Intro to Full-Stack Javascript

Frontend and Backend programming with javascript

Summer Semester 2020

Instructor: Taimur Khan

  • Summary session 1:
    • Self-learning
      • JS Syntax basics + Program structures
      • Homework
    • Guided-learning
  • This session's themes:
    • ​Basics of Front- and Backend programming in JS
    • Intro to Versioning --> Github

Session 2 - Overview

  • In the context of web dev, full-stack just means that your programs have both client and server software
  • Client-side means that the action takes place on the user's (the client's) device. Server-side means that the action takes place on a web server
  • Analogy

What is Full-stack?

Source: https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/serverless/glossary/client-side-vs-server-side/

  • Client-side part of your software is called the 'frontend'
    • usually programmed by dedicated Frontend Developers
    • Handles, e.g. :
      • Page requests (HTML/CSS)
      • Form/Data handling
      • GUI for server side "parts" 
  • Server side part of your software is the 'backend'  that takes place on a web server.
    • web server management/maintenance --> DevOps
    • Handles, e.g. :
      • Database requests
      • Data processing
      • User connections/sessions

defining Concepts

Source: https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/serverless/glossary/client-side-vs-server-side/

Frameworks, libraries

Source: geeksforgeeks.org

  • Libraries are tools
    • Imagine the tools needed to make a burger
       
  • Framework may be thought as procedures that are streamlined for a particular task
    • ​​The procedure of making the burger, like a recipe for example
  • "HTTP is a protocol which allows the fetching of resources, such as HTML documents." - MDN Web Docs

http webservers: INtro

Source: Taimur Khan.

  • HTTP Methods allow you to control the flow of data between your frontend and backend

http webservers: MEthods

Source: lynda.com

  • Let's use a Node js framework (Express) for creating a HTTP server on localhost

http webservers : Live demo

Source: Taimur Khan.

//in terminal 
express

//in terminal
npm install


//add port as a constant --> 
const port = 3000;

// add this to recieve requests and send responses on the path ´/´
app.get('/', (req, res) => res.send('Hello World!'));

//add this to make the server listen on out port
app.listen(port, () => console.log(`Example app listening at http://localhost:${port}`)); 

The Big overview

Source: Taimur Khan's Coggle --  video links from www.codecademy.com.

Semester Project and Report

  • Project will be introduced in detail in the 5th Session
     
  • Shared on Github
     
  • In essence, we will be: developing a distributed communication and visualisation system with Node.js, MongoDB, and P5.js
    • Nodejs + MongoDB --> backend
    • p5. js --> frontend

Semester Project

Final project result

Closing Remarks

Welcome to web programming!

Intro to FSjs - Frontend and Backend programming

By taimurhk

Intro to FSjs - Frontend and Backend programming

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