Week 1 — Express Basics & Environment Setup¶

Mar 31 – Apr 4

What We're Covering¶

This week we hit the ground running with Express and TypeScript. You'll learn how HTTP requests flow through a web server, how to define routes, handle parameters, parse request bodies, and send JSON responses. By the end of the week you should have a working Express API running locally.

Readings¶

Due This Week¶

Quiz 1 — Due: Sunday, April 5 at 11:59 PM

Canvas · Site

Covers: Networking Fundamentals, HTTP & the Web

What You Should Be Working On¶

Set up your development environment — Node.js, VS Code/WebStorm, TypeScript. See the Tools guides.
Read the Week 1 readings and take Quiz 1 before Sunday.
Start your AI Diary — begin logging how you use AI tools this week. See the AI Diary page.
Review the TypeScript guides — JavaScript for Java Developers and TypeScript Essentials are your bridge from Java. Also check out Building & Running TypeScript.
Set up your editor — See the VS Code / WebStorm setup guide.

Guides This Week¶

Web API Fundamentals: - Intro to Express - Routing & Middleware - Error Handling & Validation - API Testing

Using AI Tools: - AI Tools Setup - Using a Coding Agent

Learning Objectives & Course Outcomes¶

Syllabus Learning Objectives addressed this week:

LO1: Design and implement RESTful web APIs using a server-side framework
LO6: Transfer object-oriented programming skills to a new language and ecosystem

Course Outcomes:

Inquiry and Critical Thinking — modes of inquiry, analysis, and critical synthesis

Lecture Demo Repo¶

TCSS 460 Backend 1

github.com/UWT-SET-TCSS460-LECTURE-MATERIALS/TCSS-460-Backend-1

Express + TypeScript lecture demo — routes, HTTP methods, input handling, middleware, validation, and proxy pattern. This repo is the basis for Weeks 1-2 lectures and guides.