Absolute Path

Backend developer

Build the services that apps depend on.

A backend developer builds the servers, databases, and APIs behind apps. You learn to store data well, give it to other programs through an API, test it, and keep it secure.

  • Planned
  • 2 of 8 courses ready
  • About 25 hours in total
  • Free

Not started

Start the path

Your path, step by step

The course list is set. You can start with the courses that are ready. A step with no link is a course that is planned. Its time is an estimate.

  1. JavaScript

    Up next

    Give web pages and programs a brain.

    • Beginner
    • 11 lessons
    • 1 h 59 min

    Not started

    Why this step: This path uses JavaScript with Node.js. The same ideas apply in Python and other languages.

  2. SQL

    Not started

    Ask questions of a database and get answers.

    • Beginner
    • 10 lessons
    • 1 h 59 min

    Not started

    Why this step: A backend reads and writes data. SQL is the language of most databases.

  3. Git and GitHub

    Coming soon

    Save your work in steps, go back when you need to, and share your code.

    • About 2 h 30 min

    Why this step: Every team shares code with Git.

  4. Node.js and APIs

    Coming soon

    Write a server in JavaScript that answers requests and sends data.

    • About 5 h

    Why this step: You write a server that answers requests and sends data.

  5. Database design

    Coming soon

    Plan tables and the links between them, so that wrong data is hard to store.

    • About 3 h

    Why this step: Good tables make wrong data hard to store.

  6. API testing

    Coming soon

    Send requests to a service, and check the status code, the data, and the errors.

    • About 4 h

    Why this step: You check your own service the way a client uses it.

  7. Sign-in and deployment

    Coming soon

    Add sign-in to an app, keep it secure, and put it on the internet.

    • About 4 h

    Why this step: You add sign-in, and you put the service on the internet.

  8. Security basics

    Coming soon

    Learn the common attacks on web apps, and how to stop them.

    • About 3 h

    Why this step: You learn the common attacks on web services, and how to stop them.