Backend Development

API Design

RESTful Conventions

GET    /users          # List users
POST   /users          # Create user
GET    /users/:id      # Get user
PUT    /users/:id      # Update user (full)
PATCH  /users/:id      # Update user (partial)
DELETE /users/:id      # Delete user

GET    /users/:id/posts  # List user's posts
POST   /users/:id/posts  # Create post for user

Response Format

{
  "data": { ... },
  "meta": {
    "page": 1,
    "per_page": 20,
    "total": 100
  }
}

Error Format

{
  "error": {
    "code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
    "message": "Invalid input",
    "details": [
      { "field": "email", "message": "Invalid format" }
    ]
  }
}

Database Patterns

Schema Design

-- Use UUIDs for public IDs
CREATE TABLE users (
  id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  public_id UUID DEFAULT gen_random_uuid() UNIQUE,
  email VARCHAR(255) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
  created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW(),
  updated_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Soft deletes
ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN deleted_at TIMESTAMPTZ;

-- Indexes
CREATE INDEX idx_users_email ON users(email);
CREATE INDEX idx_users_created ON users(created_at DESC);

Query Patterns

-- Pagination with cursor
SELECT * FROM posts
WHERE created_at < $cursor
ORDER BY created_at DESC
LIMIT 20;

-- Efficient counting
SELECT reltuples::bigint AS estimate
FROM pg_class WHERE relname = 'users';

Authentication

JWT Pattern

interface TokenPayload {
  sub: string;      // User ID
  iat: number;      // Issued at
  exp: number;      // Expiration
  scope: string[];  // Permissions
}

function verifyToken(token: string): TokenPayload {
  return jwt.verify(token, SECRET) as TokenPayload;
}