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Code by Pawpu

Backend

Node.js / Backend

HTTP handlers, jobs, validation, and failure modes in Node services.

Node.js · JavaScript · TypeScript · 3 published · 19 in the review queue. Written by Al Beltran.

  2. A sealed glass capsule on a dark bench with circuitry faintly visible inside
    Engineering

    Wasm on the Server Is a Boundary Tool

    WebAssembly in the data center is useful when you need isolation, multi-language plugins, or a portable sandbox. It is not a replacement for a well-run service.

    #wasm#architecture#isolation#platforms

Review queue

Planned notes stay unpublished until they are written and reviewed. Titles are listed so the topic map is complete. They are not pages.

  1. Errors in Node: Callbacks, Rejections, and What You Swallow

    Unhandled rejections, error-first callbacks, and the difference between crash and continue.

    educational · intermediate · medium priority

  2. Node Streams When the File Does Not Fit in Memory

    When to stream, when a buffer is fine, and how backpressure shows up as a quiet OOM.

    educational · intermediate · medium priority

  3. One Node Process vs a Cluster: What You Are Actually Scaling

    CPU cores, sticky sessions, and why more processes will not fix a synchronous JSON.parse of 20MB.

    architecture · intermediate · medium priority

  4. Express Middleware Order Is the Bug

    Auth after the handler, parsers twice, and the 404 that never runs.

    troubleshooting · intermediate · medium priority

  5. REST API Versioning Without a Permanent v2 Graveyard

    Headers vs paths, expand/contract, and when a new resource beats a new version.

    architecture · intermediate · medium priority

  6. Inbound Webhooks: Signatures, Retries, and Idempotency

    Verify the sender, tolerate duplicates, and do not do the expensive work in the request thread if you can avoid it.

    architecture · intermediate · medium priority

  7. CPU-Bound Work in Node: Move It or Pay the Event Loop

    Worker threads, child processes, or another runtime — pick one before the p95 becomes a mystery.

    problem-solving · intermediate · medium priority

  8. Graceful Shutdown in Node: Finish the Request You Already Accepted

    SIGTERM, in-flight HTTP, open DB pools, and the deploy that killed work mid-write.

    troubleshooting · intermediate · medium priority

  9. Config vs Secrets in Node Services

    What belongs in env, what belongs in a secret store, and what should never be logged.

    educational · intermediate · medium priority

  10. Cursor vs Offset Pagination

    Offset is simple and lies under writes. Cursors are honest and need a stable sort.

    comparison · intermediate · medium priority

  11. Validate at the Edge of the Service, Not in Every Helper

    One parsed command object. Downstream code should not re-check string length.

    architecture · intermediate · medium priority

  12. Testing HTTP Handlers Without Mocking the Universe

    Hit the handler, control the clock, and stub the one dependency that is actually external.

    educational · intermediate · medium priority

  13. File Uploads in Node Without Becoming a Free Disk

    Size limits, content types, storage location, and the malware path people forget.

    educational · intermediate · medium priority

  14. Structured Logs You Can Query at 2 a.m.

    Request ids, levels, and the fields that make CloudWatch or Grafana useful.

    educational · intermediate · medium priority

  15. Background Jobs vs the Request Path

    If the user is not waiting, do not make them wait. If they are, do not hide the work in a queue without a status.

    architecture · intermediate · medium priority

  16. Common Node Memory Leaks (Caches, Listeners, Buffers)

    Unbounded maps, event listeners, and the buffer you kept "just in case."

    troubleshooting · intermediate · medium priority

  17. Designing Idempotent POST Handlers

    Keys, stored outcomes, and the 409 when the body does not match the first attempt.

    architecture · intermediate · medium priority

  18. Timeouts and Cancellation in Node HTTP Clients

    A timeout that does not abort the socket is a suggestion. Abort signals are the contract.

    troubleshooting · intermediate · medium priority

  19. Request Context for Multi-Tenant Node Services

    AsyncLocalStorage, tenant ids on every query, and the leak that reads the wrong customer.

    architecture · senior · medium priority