Back End Development Course

Lesson 1 • Command Line Essentials

Teaches navigation, file management, and process control via the terminal. Command line proficiency is required for server management and deployment tasks.

Lesson 2 • Development Environment Setup

Guides learners through installing and configuring essential tools for server-side development. A working local environment is required for all subsequent chapters.

Lesson 3 • Back End Roles and Responsibilities

Defines what back end developers build and maintain versus front end and DevOps roles. Frames the skill set learners will develop throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • Asynchronous Programming Patterns

Teaches callbacks, Promises, and async/await for handling asynchronous operations. These patterns are used in every database query and API call in later chapters.

Lesson 2 • Core Node.js APIs

Explores built-in modules for file system, path, streams, and events. These APIs underpin custom server logic before introducing web frameworks.

Lesson 3 • Modules and Package Management

Covers CommonJS and ES module systems, plus npm for dependency management. Proper module organisation is essential for maintainable server-side codebases.

Lesson 4 • Building a Basic HTTP Server

Uses the native http module to create a server that handles requests and sends responses. This exercise solidifies understanding before adding framework abstractions.

Lesson 1 • Middleware Architecture

Explains how middleware functions intercept and transform requests in a pipeline. Middleware is the primary mechanism for authentication, logging, and validation.

Lesson 2 • API Testing with Automated Tools

Introduces integration testing of REST endpoints using automated HTTP clients. Automated tests catch regressions before deployment and document expected behaviour.

Lesson 3 • Request Validation and Error Handling

Teaches input validation schemas and centralised error response formatting. Robust validation prevents bad data from reaching the database layer.

Lesson 4 • REST API Principles

Defines REST constraints including statelessness, uniform interface, and resource-based URLs. Applying these principles produces APIs that are predictable and easy to consume.

Lesson 1 • Database Migrations and Seeding

Introduces migration files for versioned schema changes and seed scripts for test data. Migrations enable reproducible database states across development and production.

Lesson 2 • Connecting Node.js to a Database

Demonstrates connection pooling, parameterised queries, and ORM basics for Node.js. Parameterised queries are the primary defence against SQL injection attacks.

Lesson 3 • Joins and Subqueries

Explains INNER, LEFT, and RIGHT joins alongside subqueries for complex data retrieval. Multi-table queries are required for any normalised relational schema.

Lesson 4 • SQL Fundamentals

Covers SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements with filtering and sorting. These operations form the basis of all database interaction in the application layer.

Lesson 1 • Session-Based Authentication

Implements server-side sessions with cookies for stateful authentication flows. Sessions are preferred for server-rendered apps and certain compliance scenarios.

Lesson 2 • Password Security Fundamentals

Covers hashing algorithms, salting, and secure password storage practices. Storing plain-text passwords is a critical vulnerability this section directly addresses.

Lesson 3 • OAuth 2.0 and Third-Party Login

Integrates OAuth 2.0 flows for delegated authorisation and social login providers. Third-party login reduces friction and offloads credential management to trusted providers.

Lesson 4 • JSON Web Token Authentication

Explains JWT structure, signing, and verification for stateless API authentication. JWTs allow the server to authenticate requests without maintaining session state.

Lesson 1 • CRUD Operations in MongoDB

Executes create, read, update, and delete operations using the MongoDB driver and Mongoose. These operations mirror SQL CRUD but leverage document-oriented query syntax.

Lesson 2 • Aggregation Pipeline

Builds multi-stage aggregation pipelines for grouping, filtering, and transforming data. Aggregations replace complex SQL joins for analytics and reporting in document stores.

Lesson 3 • NoSQL Paradigms Overview

Compares document, key-value, column-family, and graph databases by use case. Understanding trade-offs guides appropriate database selection for each project.

Lesson 4 • Caching with Redis

Introduces Redis as an in-memory key-value store for caching and session storage. Caching reduces database load and improves API response times significantly.

Lesson 1 • Input Sanitisation and Security Headers

Applies output encoding, CORS policies, and HTTP security headers to harden APIs. These controls prevent cross-site scripting and data leakage at the transport layer.

Lesson 2 • Rate Limiting and Throttling

Implements request rate limiting and throttling to protect APIs from abuse and denial-of-service. Rate limiting is a baseline defence for any publicly exposed endpoint.

Lesson 3 • Application Performance Profiling

Uses profiling tools to identify CPU and memory bottlenecks in Node.js applications. Profiling data drives targeted optimisations rather than guesswork.

Lesson 4 • Database Query Optimisation

Covers index types, query execution plans, and N+1 query detection. Optimised queries are essential for APIs that must serve high request volumes.

Lesson 1 • Secrets Management and Config

Manages sensitive credentials using secret stores and environment-based configuration. Hardcoded secrets are a leading cause of production security breaches.

Lesson 2 • Cloud Deployment Fundamentals

Deploys Node.js applications to cloud platforms using managed services and infrastructure. Cloud deployment skills are required for any production back end role.

Lesson 3 • Logging and Observability

Implements structured logging, distributed tracing, and health check endpoints. Observability enables rapid diagnosis of production incidents and performance regressions.

Lesson 4 • Continuous Integration and Delivery

Configures automated pipelines that run tests, lint code, and deploy on every push. CI/CD reduces manual errors and accelerates the feedback loop for developers.