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Backend Developer

A thorough learning path for backend developers covering server-side languages, databases, APIs, authentication, caching, and deployment to build scalable services.

roleintermediate12 nodes140h total
  1. 1

    Server-Side Language Fundamentals

    Master Node.js runtime, modules, and event-driven architecture

    Completion criteria: Build a CLI tool using Node.js core modules

    Next step: Learn HTTP and web server basics

    ⏱ 12h

  2. 2

    HTTP and Web Servers

    Understand HTTP protocol, status codes, and building web servers

    Prerequisites: be-01

    Completion criteria: Create an Express server with multiple routes and middleware

    Next step: Study RESTful API design principles

    ⏱ 10h

  3. 3

    RESTful API Design

    Design and build RESTful APIs following best practices

    Prerequisites: be-02

    Completion criteria: Build a complete CRUD REST API with proper status codes

    Next step: Learn database fundamentals

    ⏱ 10h

  4. 4

    Relational Database Fundamentals

    Master SQL, database design, normalization, and ORMs

    Prerequisites: be-03

    Completion criteria: Design and implement a normalized database schema with an ORM

    Next step: Explore NoSQL databases

    ⏱ 14h

  5. 5

    NoSQL Databases

    Learn MongoDB, document modeling, and when to use NoSQL

    Prerequisites: be-04

    Completion criteria: Build a data layer using MongoDB with proper indexing

    Next step: Study authentication and authorization

    ⏱ 10h

  6. 6

    Authentication and Authorization

    Implement JWT, OAuth2, session-based auth, and role-based access

    Prerequisites: be-05

    Completion criteria: Build a secure auth system with JWT and role-based access control

    Next step: Learn API security best practices

    ⏱ 12h

  7. 7

    API Security and Rate Limiting

    Understand input validation, rate limiting, and security headers

    Prerequisites: be-06

    Completion criteria: Add rate limiting and input validation to an existing API

    Next step: Study caching strategies

    ⏱ 8h

  8. 8

    Caching and Performance

    Learn Redis caching, query optimization, and performance tuning

    Prerequisites: be-07

    Completion criteria: Implement Redis caching layer to reduce database load by 50%

    Next step: Explore message queues and async processing

    ⏱ 10h

  9. 9

    Message Queues and Async Processing

    Master RabbitMQ or Kafka for asynchronous task processing

    Prerequisites: be-08

    Completion criteria: Build a background job processing system with a message queue

    Next step: Learn testing for backend code

    ⏱ 12h

  10. 10

    Backend Testing

    Write unit, integration, and API tests with proper mocking

    Prerequisites: be-09

    Completion criteria: Achieve 80% test coverage on a backend service

    Next step: Study containerization and deployment

    ⏱ 10h

  11. 11

    Containerization and Deployment

    Dockerize backend services and deploy to cloud platforms

    Prerequisites: be-10

    Completion criteria: Deploy a Dockerized backend service to a cloud provider

    Next step: Build a capstone backend project

    ⏱ 10h

  12. 12

    Capstone Backend Project

    Build a production-ready backend service with full features

    Prerequisites: be-11

    Completion criteria: Deliver a scalable, tested, and deployed backend API service

    Next step: Explore microservices and system design topics

    ⏱ 22h