Day 1: Intro to Node.js 26 & Express v5 | Full Backend Bootcamp

Welcome to Day 1 of the Ultimate Express.js & Node.js Backend Bootcamp! 🚀 In this first episode, we lay the groundwork for modern backend engineering by introducing the event-driven Node.js runtime and Express.js, a minimal and flexible web application framework that provides robust features for building RESTful APIs . We dive heavily into the brand-new features of Node.js 26, released on May 5, 2026 . We explore the upgraded V8 14.6 engine, which brings new JavaScript language features like Map and WeakMap upsert methods (getOrInsert and getOrInsertComputed) and Iterator.concat() for iterator sequencing directly to your code . We also explore the highly anticipated Temporal API, which is now enabled by default and serves as a modern, unambiguous replacement for the legacy Date object to effortlessly handle time zones and calendars . Additionally, we will build on the modernized Express v5, which drops legacy Node support and brings native async/await middleware capabilities to your server . By the end of this video, you will know how to set up your environment, initialize your very first project, and build foundational GET and POST routes to handle HTTP requests. 📚 What You Will Learn in This Video: Introduction to Node.js & Express.js: Discover why Express remains the industry standard for rapid REST API development and microservices . Node.js 26 Updates: Learn about the V8 14.6 engine upgrades and how to leverage new native JavaScript methods . The Temporal API: See how to use Node's new default time and date API to avoid the well-known pitfalls of the old Date object . Modern Express v5: Work with the modernized Express framework that features native async/await routing . Project Initialization & Basic Routing: A step-by-step guide to initializing your project and writing your first GET and POST routes to map URLs to backend logic . ⏱️ Timestamps: 0:00 - Welcome to the 28-Day Backend Bootcamp! 2:15 - What is Node.js and Express.js? 6:30 - Exploring Node.js 26: V8 14.6 & The Temporal API 12:45 - Initializing Your First Node Project with Express v5 18:20 - Setting Up a Basic Express Server 24:10 - Writing Your First GET and POST Routes 30:00 - Wrap Up & What to Expect in Day 2 🔗 Resources & Links: Follow along with the course repository on GitHub! Make sure to Like, Comment, and Subscribe and hit the bell notification so you don't miss Day 2 where we apply these concepts to build our Express blueprint!