Building a REST API with NodeJS, Express, and MongoDB [2024]

This is a comprehensive and free Udemy course on building REST APIs with Node.js, Express, and MongoDB.

In this course, I have structured the content into two main parts to ensure a well-rounded learning experience:

Theory:

1. Gain a deep understanding of APIs: We’ll go over the theory and fundamentals of APIs, exploring their definition, purpose, and application.
2. Master CRUD operations: Learn about Create, Read, Update, and Delete operations, understanding their significance and practical implementation in API development.
3. Explore different Server response types: Learn about the various response types that APIs handle, covering status codes, headers, and response bodies.

Practical:

1. Set up MongoDB database: Learn how to create a MongoDB database using MongoDB Compass (GUI) and populate it with mock data from Mockaroo.
2. Configure Node.js environment: Create a Node.js environment for your API development and install necessary dependencies.
3. Implement Express and MongoDB driver: Install and configure Express.js and MongoDB driver to facilitate seamless interaction between your Node.js application and MongoDB database.
4. Build a robust server: Develop a server using app.listen() and define API endpoints (routes/URIs) for performing CRUD operations (GET, POST, PATCH, DELETE).
5. Enhance functionality with pagination: Implement pagination for MongoDB’s .find() method to efficiently handle large datasets.
6. Handle status codes effectively: Define and handle different HTTP status codes (200, 201, 204, 400, 500) for each API response, ensuring a smooth user experience.
7. Test your API: Utilize Postmann, an Open Source Chrome extension, to thoroughly test your API with various requests and validate its functionality.

By the end of this course, you’ll have the knowledge and practical skills to confidently build and test REST APIs using Node.js, Express, and MongoDB.