Learn Chai, Nginx and Openapi

Node.js is a platform built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime for easily building fast, scalable network applications. Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient, perfect for data-intensive real-time applications that run across distributed devices.

node

Ghost has two hard dependencies which need to be installed before it can run. Those are Nginx and Node.js.

We will start by installing Nginx and set Nginx up to control the traffic coming into the EC2 server. After this, we'll install NVM using the raw install script that they provide on GitHub. With NVM installed we can then install the latest version of Node.js


Install Nginx and Node.js on a AWS EC2 Server

NGINX is a free, open-source, high-performance HTTP server and reverse proxy, as well as an IMAP/POP3 proxy server. 

nginx

Node.js apps built with Docker cannot scale horizontally by themselves. In this lesson we will spawn out multiple Node.js processes/containers, and move the incoming request handler to an Nginx proxy to load balance and properly scale our Node.js app.

Scale Docker Horizontally with Nginx Load Balancing

Chai is a BDD / TDD assertion library for node and the browser that can be delightfully paired with any javascript testing framework.

chai

In this lesson, you will learn how to verify your API server is returning HTTP 400 responses when clients submit incorrect data. Returning HTTP 400 ensures that your clients are notified of the incorrect usage. Testing for them ensures your API returns errors instead of incorrect responses when supplied with incorrect data.

Test for HTTP 400 responses with Mocha and Chai

In this lesson, we will use Chai's request method to test our Node application's API responses.
By the end of this lesson, you will know how to:
- install the prerequisites to use mocha and chai in your application
- test for HTTP status response codes
- test for a string of text on a page
- test for a json response and validate the properties of the object
- write tests that not only verify the response of your application, but the behavior as well


Test Node RESTful API with Mocha and Chai

Open API Initiative (OAI) is focused on creating, evolving and promoting a vendor neutral API Description Format based on the Swagger Specification

openapi

Swagger is a project used to describe restful APIs using the OpenAPI Specification. It allows you to document your API so consumers understand the endpoints, parameters, and responses. In this lesson, I'll show you how to install the swagger command line tool, create a new API project using swagger, and introduce you to the swagger API editor.

Create an API with Swagger

There are a lot of great monitoring tools available for Node.js. It is also incredibly easy to build monitoring into your application. In this lesson, we will add precision monitoring to the function calls in the Todo API server, log it to the console, and persist those results to Elasticsearch where they can later be reviewed, graphed, and analyzed.

Build Monitoring into your API Server

In this lesson, I will show you how to update a simple, skeleton React application to work with the Todo API server built with Swagger. Using existing components, you will learn how to display all Todo items, update an existing Todo item, and add a new Todo item.

Connect an existing React application to an API server created with Swagger

The last step before deploying your new API server into production is to load test it. Load testing allows you to better understand the performance characteristics as well as forecast load and capacity. Fortunately, load testing is incredibly easy and I'll show you exactly how to create a load test plan, test the response from the API server to ensure it is responding correctly, and scale your test up to simulate as many users as needed.

Perform Load Tests on an API Server using Apache jmeter

This lesson shows you how to delete a Todo item from Elasticsearch using the Todo ID from the URL parameters according to the specifications defined in your Swagger API docs.

Create a Node.js function for an HTTP DELETE request for a Swagger API

This lesson will teach you how to create the javascript functions defined by the Swagger specification to return all Todo items to the client when requested with an HTTP GET method.

Create a Node.js function for an HTTP GET request for a Swagger API

This lesson shows you how to create the functions defined in the Todo API specification to create new Todo items when received in HTTP POST methods. You will also see the errors you will get when CORS is not properly configured and how to resolve them by installing the NPM CORS package.

Create a Node.js function for an HTTP POST request for a Swagger API

This lesson will teach you how to update a Todo item in Elasticsearch when received from an HTTP PUT method in your API server built with Swagger.

Create a Node.js function for an HTTP PUT request for a Swagger API

In this lesson, you will learn how to create a function in your Node.js Todo API server that gets the ID of the Todo item being requested from the URL and retrieve the Todo item from Elasticsearch.

Create a Node.js function for an HTTP GET request with URL parameters

In this lesson, you will learn how to define an HTTP GET endpoint using Swagger with URL parameters to identify the ID of the Todo item being requested.

Define an HTTP GET Endpoint with URL Parameters for a Node.js Server with Swagger

In this lesson, you will learn how to create an HTTP GET endpoint for a node.js server using Swagger. This endpoint will be used to return all of the Todo items from Elasticsearch to the client.

