Node.js REST API Development

Node.js REST API development is the practice of building server-side web services by leveraging the Node.js runtime to execute JavaScript on the backend. This process involves creating a structured set of endpoints that adhere to the architectural principles of Representational State Transfer (REST), enabling client applications to interact with server data through standard HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE. Developers utilize frameworks such as Express.js to handle requests and responses, manage routing, and perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations on resources, typically exchanging data in the lightweight JSON format to power dynamic web and mobile applications.

Foundational Concepts

1.1.

Introduction to Node.js

1.1.1.

History and Evolution of Node.js

1.1.2.

The V8 JavaScript Engine

1.1.2.1.

Role in Node.js Performance

1.1.2.2.

Just-In-Time Compilation Process

1.1.2.3.

Memory Management

1.1.3.

Event-Driven Architecture

1.1.3.1.

The Event Loop

1.1.3.1.1.

Call Stack

1.1.3.1.2.

Event Queue

1.1.3.1.3.

Phases of the Event Loop

1.1.3.1.4.

Microtasks vs Macrotasks

1.1.3.2.

Callbacks and Event Handling

1.1.3.3.

Event Emitters

1.1.4.

Non-Blocking I/O Model

1.1.4.1.

Asynchronous Programming Concepts

1.1.4.2.

I/O Operations in Node.js

1.1.4.3.

Blocking vs Non-Blocking Operations

1.1.5.

Single-Threaded Nature

1.1.5.1.

Main Thread Execution

1.1.5.2.

Thread Pool for I/O Operations

1.1.5.3.

Worker Threads

1.1.5.4.

Implications for Scalability

1.1.6.

Node.js Use Cases

1.1.6.1.

Web Servers and APIs

1.1.6.2.

Real-Time Applications

1.1.6.3.

Microservices

1.1.6.4.

Command Line Tools

1.2.

Core Node.js Modules

1.2.1.

Module System Overview

1.2.1.1.

CommonJS Module System

1.2.1.2.

Built-in vs Third-Party Modules

1.2.2.

HTTP Module

1.2.2.1.

Creating HTTP Servers

1.2.2.2.

Handling Requests and Responses

1.2.2.3.

Request Methods and Headers

1.2.2.4.

Response Status Codes and Headers

1.2.3.

File System Module

1.2.3.1.

Synchronous vs Asynchronous Operations

1.2.3.2.

Reading Files

1.2.3.3.

Writing Files

1.2.3.4.

File System CRUD Operations

1.2.3.5.

Working with Directories

1.2.3.6.

1.2.3.6.1.

1.2.3.6.2.

1.2.3.6.3.

1.2.4.

1.2.4.1.

Path Manipulation Methods

1.2.4.2.

Resolving Absolute Paths

1.2.4.3.

Normalizing Paths

1.2.4.4.

Cross-Platform Path Handling

1.2.5.

Events Module

1.2.5.1.

EventEmitter Class

1.2.5.2.

Creating Custom Events

1.2.5.3.

1.2.5.4.

1.2.6.

1.2.6.1.

1.2.6.2.

1.2.6.3.

Query String Handling

1.2.7.

Crypto Module

1.2.7.1.

Hashing Functions

1.2.7.2.

Encryption and Decryption

1.2.7.3.

Random Data Generation

1.2.8.

OS Module

1.2.8.1.

System Information

1.2.8.2.

Platform Detection

1.2.8.3.

Memory and CPU Information

1.3.

Modern JavaScript for Backend Development

1.3.1.

Variable Declarations

1.3.1.1.

1.3.1.2.

1.3.1.3.

1.3.2.

1.3.2.1.

1.3.2.1.1.

1.3.2.1.2.

1.3.2.1.3.

Use Cases and Limitations

1.3.2.2.

Function Expressions vs Declarations

1.3.2.3.

Higher-Order Functions

1.3.3.

Asynchronous JavaScript

1.3.3.1.

Callbacks

1.3.3.1.1.

Callback Pattern

1.3.3.1.2.

Error-First Callbacks

1.3.3.1.3.

1.3.3.2.

1.3.3.2.1.

1.3.3.2.2.

1.3.3.2.3.

1.3.3.2.4.

Promise.all and Promise.race

1.3.3.2.5.

Error Handling with catch

1.3.3.3.

Async/Await

1.3.3.3.1.

Syntax and Usage

1.3.3.3.2.

Error Handling with try/catch

1.3.3.3.3.

Converting Callbacks to Async/Await

1.3.3.3.4.

Parallel vs Sequential Execution

1.3.4.

1.3.4.1.

1.3.4.1.1.

1.3.4.1.2.

1.3.4.1.3.

1.3.4.1.4.

1.3.4.2.

1.3.4.2.1.

1.3.4.2.2.

1.3.4.2.3.

1.3.5.

Spread and Rest Operators

1.3.5.1.

Spread Operator Usage

1.3.5.2.

Rest Parameters

1.3.5.3.

Object and Array Spreading

1.3.6.

