scottschindler/webapi-i-guided

Hubs Web API is a starter project designed for students learning to build their first web API. An API is essentially a way for different software programs to talk to each other over the internet. By the end of the guided lesson, learners will have built a simple backend server that can receive requests, process them, and send back data. At a high level, the project teaches how to use two popular JavaScript tools: Node.js and Express. Node.js lets your computer run JavaScript code outside of a web browser, while Express is a framework that makes it easier to set up a web server. The project covers two core concepts: routing, which is how a server decides what to do when someone visits a specific web address, and middleware, which are helper functions that run in the background to handle common tasks before the server responds to a request. This starter code is meant for absolute beginners in a classroom or workshop setting, guided by an instructor. A typical user might be a coding bootcamp student or someone teaching themselves backend development. The project is meant to be used alongside a live lesson, where the instructor builds out the API step by step. To test the API as they build it, students use a tool called Postman, which lets you send requests to a server and see the responses without needing a full website interface. For simplicity, all the code is written in a single file. While that wouldn't be practical for a large, real-world application, it keeps things straightforward for beginners learning the ropes. The project notes that future lessons will cover how to organize code across multiple files to make APIs more maintainable.