Technical Guide and Resources
What is CRUD?
CRUD stands for:
- Create
- Read
- Update
- Delete
For example, when you send a message in Slack, it creates a message that others can read. You can later edit or delete it. In a TODO app, you create tasks, read them, update them as done, or delete them.
What is Node.js?
Node.js is a tool that lets you write backend code using JavaScript. Normally, JavaScript runs only in browsers. But Node.js allows it to run on your computer or server.
Some of the things you can do with Node.js:
- Store data and send it to the frontend
- Talk to other services (like Slack bots)
- Build APIs
Think of Node.js as the engine that powers your backend with JavaScript.
What is Express?
Express is a helper library built on top of Node.js that makes it much easier to build web servers and APIs. If Node.js is like a car engine, Express adds the steering wheel, pedals, and doors so you can drive it.
With Express, you can do things like:
- “When someone visits /profile, show their info.”
- “When a user submits a form, save the data.”
- “When someone accesses /home, return the homepage.”
Example code using Express:
const express = require('express');
const app = express();
app.get('/hello_world', (req, res) => {
res.send('Hello, world!');
})
What is an API?
API stands for Application Programming Interface. an API defines how data/information is exchanged between different parts of a program—or even between different programs.
For this YSWS, you'll use the Fetch API to send requests like GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE from the frontend to your backend server.
It might seem tricky at first, but by the end, you'll understand how it all connects!
How do I deploy my application?
There are many ways you can deploy a node application. One of these ways is through selfhosting, but you'll probably learn more about that later! for now, we recommend using railway app (free)!