Backend Development with Node.js
Node.js, Express.js, MongoDB & REST APIs — Building Production Servers the AI-Assisted Way
12 Weeks
4 Hours
Course Incharge
Muzammil Bilwani
📋 Prerequisites
✓ Basic JavaScript knowledge required. Frontend Development (Basic to Advanced) recommended as prior course.
📖 Course Description
A comprehensive course on server-side development using Node.js, Express.js, and MongoDB. Students learn to design and build production-grade REST APIs, work with authentication, security, testing, and caching, and use AI coding assistants to scaffold, debug, and document backend code — finishing with a fully tested, deployed, AI-assisted API-driven capstone project.
What You Will Learn
Understand server-side architecture and how backends power applications
Build REST APIs using Node.js and Express.js
Design and connect MongoDB databases with Mongoose
Implement authentication, authorization, and security best practices
Handle errors, validation, and middleware in Express
Write automated tests for backend code
Understand caching, performance, and basic scaling concepts
Use AI tools (Copilot, ChatGPT) to scaffold routes, debug, and write API documentation
Build, test, and deploy a complete AI-assisted production REST API
Course Outline
Introduction to Backend Development and Node.js
- →How backends work; client-server architecture
- →Node.js runtime, npm, and package management
- →Writing your first Node.js scripts
- →Hands-on: Build a simple command-line tool using Node.js
Building Servers with Core Node.js
- →The http module and building a server from scratch
- →Handling requests, responses, and routing manually
- →Understanding asynchronous Node.js (event loop, callbacks)
- →Hands-on: Build a basic server that handles multiple routes
Introduction to Express.js
- →Setting up Express and understanding middleware
- →Routing in Express — GET, POST, PUT, DELETE
- →Request/response handling and route parameters
- →Hands-on: Build a basic Express server with multiple endpoints
REST API Design Principles
- →REST architecture and best practices
- →Designing resource-based endpoints and status codes
- →API versioning and documentation basics
- →Hands-on: Design and build a REST API for a sample resource (e.g. tasks)
MongoDB Fundamentals
- →NoSQL vs. SQL databases — when to use MongoDB
- →MongoDB basics: databases, collections, documents
- →CRUD operations using the MongoDB shell/Compass
- →Hands-on: Design a MongoDB schema for a sample application
Connecting Express to MongoDB with Mongoose
- →Mongoose schemas and models
- →Connecting Express routes to MongoDB via Mongoose
- →Data validation at the schema level
- →Hands-on: Build a full CRUD API backed by MongoDB
Middleware and Error Handling
- →Custom middleware and its use cases
- →Centralized error handling in Express
- →Input validation libraries (e.g. Joi/express-validator)
- →Hands-on: Add robust validation and error handling to your API
Authentication Fundamentals
- →Password hashing with bcrypt
- →Understanding sessions vs. tokens
- →Building a user registration and login flow
- →Hands-on: Implement user signup and login for your API
Authorization with JWT
- →JSON Web Tokens explained
- →Protecting routes with authentication middleware
- →Role-based access control basics
- →Hands-on: Add JWT-based auth and protected routes to your API
File Uploads and Third-Party Integrations
- →Handling file uploads (Multer)
- →Integrating third-party APIs (e.g. email, payment sandbox)
- →Environment variables and configuration management
- →Hands-on: Add file upload or an external API integration to your project
AI-Assisted Backend Development
- →Using AI coding assistants to scaffold routes, models, and middleware
- →AI-assisted debugging of runtime and logic errors
- →Generating API documentation with AI tools
- →Hands-on: Rebuild or extend a route set faster using AI assistance
Testing APIs
- →Manual API testing with Postman/Thunder Client
- →Writing automated tests with Jest and Supertest
- →Test-driven development basics
- →Hands-on: Write automated tests for your core API endpoints
Security Best Practices
- →Common vulnerabilities (SQL/NoSQL injection, XSS, CSRF)
- →Rate limiting, CORS, and helmet middleware
- →Securing secrets and environment variables
- →Hands-on: Audit and harden your API's security
Caching and Performance
- →Introduction to caching strategies
- →Using Redis for basic caching
- →Query optimization and indexing in MongoDB
- →Hands-on: Add caching to a frequently accessed endpoint
Introduction to Microservices Concepts
- →Monolith vs. microservices — trade-offs
- →API gateways and service communication basics
- →When and why to split a backend into services
- →Hands-on: Discuss and sketch a microservices architecture for a sample product
Deployment and Environment Management
- →Preparing a Node.js app for production
- →Deploying to a cloud platform (Render/Railway/AWS basics)
- →Logging and monitoring basics
- →Hands-on: Deploy your API to a live environment
Capstone Project — Build
- →Planning a complete capstone API (e.g. booking, e-commerce, or social app backend)
- →Building core features, auth, and data models
- →Using AI tools throughout the build
- →Hands-on: Build the majority of the capstone API
Capstone Project — Testing, Deployment, and Presentation
- →Final testing and bug fixing
- →Deploying and documenting the finished API
- →Capstone: Present a complete, tested, deployed AI-assisted REST API
- →Course wrap-up and next steps
📊 Grading Criteria
| Component | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Quizzes | 20% |
| Class Participation / Attendance | 15% |
| Projects | 25% |
| Final Projects | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
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