External Reference Guide
Curated links from the backend program and official documentation. Use these alongside the on-site code examples—not every lesson URL is listed, but core stacks and starter repos are covered.
Core stack (Node & Express)
- Node.js documentation
Official Node APIs: modules, events, and runtime behavior.
- Express.js guide
Routing, middleware order, and request/response lifecycle.
- Express Router API
Router methods, route parameters, and mounting paths.
- MDN: Introduction to Express
Conceptual overview of Express in a full-stack context.
Data (PostgreSQL & Knex)
- PostgreSQL documentation
SQL syntax, data types, and database administration reference.
- Knex.js documentation
Query builder, migrations, seeds, and connection configuration.
- Knex migrations
How to create, run, and roll back schema migrations.
- PostgreSQL SELECT
SELECT, JOIN types, and filtering in PostgreSQL.
Production & deployment
- Express: Production best practices
Performance, security, and deployment recommendations.
- cors package (npm)
Configuration options for CORS middleware.
- pino-http
HTTP request logging integration for Express.
- Render — deploy a web service
Hosting Node/Express APIs (referenced in deployment lessons).
REST & HTTP
- RESTful API design (readthedocs)
Resource naming and HTTP verb conventions (cited in course).
- HTTP status codes (MDN)
When to use 200, 201, 204, 400, 404, 500, and related codes.
Program starter repos (GitHub)
- Thinkful — Node, Express, Postgres starter
Starter repo used across Knex and Express lessons.
- Thinkful — Starter tracing (complete branch)
Completed example for logging and tracing practice.
- Thinkful — Organizing Express (pastes example)
Router/controller structure demonstration project.
Career & interview
- Behavioral interview tips
Interview preparation resource from the mock interview module.
- STAR method for interviews
Structure behavioral answers: Situation, Task, Action, Result.
Tooling & workflow
- Postman documentation
Send HTTP requests, save collections, and inspect responses.
- curl manual
Command-line HTTP client for quick API checks.
- JSON formatter (online)
Pretty-print API responses when debugging (used in logging lessons).
- Git documentation
Version control basics: commit, push, and collaborate.