1.3.6.1.

1.3.6.2.

1.3.6.3.

1.3.7.

1.3.7.1.

1.3.7.1.1.

1.3.7.1.2.

module.exports vs exports

1.3.7.1.3.

Module Caching

1.3.7.2.

ES Modules

1.3.7.2.1.

import and export Statements

1.3.7.2.2.

Default vs Named Exports

1.3.7.2.3.

Dynamic Imports

1.3.7.3.

Module Resolution

1.3.7.4.

Interoperability Between Systems

1.4.

REST Architecture Principles

1.4.1.

RESTful Architecture Overview

1.4.1.1.

Representational State Transfer

1.4.1.2.

Architectural Style vs Protocol

1.4.2.

Core Architectural Constraints

1.4.2.1.

Client-Server Separation

1.4.2.2.

Statelessness

1.4.2.2.1.

Server State Management

1.4.2.2.2.

Client State Management

1.4.2.3.

Cacheability

1.4.2.3.1.

Cache Control Headers

1.4.2.3.2.

ETags and Conditional Requests

1.4.2.4.

Layered System Architecture

1.4.2.5.

Uniform Interface

1.4.2.5.1.

Resource Identification

1.4.2.5.2.

Resource Manipulation

1.4.2.5.3.

Self-Descriptive Messages

1.4.2.5.4.

Hypermedia Controls

1.4.2.6.

Code on Demand

1.4.3.

Resources and Resource Identification

1.4.3.1.

Resource Concept

1.4.3.2.

URI Design Principles

1.4.3.2.1.

Hierarchical Structure

1.4.3.2.2.

Resource Naming Conventions

1.4.3.2.3.

Singular vs Plural Nouns

1.4.3.3.

Resource Relationships

1.4.3.3.1.

Parent-Child Resources

1.4.3.3.2.

Associated Resources

1.4.4.

REST Maturity Model

1.4.4.1.

Level 0: Plain Old XML

1.4.4.2.

Level 1: Resources

1.4.4.3.

Level 2: HTTP Verbs

1.4.4.4.

Level 3: Hypermedia Controls

1.5.

HTTP Protocol Fundamentals

1.5.1.

HTTP Request/Response Cycle

1.5.1.1.

1.5.1.1.1.

1.5.1.1.2.

1.5.1.1.3.

1.5.1.2.

1.5.1.2.1.

1.5.1.2.2.

1.5.1.2.3.

1.5.2.

1.5.2.1.

1.5.2.1.1.

1.5.2.1.2.

1.5.2.1.3.

1.5.2.2.

1.5.2.2.1.

1.5.2.2.2.

Non-Idempotent Operations

1.5.2.2.3.

Request Body Formats

1.5.2.3.

PUT Requests

1.5.2.3.1.

Full Resource Updates

1.5.2.3.2.

Idempotent Operations

1.5.2.3.3.

Create vs Update Semantics

1.5.2.4.

PATCH Requests

1.5.2.4.1.

Partial Resource Updates

1.5.2.4.2.

Patch Document Formats

1.5.2.5.

DELETE Requests

1.5.2.5.1.

Resource Deletion

1.5.2.5.2.

Idempotent Operations

1.5.2.6.

HEAD Requests

1.5.2.7.

OPTIONS Requests

1.5.3.

HTTP Status Codes

1.5.3.1.

1xx Informational Responses

1.5.3.1.1.

100 Continue

1.5.3.1.2.

101 Switching Protocols

1.5.3.2.

2xx Success Responses

1.5.3.2.1.

1.5.3.2.2.

1.5.3.2.3.

1.5.3.2.4.

1.5.3.3.

3xx Redirection Responses

1.5.3.3.1.

301 Moved Permanently

1.5.3.3.2.

302 Found

1.5.3.3.3.

304 Not Modified

1.5.3.4.

4xx Client Error Responses

1.5.3.4.1.

1.5.3.4.2.

1.5.3.4.3.

1.5.3.4.4.

1.5.3.4.5.

405 Method Not Allowed

1.5.3.4.6.

409 Conflict

1.5.3.4.7.

422 Unprocessable Entity

1.5.3.5.

5xx Server Error Responses

1.5.3.5.1.

500 Internal Server Error

1.5.3.5.2.

501 Not Implemented

1.5.3.5.3.

502 Bad Gateway

1.5.3.5.4.

503 Service Unavailable

1.5.4.

1.5.4.1.

1.5.4.1.1.

1.5.4.1.2.

1.5.4.1.3.

1.5.4.1.4.

1.5.4.2.

1.5.4.2.1.

1.5.4.2.2.

1.5.4.2.3.

1.5.4.2.4.

1.5.4.3.

1.5.4.3.1.

1.5.4.3.2.

Security Considerations

1.5.5.

Content Negotiation

1.5.5.1.

Accept Header Processing

1.5.5.2.

Content-Type Selection

1.5.5.3.

Language Negotiation

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2. Development Environment Setup