Developing Back-End Apps with Node.js and Express

You may already be familiar with JavaScript, but did you know there is a server-side JavaScript framework? Discover how Node.js is used on the back end to develop rich, dynamic web applications by importing external modules and using node package manager (NPM). Get hands-on experience using Node.js to build your own simple web server.

How can you optimize processor time with Node.js? Discover how Node.js operates in a non-blocking manner and how to handle the result from a network call. Explore the advantages and challenges associated with using anonymous callback functions. Use Node.js to parse JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) data from a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) message.

When you use Node.js to build a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) server, you will discover that the default Node.js framework is low-level. You can extend its features with third-party packages such as Express. Get hands-on experience with the Express web application framework by creating a web server that listens to incoming requests. You also learn how to implement authorization with Express. Use routing, middleware, and template rendering to extend the Node.js framework and handle dynamic content.

In this module, you will complete two related projects: a practice project and a final project. The practice project walks you through code that performs CRUD operations for given user details on an Express server using session and JWT authentication and then tests the code using Postman. For the final project, you assume the role of a back-end developer working on a server-side application that stores, retrieves, and manages book ratings and reviews. You will submit screenshots of your application, and then your peers will review the project based on a rubric provided. You will also be expected to review two of your peer’s projects.