During the front-end development section of the software engineering track you created several static websites that run client-side in the browser. The backend section of the software engineering track introduces dynamic websites that run server-side and are then served to the client as static files. AJAX and client-side frameworks such as React blur this traditional distinction between client-side and server-side applications by rendering content served by APIs, but the distinction remains. The footprint of the server-side codebase has just become smaller in that HTML templating of data has moved client-side. The business logic of applications still runs server-side as running this code client- side presents a significant security risk.
In this assignment we'll introduce server-side web development starting with relational database design. Web applications, are a means of interacting with data, therefore database design is among the most important aspects of application development. The majority of performance issues exist at the database level, or data tier, of applications. Despite the best efforts of front-end developers, a poorly designed database will severally impact user-experience. By the end of the assignment you will understand how to design a data model for you application that will eliminate many of these concerns.
The assignment focuses on the design and implementation of a content management system using PostgreSQL and Flask. Most web applications have a content management component, so the design and implementation of a content management system will touch much of what you'll need in any application. Because web application frameworks typically include a content management component, you may or may not need to implement a content management system yourself, but the skills you'll learn in this assignment are nearly universally transferable.