

Lesson 3 • Core Syntax and Data Types

Covers variables, operators, control flow, and primitive vs. reference types. Provides the vocabulary for every JavaScript concept that follows.

Lesson 4 • DOM Manipulation

Selects, modifies, and creates DOM nodes in response to user events. Directly enables building interactive UI components in the frontend chapter.

Lesson 1 • Side Effects and Data Fetching

Applies useEffect to fetch data, subscribe to events, and clean up resources. Connects async JavaScript skills to real API-driven component behavior.

Lesson 2 • State Management with Hooks

Uses useState and useReducer to manage local component state and derived data. Prepares students for lifting state and global state patterns.

Lesson 3 • Routing and Navigation

Implements client-side routing with dynamic routes, nested layouts, and protected paths. Enables building multi-page SPAs with proper URL management.

Lesson 4 • React Fundamentals

Introduces JSX, the virtual DOM, and functional components. Establishes the component model that all React patterns in this chapter build upon.

Lesson 1 • Middleware and Request Pipeline

Writes custom middleware for logging, validation, and authentication checks. Shows how the request pipeline processes each incoming HTTP request.

Lesson 2 • Node.js Runtime and Modules

Explains the Node.js event loop, module system, and built-in modules. Establishes how server-side JavaScript differs from browser JavaScript.

Lesson 3 • Building REST APIs with Express

Defines routes, handles HTTP verbs, and parses request bodies using Express. Produces the API endpoints consumed by the React frontend.

Lesson 4 • Error Handling and Logging

Implements centralised error handlers, operational vs. programmer errors, and structured logging. Ensures APIs fail gracefully and are debuggable in production.

Lesson 1 • NoSQL and Document Databases

Models data as documents, applies indexing, and performs CRUD with a document database. Contrasts with relational design to guide schema choice decisions.

Lesson 2 • Database Performance and Indexing

Analyses query execution plans, adds indexes, and applies connection pooling. Ensures the data layer scales under realistic application load.

Lesson 3 • SQL Query Writing

Writes SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, and aggregate queries with filtering and sorting. Builds the query skills needed for ORM configuration and raw queries.

Lesson 4 • Relational Database Fundamentals

Covers tables, primary/foreign keys, normalisation, and joins. Provides the data modelling vocabulary used throughout the database chapter.

Lesson 1 • Authentication Concepts

Distinguishes authentication from authorisation and explains stateful vs. stateless approaches. Sets the conceptual foundation for all implementation sections.

Lesson 2 • Session-Based Authentication

Manages server-side sessions with secure cookies and session stores. Provides an alternative to JWTs for applications requiring server-controlled invalidation.

Lesson 3 • Role-Based Access Control

Defines roles and permissions, enforces them via middleware, and protects API routes. Enables multi-tenant and admin features in the capstone project.

Lesson 4 • JWT-Based Authentication

Issues, signs, and verifies JSON Web Tokens for stateless API authentication. Integrates directly with the Express middleware pipeline from the backend chapter.

Lesson 1 • Connecting Frontend to Backend

Configures API base URLs, handles CORS in development, and manages auth tokens in React. Bridges the isolated frontend and backend built in earlier chapters.

Lesson 2 • Debugging and Performance Profiling

Uses browser DevTools, Node.js debugger, and profiling tools to find and fix bottlenecks. Prepares students to diagnose issues in the deployed application.

Lesson 3 • End-to-End Testing

Automates full user journeys in a real browser using an E2E testing framework. Catches integration regressions that unit tests cannot detect.

Lesson 4 • Unit Testing JavaScript

Writes unit tests for pure functions and React components using a test runner and assertion library. Establishes the testing baseline before integration tests.

Lesson 1 • Monitoring and Alerting

Integrates application performance monitoring, uptime checks, and error tracking. Enables rapid incident response for the deployed production application.

Lesson 2 • Cloud Deployment Basics

Deploys containerised services to a cloud platform, configures domains, and manages environment secrets. Produces the first publicly accessible version of the application.

Lesson 3 • CI/CD Pipeline Setup

Automates build, test, and deploy stages using a CI/CD service triggered by Git pushes. Eliminates manual deployment steps and enforces quality gates.

Lesson 4 • Containerisation with Docker

Writes Dockerfiles, builds images, and runs multi-service stacks with Docker Compose. Ensures the application runs identically in development and production.