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Padlor Knowledge

Engineering foundations, explained clearly.

The knowledge behind Padlor — a structured, practical path through the concepts real engineers use every day, from HTTP to architecture.

It is an expanding library. We publish the full outline so you can see where it is going, and write it module by module — 53 topics are readable now, and the rest are marked as planned. Everything published is finished writing; nothing here is a stub.

Start with the Foundation 100Browse by technology →

The Foundation 100

The full outline, ten modules deep. Each card shows how much of that module is written and ready to read.

All modules →
Module 15/10 written

Web Fundamentals

How the web works — HTTP, REST, authentication, and the core request and response building blocks every backend shares.

Module 29/10 written

Node.js & Express Foundations

Running JavaScript on the server and building HTTP APIs with Node.js and Express.

Module 30/10 written

Database & Prisma Foundations

Relational data modelling with PostgreSQL and type-safe access through Prisma.

Module 410/10 written

API Design & Backend Patterns

Designing clean, evolvable APIs — DTOs, pagination, versioning, and the patterns behind them.

Module 510/10 written

React Foundations

Building user interfaces with components, props, state, and the core mechanics of React.

Module 610/10 written

Frontend Architecture

Structuring real React applications — routing, state management, data fetching, and performance.

Module 70/10 written

Testing & Quality

Testing strategy and code quality — from unit tests to end-to-end, plus linting and reviews.

Module 80/10 written

Git & Collaboration

Version control and team workflow — branching, merging, pull requests, and releases.

Module 90/10 written

DevOps & Deployment

Shipping software — containers, pipelines, configuration, and safe deployment.

Module 109/10 written

Software Engineering & Architecture

Principles and patterns for designing systems that scale and endure.

Explore by technology

All technologies →
Node.js30React20Express9NestJS8REST API7TypeScript7JavaScript6HTTP5Authentication2Error Handling2

Recently added

beginner2 min read

React Components

The building block of a React app: a function that returns markup describing a piece of the UI, which you compose together to build whole screens.

beginner2 min read

HTTP

How clients and servers communicate on the web through stateless request and response messages made of methods, paths, headers, and status codes.

beginner2 min read

Sorting

Letting clients control the order of a collection through query parameters, over whitelisted fields and always with a stable tiebreaker.

beginner2 min read

REST APIs

A style for designing web APIs around resources, reusing HTTP methods and status codes so the interface is predictable and any client can consume it.

beginner2 min read

Response Formatting

Giving an API a consistent response structure — for both success and error — so every client can parse results and handle failures the same way.

intermediate2 min read

Pagination

Returning a large collection in smaller pages instead of all at once, using offset or cursor strategies to keep responses fast and bounded.