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Module #5 - Understand backend: creating web servers with JavaScript using Node.js (Backend)

So far you've learned about the fundamentals of what makes up a webpage in your browser. We call this frontend: the HTML that gives structure to our pages, the CSS that give it a nice look, and lastly the JavaScript that makes our page interactive. Everything you can "see" and "interact" with is made out of these technologies.

However, there is a whole part of applications that you might not be aware of. Have you ever wondered how data moves from one place to another, from one page to another? This is where backend comes into play: all the parts of an application that can't directly be accessed by the user, but happen "behind the screen". Well here's the secret: there is code that tells the computer how to move and manipulate data. This code is hidden away from the user, because there is no need for them to know about it.

During the following 3 weeks you'll be learning one approach of creating a backend. As a tool to illustrate these concepts we will be using Node.js: software that allows us to use the language of JavaScript to be written and executed outside of the browser. Keep in mind that there are, like everything in development, multiple ways of doing this. There are different other languages and technologies that can be used to create a backend of an application.

Learning goals

In this module you will get familiar with the world of backend development. By the end of it you have learned:

• What is meant by the term backend
• The client-server model
• What HTTP and REST mean
• How to create your own web servers with Node.js, using Express.js
• What a templating engine is.
• How to use the Node Package Manager (NPM).
• How to use Express.js to make a RESTful API
• How to build a small full-stack application

Before you start

Before you start you need to install a very important software: Node.js! We're going to use the latest stable version of it, which is v10.x. Click on the following link to download it to your computer:

• For Ubuntu
• For macOS
• For Windows

Verify the installation by running node -v (-v is short for version) from the Command Line. It should say: v10.14.2 or a later version than that.

Planning

Week	Topic	Readings	Homework	Lesson Plan
1.	Client-server model, HTTP & Express	Readings W1	Homework W1	Lesson Plan W1
2.	REST, CRUD & API	Readings W2	Homework W2	Lesson Plan W2
3.	Templating engines, API calls	Readings W3	Homework W3	Lesson Plan W3

Finished?

Did you finish the module? You're a rockstar!

If you feel ready for the next challenge, click here to go to Databases!

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