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While studying backend we find a lot of different terminologies coming in our path and if your basic is not clear you are going to scratch your head. Backend development is very much interesting if you know all the basics and all your concepts are clear. So in this post I'll be covering every basic terminology used in backend developement to make your learning pathway interesting. So let's get started 🔥
Server and Client
In our backend development or working with Node or something we talk a lot about server and client like we need to create a server where requests can be handled and stuff. So let's see what this server exactly is.
Server -: A server is a computer or system that provides resources, data, services, or programs to other computers, known as clients, over a network.
They often host websites, web applications, APIs, databases and other resources.
Client -: A client is any computer hardware or software device that requests access to a service provided by a server.
Suppose you are user and you want to access an e-commerce website through your machine (client). So you will make request for that e-commerce website and the server of e-commerce website (service provider) will give you required response.
Browser
A browser is a software application used to access and view information on world wide web. They interpret and render web pages written in HTML, CSS and JS. Browsers send requests to servers to retrieve web pages and other resources.
Port
A port is a 16-bit number ranging from 0 to 65535 that identifies a specific process or service on a device. It allows multiple network services to coexist on a single machine. Let's understand it in easy langauge.
When a user sends a request to a server, the server determines the type of service being requested. If the request is for email services, the server directs the request to a specific port dedicated to handling email communications. For example, email services like SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) typically use port 25. The server identifies that the incoming request is for email and forwards it to port 25, where the email service is running and ready to process the request.
A port is a communication endpoint in a networked system. Servers use ports to manage different types of network services. Each port number is associated with a specific service or protocol. By directing traffic to the appropriate port, the server can ensure that the request reaches the correct service for processing.
HTTP Headers
HTTP headers are the hidden communicator of the HTTP protocol, providing critical metadata for both requests and responses. They help define the security of the interaction, how to interpret the content, define capabilities of the actors, controlling caching, etc.
An HTTP request contains a header area with information such as the date of the request, the referrer, or the preferred language. The HTTP response also contains a header field in which the server sends its information to the user's browser. This information exchange is usually invisible to the end user.
For example, when a browser requests a webpage, it might include headers like Accept-Language to specify the user's preferred language. The server can then use this information to serve the webpage in the appropriate language.
Types of HTTP Headers
Request Headers : Sent by the client to provide information about the request.
Response Headers : Sent by the server to provide information about the response.
HTTP
HTTP stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol. It is a protocol for fetching resources such as HTML documents. It is the foundation of any data exchange on the Web and it is a client-server protocol, which means requests are initiated by the recipient, usually the Web browser.
HTTPs
Hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) is the secure version of HTTP, which is the primary protocol used to send data between a web browser and a website. HTTPS is encrypted in order to increase security of data transfer.
Database
A structured collection of data that is stored and managed electronically. Backend systems often interact with databases to store, retrieve, update, and delete data. Examples include SQL databases (like MySQL, PostgreSQL) and NoSQL databases (like MongoDB).
API
API stands for Application Programming Interface. In the context of APIs, the word Application refers to any software with a distinct function. Interface can be thought of as a contract of service between two applications. This contract defines how the two communicate with each other using requests and responses.
End point
API endpoints serve as the specific digital locations where client requests for information are sent by one program to retrieve the digital resource that exists there. They're the points at which the client and the server communicate, enabling two applications to share resources.
Middleware
Middleware is software that sits between the client and the server, processing requests before they reach the server and responses before they are sent back to the client. Examples include authentication middleware, logging, and request parsers.
CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete)
The four basic operations that can be performed on data in a database:
Create: Add new data.
Read: Retrieve existing data.
Update: Modify existing data.
Delete: Remove data.
Session
A session is a way to store user data on the server for use across multiple requests. Sessions are often used to maintain state in web applications, such as keeping a user logged in.
Won't make this blog longer and boring. So this is it for this blog we will take our discussion further in next blog.
Thankyou 🤍
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