Why I Started Learning Express.js Differently

Two months ago, if you asked me, “What is Express?”

I would have said, “Express is a framework that handles requests, generates responses, and is used to build servers. That’s it.”

I also learned Express from tutorials and built the projects that the instructor instructed me to build, which you’ve probably done too.

After that, I built my personal project. I had a clear idea of the project, so I built it.

I knew how to use controllers and routers, how to handle errors, requests, and responses, and how to implement middleware because I learned all these things from the tutorials.

But somehow, I felt that something was confusing me.

I didn’t clearly know what was confusing me.

But I found out what was confusing me after a very long time.

And that thing is very interesting:

Why?

What is “why”?

For me, “why” means: “Why do all these things work this way?”

I knew how to build a project using controllers and middleware. I knew how to handle requests and responses.

But the “why” was missing, and I realized this after a very long time.

The “why” is very important when learning the “how.”

I think some realizations are important because they give you the right perspective to see things.

Every time I need to learn a new technology, I run toward “how” and not “why".

The thinking behind “why” is important when understanding how we implement a technology in our projects.

Why gives you an engineering perspective and a clear answer to why we use this technology instead of another technology.

To understand the why give to ability to use this particular technology in particular situation.

That shift helped me understand the engineering thinking behind the technologies I use—not just the APIs, syntax, or common patterns.

So I decided to start sharing this way of thinking here.

I’m starting with Express.js, and I’ll be sharing what I learn along the way.

If you’re also trying to move from “I can use it” to “I understand why it works,” follow along.

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If you’re also learning software development, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.