Training

If you want to learn how to build an app like Scoutradioz from the ground up - and get familiar with the key technologies along the way - this is the right place!

Background

Scoutradioz started with a couple of Team 102 students and mentors following a minimal tutorial for setting up a web app leveraging Node (Javascript runtime), Express (a web application framework), and Mongo (a NoSQL database).

The application has grown in breadth and complexity and has done a lot of maturing since then. Lots of lessons were learned along the way! And a great way to learn those lessons now is to follow in those footsteps and build your own application.

This tutorial is a work in progress. As we add to it and fill it out, you'll walk through putting together an application leveraging the same technologies and design patterns, from an initial "read-Hello-World-from-a-database-and-show-on-a-webpage" demo app, to being able to upload photos from a phone or computer, to using CSS, setting up authentication, and more!

Syllabus

1. "Hello World" tutorial
   • Tutorial #1: Setup
   • Tutorial #2: Hello World
   • Tutorial #3: Using Our Database
2. Source control
   • TODO (.gitignore, node_modules, etc.)
3. Designing an application
   • Architecture
   • Feature layout
   • "Imageboard"
4. Coding best practices
   • Good coding practice
   • Logging
   • Eslint
5. User accounts
   • Authentication
   • Administration and user preferences
   • Security / roles
6. CSS and custom stylesheets
   • Responsive design
   • Static files
   • Web UI menus
7. View best practices
   • Layout
   • Mixin functions
   • Clean code
8. Route best practices
   • Multiple routes
   • Async/await
   • Middleware functions
9. Image uploading
   • File storage
   • AvatarStorage
10. Databases and data structures
    • Mongo queries
    • Scoutradioz-Utilities
    • DB update scripts
11. Database maintenance
    • TODO (cloning, backups, restores, etc.)
12. Error handling and info messages
    • Alerts
    • Notification cards
13. Making REST calls
    • TBA (The Blue Alliance) APIs
14. AWS (Amazon Web Services)
    • Lambda
    • API Gateway
    • S3
    • Configuration management and YAML
    • MongoDB Atlas
    • CloudWatch
15. Legal aspects of OSS (open source software)
    • Licensing (AGPLv3, etc.)
    • Trademarks
    • Patents