Learn Node.js: The Complete Course for Beginners Syllabus

Overview: This hands-on course guides beginners through Node.js fundamentals and real-world application development in under 8 hours. You'll progress from environment setup to building and deploying a complete food-delivery REST API. Each module combines concise theory with interactive coding exercises, ensuring practical mastery of core concepts, asynchronous programming, HTTP servers, Express.js, database integration, and security best practices. The course concludes with a deployable capstone project that solidifies your skills.

Module 1: Introduction & Environment Setup

Estimated time: 0.5 hours

• What is Node.js?
• Installation and REPL usage
• Project scaffolding with npm init
• Running a "Hello World" application

Module 2: The Event Loop & Concurrency

Estimated time: 0.75 hours

• Understanding the single-threaded model
• Phases of the event loop
• Callback queue and execution stack
• Writing asynchronous timers and I/O callbacks

Module 3: File System & Global Objects

Estimated time: 1 hours

• Working with the fs API for file operations
• Using the path module for file paths
• Accessing process and global objects
• Reading and writing files, logging process data

Module 4: Buffers & Streams

Estimated time: 0.75 hours

• Creating and using Buffers
• Readable and writable streams
• Handling backpressure in streams
• Streaming large files efficiently

Module 5: Modules, Events & Packages

Estimated time: 1 hours

• CommonJS module system
• Using EventEmitter for custom events
• NPM scripts and package management
• Publishing packages to NPM

Module 6: HTTP & REST API Fundamentals

Estimated time: 1 hours

• Using the built-in http module
• Handling requests and responses
• Understanding HTTP status codes
• Processing JSON payloads

Module 7: Express.js & Routing

Estimated time: 1.25 hours

• Setting up an Express application
• Defining routes with GET and POST
• Using middleware chains
• Implementing error handling

Module 8: Data Persistence & Middleware

Estimated time: 1 hours

• Connecting to MongoDB
• Using Mongoose for schema modeling
• Implementing CRUD operations
• Creating custom middleware

Module 9: Advanced Topics—Networking & Security

Estimated time: 0.75 hours

• TCP/UDP basics
• Implementing CORS
• Using Helmet for security headers
• Applying rate-limiting middleware

Module 10: Project – Food Delivery App

Estimated time: 1.5 hours

• Designing end-to-end application architecture
• Implementing user and order management routes
• Connecting to a database with Mongoose
• Deploying a working REST API

Prerequisites

• Familiarity with JavaScript fundamentals (variables, functions, objects, promises)
• Basic understanding of command-line interface
• Text editor or IDE installed

What You'll Be Able to Do After

• Explain Node.js architecture including the event loop and non-blocking I/O
• Build modular applications using core APIs and NPM packages
• Create efficient HTTP servers and RESTful APIs with Express.js
• Integrate MongoDB for persistent data storage and CRUD operations
• Deploy a secure, production-ready REST API with rate limiting and security headers