Unit 889: Comprehensive Node.js Development

1. Introduction to Node.js

• What is Node.js?
• Key features of Node.js
  • Event-driven, non-blocking I/O model
  • Single-threaded architecture
• Differences between Node.js and traditional server-side technologies (e.g., PHP, Java, .NET)
• Typical use cases and advantages

2. Setting up a Node.js Environment

• Installing Node.js and npm
• Verifying installations
• Overview of npm (Node Package Manager)
• Setting up a project folder and initializing a Node.js project (npm init)
• Choosing and configuring a code editor (e.g., VS Code)
• Introduction to debugging tools and environment variables

3. Node.js Modules and Packages

• Understanding CommonJS and ES Modules
• Creating custom modules
• Exporting and importing modules
• Using core Node.js modules (e.g., fs, path, http)
• Managing third-party packages via npm
• Semantic versioning and package.json dependencies
• Updating and removing packages

4. Asynchronous Programming in Node.js

• Event loop and asynchronous architecture
• Callbacks: concept and callback hell problem
• Promises: creation, chaining, and error handling
• Async/Await syntax and best practices
• Handling asynchronous errors
• Using utilities like util.promisify

5. Building RESTful APIs with Node.js

• Introduction to REST principles
• Overview of Express framework
• Setting up Express application
• Routing and route parameters
• Handling HTTP methods: GET, POST, PUT, DELETE
• Middleware in Express
• Parsing request bodies (JSON, URL-encoded)
• Sending appropriate HTTP status codes and responses
• Implementing CRUD operations

6. Working with Databases in Node.js

• Overview of popular databases: MongoDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL
• Connecting to databases using Node.js drivers
• Introduction to Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) and Object Document Mapping (ODM)
  • Mongoose for MongoDB
  • Sequelize for SQL databases
• Defining schemas and models
• Performing basic CRUD operations
• Handling database connection errors and pooling

7. Authentication and Authorization in Node.js

• Importance of authentication and authorization
• Overview of authentication strategies
• Implementing JWT (JSON Web Tokens)
• Using Passport.js strategies
• Password hashing and storage (bcrypt)
• Protecting routes and middleware for authorization
• Handling sessions and cookies

8. Error Handling and Debugging in Node.js

• Types of errors (synchronous vs asynchronous)
• Error handling patterns and middleware in Express
• Using try/catch with async/await
• Debugging techniques and tools (Node Inspector, VS Code debugger)
• Logging practices (console, Winston, Morgan)
• Monitoring and performance tools

9. Testing Node.js Applications

• Importance of testing
• Unit testing with Mocha and Chai
• Writing test cases for functions and modules
• Integration testing
• End-to-end testing with Supertest
• Test-driven development (TDD) basics
• Automating tests with npm scripts

10. Deploying Node.js Applications

• Preparing applications for production
• Environment configuration and managing secrets
• Using process managers (PM2)
• Deploying on cloud platforms (Heroku, AWS, DigitalOcean)
• Handling dependencies and build processes
• Load balancing and scaling Node.js applications
• Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) overview