How I learned Node
About me
I'm a self-taught developer, so I have to rely a lot on Internet and at times, nerdy books to keep myself updated with latest technologies used in creating web and mobile apps. It has always helped me in improving my skills, experience and growth. And, I also enjoy the knowledge I get from learning new stuff.
Why I wanted to learn Node
I wanted to learn Backend technologies for a while and it seemed logical for me to start with Node, which speaks in the same JavaScript language and then, I am hoping to move on to learning Python, and other languages.
How I approached learning Node
To learn the concept of JavaScript run-time environment, I went through a Node crash course first. After the crash course, I used Express framework along with Node for practising and creating basic, functional apps. But to get the complete understanding and knowledge, I completed the full length Node course so that I can go beyond creating just the APIs.
Challenges I faced
One biggest step to overcome for me was to understand the new concept of setting up a non-traditional GraphQL servers, as I was working on traditional ReST APIS.
Being used to traditional JavaScript or the approach, I found the language, methods, etc. very different and new for me in the beginning and took a while to get used to understanding that, though both are APIs, the way they are set up felt different.
Key takeaways
I understood that Express framework also plays an important role for setting up Node ReST API in a much faster and easier way.
Tips and advice
- If you are good in Vanilla JavaScript, it will be easy to code on a Node server.
- Learn JavaScript frameworks to create Backend dashboard to interact with the Node server, like React, Angular or Vue.
- Learn Express to make life a lot easier and reduce the lines of code to accomplish the same task.
- It will be really helpful if focus is given on learning no-SQL databases like Mongo or Arango.
Final thoughts and next steps
Working mostly as a Frontend developer, I was using Node based APIs to connect and communicate with servers when working on the apps but, learning Node taught me how to create similar APIs. But now, I want to learn Python to do the same in old school way and see how it is.
