Node.js Tutorial Roadmap

What is Node.js?

• Explanation of React as a JavaScript library for building user interfaces.
• History and origin of React.
• Advantages of using React.

Setting Up the Development Environment

• Installing Node.js and npm on various operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux).
• Verifying the installation (checking versions).
• Setting up a basic text editor (VS Code recommended).

Understanding the Basics

• Writing your first “Hello World” application.
• Running Node.js scripts from the command line.
• Introduction to the Node.js REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop).

Node.js Modules

• Core modules in Node.js (fs, path, http, etc.).
• Creating and exporting custom modules.
• Using require to import modules.
• Understanding module.exports and exports.

Working with the File System

• Reading files asynchronously and synchronously (fs.readFile and fs.readFileSync).
• Writing to files (fs.writeFile and fs.appendFile).
• Creating and deleting files and directories.

Node.js Package Manager (npm)

• Introduction to npm and its role in Node.js.
• Installing and managing packages with npm.
• Understanding package.json and package-lock.json.
• Using npm scripts to automate tasks.

Asynchronous Programming in Node.js

• Understanding callbacks and the callback pattern.
• Introduction to Promises and async/await.
• Handling asynchronous errors with try/catch and .catch().

Building a Web Server with Node.js

• Creating a basic HTTP server using the http module.
• Handling HTTP requests and responses.
• Serving static files with Node.js.
• Routing requests to different endpoints.

Introduction to Express.js

• Setting up Express.js in a Node.js project.
• Creating routes and handling requests with Express.
• Middleware in Express: what it is and how to use it.
• Serving static files and templates with Express.

Working with Databases

• Introduction to databases in Node.js (SQL and NoSQL).
• Connecting to a MongoDB database using Mongoose.
• Performing CRUD operations with MongoDB.
• Introduction to SQL databases (e.g., MySQL) and using knex.js or sequelize for database management.

Authentication and Security

• Understanding the basics of authentication in Node.js.
• Implementing user authentication with Passport.js.
• Securing your application with environment variables and bcrypt for hashing passwords.
• Introduction to JWT (JSON Web Tokens) for authentication.

RESTful APIs with Node.js

• Understanding REST principles and creating a RESTful API.
• Setting up routes for different HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE).
• Validating and handling API requests.
• Documenting your API with tools like Swagger.

Testing in Node.js

• Introduction to testing frameworks like Mocha and Chai.
• Writing unit tests for Node.js applications.
• Testing asynchronous code and APIs.
• Using test coverage tools like nyc.

Planning the Project

• Choosing the project idea (e.g., a simple task manager or blog).
• Designing the architecture (front-end, back-end, database).
• Setting up the development environment.

Developing the Backend with Node.js

• Setting up the Express server.
• Designing and implementing API endpoints.
• Connecting to the database and handling CRUD operations.

Developing the Frontend

• Setting up a simple front-end using React or any other framework.
• Integrating the front-end with the Node.js backend.
• Handling user authentication and session management.

Deployment

• Preparing the application for production.
• Deploying the Node.js application on platforms like Heroku, DigitalOcean, or AWS.
• Setting up CI/CD pipelines for automated deployment.