Define an HTTP GET Endpoint for a Node.js API Server with Swagger

This lesson demonstrates how to access the ID of a Todo item being deleted from the URL parameters when used with an HTTP DELETE method.



Define an HTTP DELETE Endpoint for a Node.js API Server with Swagger

In this lesson, you will learn how to define HTTP POST operations for your Todo API server using Swagger. Creating the endpoint, passing the todo in the request body, and parsing the todo are all demonstrated.

Define an HTTP POST Endpoint for a Node.js Server with Swagger

In this lesson, you will learn how to define multiple parameters in the API specification to identify the ID of the Todo item being updated in the URL, as well as the contents for the updated Todo item in the body of the request.

Define an HTTP PUT Endpoint for a Node.js API Server with Swagger

APIs created with Swagger have a built-in mock function, allowing you to mock responses from your API prior to writing the backend code to make it functional. In addition to learning how to enable this feature, I will show you how to write your own functions to enhance the mock responses returned when using the Swagger mock feature.

Mock API Responses with Swagger

Schema definitions allow you to define the format and types of data sent and received by your API. This allows consumers of your API to be confident in using your API. In this lesson, you will learn how to create a schema definition for the Todo API server. 

Create An API Schema Definition Using Swagger

In this course, we will build a ToDo API that stores notes using the OpenAPI Specification (Swagger). We will start with a blank API definition using the Swagger Online Editor. The Swagger definition file will be used to create a Node.js API. Along the way, we will discover how to implement additional details required for a fully functional API requests and responses. We will also learn about the powerful capabilities of Swagger to generate server side code and client libraries.

Build Node.js APIs with OpenAPI Spec (Swagger)

I've been using Cursor for a very long time and their "Agent" feature in Composer is fairly new, so I'm still getting used to it. But since Windsurf recently got onto the stage with their Cascade agent, they've slowly been gaining the mind share on the UX for coding agents. I decided to put them to the test by putting Windsurf and Cursor on the exact same screen side by side trying to accomplish the same task and to see which workflow I would prefer. I've been a diehard Cursor user for over a year now, so it's going to take a lot for me to switch to a different IDE. But I just have to say, even from this simple demo, Windsurf is looking pretty nice.

This lesson is just going to walk through creating a CLI using both tools to print out inspirational quotes and to explore how they approach the step-by-step of installing packages and running commands and setting up all the files we need to get this running.

Windsurf Cascade vs. Cursor Composer Agent Side-by-Side Comparison

This TypeScript tutorial explains how to use generics, allowing for different types to be passed as arguments. It discusses the use of shorthand syntax in generics and illustrates with examples. This method is useful for library creation, providing type safety and control to the user.

```typescript
interface PhotoMetadata<T> {
  title: string;
  takenAt: Date;
  customData: T;
}

// Function that processes a photo with custom metadata
function processPhoto<T>(photo: PhotoMetadata<T>): {
  processedTitle: string;
  daysSinceCapture: number;
  customDataSummary: T;
} {
  const today = new Date();
  const daysSinceCapture = Math.floor(
    (today.getTime() - photo.takenAt.getTime()) / (1000 * 60 * 60 * 24)
  );

  return {
    processedTitle: photo.title.toUpperCase(),
    daysSinceCapture,
    customDataSummary: photo.customData
  };
}

// Example usage with different custom data shapes
type CameraSettings = {
  iso: number;
  aperture: string;
  shutterSpeed: string;
}

type LocationData = {
  latitude: number;
  longitude: number;
  locationName: string;
}

// Using with camera settings
const photoWithCamera: PhotoMetadata<CameraSettings> = {
  title: "Sunset at beach",
  takenAt: new Date('2024-01-15'),
  customData: {
    iso: 100,
    aperture: "f/2.8",
    shutterSpeed: "1/1000"
  }
};

// Using with location data
const photoWithLocation: PhotoMetadata<LocationData> = {
  title: "Mountain vista",
  takenAt: new Date('2024-02-01'),
  customData: {
    latitude: 45.5231,
    longitude: -122.6765,
    locationName: "Mount Hood"
  }
};

const processedCameraPhoto = processPhoto(photoWithCamera);
const processedLocationPhoto = processPhoto(photoWithLocation);

processedCameraPhoto.customDataSummary.iso
processedLocationPhoto.customDataSummary.longitude

```

Basic Explanation of Typescript Generics

A very basic explanation of generic function arguments

I've been using Cursor as my primary editor for over a year now, but recently I've heard wonderful things about Windsurf AI Agent features. I decided to record myself building out something I've always wanted to make, but never made the time for.

