Welcome to MERN Full Stack

Who this course is designed for?

• Interested in becoming a web developer

• Would benefit from mentoring to help direct your learning

• No prior knowledge assumed

• Eager to put in the time required to benefit from fast-paced program.

What will the course cover?

The essential technologies necessary to become a web developer in the shortest possible time.

The MERN Stack stands for MongoDB Express React Node.

• MongoDB is a database that runs on the back-end server.

• Express is a web application framework for building web services on the back-end.

• React is a front-end library for building UI components.

• Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment (like a web browser) that allows JavaScript to run on a web server.

Why MERN?

• Lots of jobs. It is the most in-demand front-end library/framework.

• Back-end leverages JavaScript knowledge.

  • Only have to learn one programming language.

  • Web Services are written in JavaScript

  • MongoDB data format based on JavaScript object syntax.

Fundamentals

Learn the three core technologies upon which every web site depends.

Technology	Description
HTML	A mark-up language to describe the content of web pages
CSS	A stylesheet language used to express the presentation of web pages.
JavaScript	A programming language used for both front-end and back-end development.

Front-end Web Developer

Technology	Description
React	An open-source library, built by Facebook, to easily build front-end components for web sites.

Back-end Web Developer

Technology	Description
Node.js, Express.js	Tools to build the web API (Application Programming Interface) which communicates with the front-end to deliver data back and forth.
MongoDB	Database to store application data

Developer Tools

Tool	Description
Git/GitHub	The most popular source code version control system.
Visual Studio Code	The most popular source code editor.
Slack	Team Communication/Collaboration

Where you'll be by the end of this course?

• You will learn a lot in this course. Three months of challenging material that will give you a solid foundation to becoming a web developer.

• How strong your skills are at the end depends on how much time you have to put into practice what you learn and how deeply you engage with the material.

• If you work really hard, you will be in the home-stretch of what it takes to become a web developer. What will be left to learn, you can do through self-directing learning and building more projects to strengthen your skills and build your portfolio.

How to benefit the most from the course

• Engage in learning: struggle, research, try again, struggle, research, try again, succeed.

• Learning is iterative - eventually it all starts to fit together and make sense, but you can feel overwhelmed at times along the way.

• Let me know when you don't get a concept

  • You're not dumb if you don't understand something, I'm just not explaining it well.

  • My job is to figure out how to present the information in a way that YOU understand.

Which skills are the most important?

• JavaScript programming skills are essential, and the hardest part of what you'll learn in this course.

• If you're a strong programmer, that will carry you much further than any other skill.

• Prioritize front-end skills, before back-end. There is less to learn, and plenty of jobs. It is better to be strong in one area than spread too thin across the full stack.

Course Details

Online Class	Monday-Thursdays 6pm-9pm Saturdays 9am-6pm
Homework	Minimum 10 hours/week
	Assigned after each class Due by next class session
	Assignments will be posted on Canvas Calendar
Grading	You must complete all homework/projects with 80% to receive a passing grade.
	Any homework/project can be re-submitted with improvements to reach full credit