Key Concepts Every Backend Engineer Should Master.
Published: 2023-07-31 12:42:26

I compliled a long list of essential and practical considerations when developing the backend of an application. Let's summarize and expand on each point.

**Paginate long list of data**: When dealing with large datasets, it's essential to implement pagination to split the data into smaller chunks. This allows for more efficient data retrieval and reduces the load on the server and client.

**Validate data coming in**: Data validation is crucial to ensure that the incoming data is in the correct format and meets the necessary constraints. This helps prevent errors and security vulnerabilities caused by malformed or malicious data.

**Use ORM over raw query where possible**: Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) tools provide a more abstract and intuitive way to interact with the database, making it easier to write and maintain database queries. ORM helps avoid potential SQL injection vulnerabilities and enhances code readability.

**Always return a clear message and status code to the frontend**: When responding to client requests, the backend should provide clear and informative messages along with appropriate HTTP status codes. This helps frontend developers and users understand the outcome of their requests.

**Remove unnecessary data from response payload**: Minimizing the amount of data sent in the response can improve the application's performance and reduce network overhead. Only include the essential data needed by the frontend.

**Keep things simple at first, don't over-engineer things**: Start with a simple and straightforward design for the backend. Avoid adding unnecessary complexity that might hinder development and maintenance.

**Don't optimize too early**: While performance is essential, premature optimization can lead to overcomplicated code. Focus on building a functional and secure system first, and then optimize performance based on real-world usage and profiling data.

**Think security first**: Security should be a top priority in any application. Implement best practices like hashing passwords, input validation, and avoiding SQL or NoSQL injections to protect the system from potential attacks.

**Avoid storing secrets in JWT**: JSON Web Tokens (JWT) are commonly used for authentication, but sensitive data like passwords or cryptographic keys should not be stored in them. Instead, use JWT to hold lightweight and non-sensitive information.

**Cache frequently accessed data**: Caching can significantly improve the application's performance by storing frequently accessed data in memory. This reduces the need to fetch the same data repeatedly from the database.

**Understand the problem and the domain**: To build an effective backend, it's essential to have a good understanding of the problem domain. Properly model the data and design the system to meet the specific requirements of the application.

**Authentication and authorization**: The backend should handle user authentication to verify the identity of clients and then authorize access to specific resources based on user roles and permissions.

**Database communication**: The backend is responsible for interacting with the database, including reading, writing, updating, and deleting data. It should execute queries efficiently and handle database errors.

**Error handling**: The backend should handle errors gracefully and provide meaningful error messages to clients to aid in debugging and troubleshooting.

**Logging and monitoring**: The backend should log important events and errors to facilitate debugging and provide insights into the system's health and performance.

**Request/response compression**: Implementing compression techniques like Gzip or Brotli can reduce the size of data transferred between the backend and the client, resulting in faster communication.

**Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS)**: If the backend provides APIs that are consumed by different domains, it should properly handle CORS to control access from different origins and prevent unauthorized cross-origin requests.

**Integration with external services**: Many applications rely on external services like payment gateways, email services, or third-party APIs. The backend should be able to integrate with these services securely.

**Unit testing and validation**: To ensure the reliability and correctness of the backend code, it should be thoroughly tested with unit tests and validated against various use cases.

Share your thought in case I miss any. I am willing to learn.