In this lesson, I demonstrate how to leverage Windsurf's powerful agent process to create a fun word-guessing game inspired by Heads Up. Watch as I build an interactive application featuring category selection and word navigation, complete with data hosting on GitHub Gists and deployment to GitHub Pages - all in under 30 minutes (before editing the lesson down to 12 minutes)!

What makes this project particularly exciting is how Windsurf eliminates the typical friction points of development. While this game was always on my project wishlist, the overhead of setup, configuration, and deployment made it hard to justify the time investment. Windsurf's agent process handles all these pain points seamlessly, from managing URLs to orchestrating deployment.

This lesson perfectly showcases how AI agents can help developers bring their backlog of project ideas to life, transforming what would typically be time-consuming tasks into efficient, enjoyable development experiences.

Build a Word Game with Windsurf's Cascade AI Agent



Discover how to harness the power of Cursor IDE's Composer Agent feature to optimize your code. In this lesson, you'll witness an AI agent doing all the work to generate test suites, implement performance benchmarks, and create optimized function variations - all without writing a single line of code. You'll learn how to validate performance improvements through data-driven benchmarking, ensuring that optimizations are backed by concrete metrics rather than speculation. This hands-on demonstration showcases a groundbreaking approach to automated function development that combines the precision of test-driven development with the efficiency of AI-powered optimization.


Agent-Driven Development in Cursor: Testing, Benchmarking, and Optimizing Functions

This course is aimed for using `zod` effectively in projects based on TypeScript (both browser and node.js). The benefits you gain with this course is not just simply coding, but also understanding when/why/how should you perform runtime validation.

`zod` is the missing piece to TypeScript's capabilities, which can guarantee type-safety only in compile-time.

`zod` can be used whenever the compiler cannot guarantee what happens in runtime. And... it's a very frequent usecase, such as HTTP calls, websockets, etc.

In this course you get quickly up and running by:
1. using `zod` with primitives and objects
2. adapting `zod` quickly to existing projects thanks to automatic generators
3. changing the strategy frm type-first to schema-first
4. using error-throwing `parse` or non-error-throwing `safeParse` basing on your needs
5. applying `zod` to the most common usecase - validating API responses
6. handling errors the most convenient way (out of many!)

Take advantage of runtime validation with `zod`. Take advantage of the detailed lessons in this course 🔥

Effective Runtime Type Checks with Zod


Cursor can now automatically run commands in the terminal and walk step-by-step towards building out your entire project. You give it a goal, then it will suggest the commands you need to run and the files that you need to create and you can work with it to achieve what you're building. This lesson does a quick walkthough of using a Cursor Agent to build a project from scratch and guide it along the way. Cursor Agents definitely feel like a sneak peek at the future of programming!

Cursor Agents Initial Impressions - Allow an AI to Build Your Entire Project

Mock Service Worker is an API mocking library that allows you to write client-agnostic mocks and reuse them across any frameworks, tools, and environments.



Mocking WebSocket APIs with Mock Service Worker


While using anonymous functions might seem convenient, they can create difficulties when trying to identify performance bottlenecks during profiling. This lesson will demonstrate how named functions make it easier to pinpoint and address performance issues, ultimately leading to more efficient and debuggable code. Learning this practice will greatly improve your ability to locate and fix performance issues in complex projects.

Always Name Functions in JavaScript


When attempting to load the same module twice in JavaScript you'll hit a cache and code won't re-run. In scenarios where you actually do want to have state in your modules, you'll have to use a cache-busting technique by passing a query parameter to a dynamic import. This lesson walks through how to add a query parameter, how to add the appropriate types for loading dynamic modules in TypeScript, and when these techniques are valuable.

Import the Same JavaScript Module Multiple Times with Cache Busting



The include keyword in GitHub Actions empowers you to add custom variables to your matrix strategy, providing flexibility beyond standard configurations. In this video, we'll explore how include allows you to define specific combinations of variables, enhancing control over your workflow runs. You'll see how this feature enables you to tailor jobs for unique environments or scenarios not covered by the default matrix options. By leveraging include, you can efficiently manage complex build processes with greater precision. This technique helps you streamline your CI/CD pipeline, making it more adaptable to your project's evolving needs.

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