Getting comfortable with JS functions and callbacks

Learn how to create and use javascript functions, how to define and pass arguments. Using functions inside other functions as callbacks.

What is Node.js

What is Node.js and why it is important, what are packages, how to install and remove packages in your package.json

Databases

We learn the theory of relational databases including the proper use of foriegn keys, primary keys, types, how to connect tables, normalized data, and joins. You learn SQL to write queries and insertions into databases. You will practice modeling domains in ERDs (entity relationship documents) to plan your database.

MVC

We learn the Model, View Controller paradigm. We learn how to create a system of RESTful routes to handle all CRUD requests. We learn how Rails uses MVC: connecting us to the database through our model classes, shaping what the user sees and experiences in the view files, and setting up variables and logic in the controllers.

Instagram Clone

We clone Instagram to work on how to apply our fundamentals to real world apps. We use Devise to learn Authentication and Authorization. We use Bootstrap to learn how to leverage external stylesheets so we’re not always writing our CSS from scratch. We learn ActiveStorage to handle the photos (which introduces the students to the distinction between saving images in the database versus a cloud service).

First Project

The first project focuses on reusing all the skills from apps like Instagram put towards your own idea. Past students have created apps for meeting other bicycle enthusiasts, managing HR requests, blogs about sheep, etc. Students must create an app that uses login, CRUD, and custom visuals to create the first piece of your portfolio.

Installing Express & setting up the server

We will create a new application using express for the backend, here we will show you the basic setup of an express app and how it works.

What are middlewares

We will show you how express use middlewaree for basically everything in order to handle and do the things we need for our application, there is a lot of middleware availables for express app, and you can create you own!

Routers

Our application will need to handle differnt kind of requests, this will be a work for our routers.

Class versus Function Components

The community has shifted to using functions over classes as components in ReactJS apps, but most apps and sample code on the internet still use the class paradigm. You will have to learn this.state, render(), componentDidMount(), setState(), etc in addition to creating simple functions as components.

Hooks

We will learn useState, useEffect, and useRef to give us the ability to have state and perform API calls while still using functions over components. Mastery of useState in particular is necessary to keep track of state in your ReactJS components.

React-Router

ReactJS is known for single page applications, but most applications made in the library for production use actually have multiple pages. React-Router gives you the ability to map components to paths so that you can simulate a traditional web app.

MongoDB

We need a database to store all the information our application might need, we will use MongoDB in order to do that, we will show you how to install and setup MondgoDB in our backend to start saving information

NoSql

NoSql is a different paradigm for databases, here the information is store in key-value pairs instead of tables, this is optimal for speed when we need to retrieve big amounts of information

Models

Models are and abstraction of the elements in our application, designing good models will allow us to keep track of the right information, and ensuring the integrity of it.