Introduction:

Express.js is a popular web application framework for Node.js, widely used for building APIs and web applications. It’s an essential component of the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js). In this article, we’ll provide you with a detailed 8-hour daily roadmap, resources, links, and tools to learn Express.js (MREN) and become proficient with the latest version. Let’s dive in!

Day 1: Setting up the environment and understanding the basics

1. Introduction to Express.js (1 hour) Resource: Official Express.js Documentation – https://expressjs.com/en/starter/installing.html
2. Setting up Node.js and NPM (1 hour) Resource: Node.js – https://nodejs.org/en/download/
3. Creating a basic Express.js application (2 hours) Resource: Express.js “Hello World” Example – https://expressjs.com/en/starter/hello-world.html
4. Understanding routes and route handling (2 hours) Resource: Express.js Routing – https://expressjs.com/en/guide/routing.html
5. Exploring the Express.js application structure (2 hours) Resource: Express.js Application Structure – https://www.sitepoint.com/creating-restful-apis-express-4/

Day 2: Middleware and handling requests

1. Introduction to middleware (1 hour) Resource: Express.js Middleware – https://expressjs.com/en/guide/using-middleware.html
2. Using built-in middleware (1 hour) Resource: Built-in Middleware – https://expressjs.com/en/resources/middleware.html
3. Handling HTTP requests and responses (2 hours) Resource: MDN Web Docs – https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Methods
4. Request and response objects (2 hours) Resource: Express.js Request and Response Objects – https://expressjs.com/en/4x/api.html#req
5. Implementing custom middleware (2 hours) Resource: Writing Middleware – https://expressjs.com/en/guide/writing-middleware.html

Day 3: Working with databases (MongoDB)

1. Introduction to MongoDB (1 hour) Resource: Official MongoDB Documentation – https://docs.mongodb.com/manual/introduction/
2. Setting up MongoDB (1 hour) Resource: MongoDB Installation – https://docs.mongodb.com/manual/installation/
3. Using Mongoose with Express.js (2 hours) Resource: Mongoose Documentation – https://mongoosejs.com/docs/guide.html
4. Creating a basic CRUD application (4 hours) Resource: Build a Simple CRUD App with Express.js and MongoDB – https://zellwk.com/blog/crud-express-mongodb/

Day 4: Authentication and authorization

1. Introduction to authentication and authorization (1 hour) Resource: Auth0 – https://auth0.com/learn/authentication-vs-authorization/
2. Implementing user authentication with Passport.js (3 hours) Resource: Passport.js Documentation – http://www.passportjs.org/docs/
3. Implementing JWT authentication (2 hours) Resource: JWT.io – https://jwt.io/introduction/
4. Authorization and role-based access control (2 hours) Resource: Role-Based Access Control – https://www.sitepoint.com/role-based-access-control-in-node-js/

Day 5: Integrating the frontend (React)

1. Introduction to React (1 hour) Resource: Official React Documentation – https://reactjs.org/docs/getting-started.html
2. Setting up a React app with Create React App (1 hour) Resource: Create

React App – https://reactjs.org/docs/create-a-new-react-app.html

3. Connecting React with Express.js (2 hours) Resource: Building a Full-Stack MERN App – https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/create-a-fullstack-react-app-with-node-express-and-mongodb/
4. Handling frontend requests using Axios (2 hours) Resource: Axios – https://axios-http.com/docs/intro
5. Implementing user authentication on the frontend (2 hours) Resource: React Authentication – https://auth0.com/blog/react-tutorial-building-and-securing-your-first-app/

Day 6: Testing and deployment

1. Introduction to testing Express.js applications (1 hour) Resource: Testing Express.js Applications – https://expressjs.com/en/advanced/best-practice-tests.html
2. Writing tests with Jest and Supertest (3 hours) Resource: Jest – https://jestjs.io/ Resource: Supertest – https://github.com/visionmedia/supertest
3. Deploying Express.js applications on Heroku (2 hours) Resource: Deploying Node.js Apps on Heroku – https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/getting-started-with-nodejs
4. Deploying the React frontend on Netlify (2 hours) Resource: Deploy a React App to Netlify – https://www.netlify.com/blog/2016/07/22/deploy-react-apps-in-less-than-30-seconds/

Day 7: Optimizing and scaling

1. Performance optimization in Express.js (2 hours) Resource: Express.js Performance Best Practices – https://expressjs.com/en/advanced/best-practice-performance.html
2. Implementing caching (2 hours) Resource: Caching in Express.js – https://www.sitepoint.com/cache-fetched-ajax-requests/
3. Scaling Express.js applications (2 hours) Resource: Scaling Node.js Applications – https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-scale-a-node-js-application-with-redis-and-workers-on-heroku
4. Review and practice (2 hours)

Conclusion:

This 7-day, 8-hour daily roadmap will help you learn Express.js as part of the MERN stack and become proficient in the latest version. Remember that practice is essential for reinforcing your skills, so don’t hesitate to create small projects or contribute to open-source projects as you gain confidence in your abilities. Good luck on your journey to becoming an Express.js expert!