Course Title: Backend Web Development

Course Description:

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to backend web development, focusing on the server-side technologies and programming languages used to build dynamic and scalable web applications. Students will learn about server-side scripting languages, databases, APIs, and server deployment. The course covers topics such as web server architecture, database management, RESTful APIs, and authentication. Through hands-on projects and exercises, students will gain practical skills to develop robust and secure backend systems for web applications.

Course Syllabus:

Week 1: Introduction to Backend Development

• Overview of backend development and its role in web applications
• Introduction to server-side scripting languages (e.g., Python, Node.js, PHP)
• Setting up a development environment

Week 2: Server-Side Scripting with Node.js

• Basics of Node.js and JavaScript runtime environment
• Creating server-side applications with Node.js
• Handling HTTP requests and responses

Week 3: Database Management

• Introduction to databases and database management systems (DBMS)
• Relational vs. non-relational databases
• Basics of SQL and database querying

Week 4: Working with Databases in Node.js

• Connecting Node.js applications to databases
• Performing CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete) with databases
• Database modeling and schema design

Week 5: Building RESTful APIs

• Introduction to REST architecture and principles
• Designing RESTful APIs for web applications
• Implementing CRUD operations with RESTful endpoints

Week 6: Authentication and Authorization

• Basics of authentication and authorization in web applications
• Implementing user authentication and session management
• Using JSON Web Tokens (JWT) for token-based authentication

Week 7: Error Handling and Logging

• Strategies for error handling in backend applications
• Implementing error handling middleware
• Logging and debugging techniques

Week 8: Web Security

• Overview of common security vulnerabilities in web applications
• Best practices for securing backend systems
• Implementing security measures (input validation, parameterized queries, etc.)

Week 9: Deployment and DevOps

• Introduction to deployment strategies (e.g., cloud hosting, Docker)
• Deploying backend applications to a production environment
• Continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines

Week 10: Performance Optimization

• Strategies for optimizing backend performance (caching, load balancing, etc.)
• Monitoring and performance tuning techniques
• Scaling backend systems for high availability

Week 11: Project Work and Review

• Students will work on a final project applying the concepts and techniques learned throughout the course.
• This project will involve designing and implementing a backend system for a web application, including database management, API development, and authentication.