Self-Learning Back-End

✅ Core Backend Topics (for self-learning)

Introduction to Backend
What is backend?
Difference between frontend & backend

How client-server architecture works

Server & Hosting Basics
What is a server?
Local server vs production server

Using tools like Postman or Thunder Client to test APIs

Node.js
What is Node.js?
Setting up a simple Node.js server

npm and package management

Express.js Framework
Setting up Express
Creating routes (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE)

Route parameters and query strings

Middleware (built-in and custom)

Request & Response
Handling incoming requests (req.body, req.params, req.query)
Sending responses (res.send, res.json, res.status)

REST API Concepts
What is an API?
What is a REST API?

CRUD operations using REST API

Status codes (200, 404, 500 etc.)

MongoDB (Mango DB 😉) + Mongoose
Introduction to NoSQL databases
MongoDB vs SQL

CRUD operations in MongoDB

Connecting MongoDB with Mongoose

Schema and Models

Error Handling
try-catch blocks in async code
Error middleware in Express

Sending proper error responses

Postman Practice
Testing REST APIs with Postman
Sending different types of requests

Authentication Basics
What is authentication vs authorization?
Basic login/signup flow

JWT (JSON Web Tokens) introduction

Project Deployment
Hosting with Render, Cyclic, or Vercel (for backend)
Using environment variables (.env files)

Connecting backend to frontend