Production Level Directory Setup for Backend

When we make a project, even a small project there are a lot of files & folders that have their importance. But to maintain it is very hectic. So It is an approach that is used by tech giant & startups to make their codebase easy, maintainable & structured.

If you use this approach it will drastically reduce the files’ organization complexity & also be appreciated. So in this article, we’ll explore production-level setup in detail, its advantages, and many more.

What is the Backend?

Backend refers to behind-the-scenes functionalities. It deals with server-side logic and complex calculations. It is responsible for managing and providing strong data, user authentication, creating and managing APIs, and providing them to the client side. The backend interacts with the database to store data. Here are some technologies that are helpful to construct the backend.

• Backend programming languages:  JavaScript (Node.js), Python (Django and Flask), PHP, Ruby (Ruby on Rails), etc.
• Database: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQLite, Microsoft SQL, MongoDB, Redis, Cassandra, etc.

Why do we need a Production Level Directory Setup?

In startup or tech projects, dealing with numerous files and folders can be overwhelming. To address this complexity, a production-level backend directory setup is crucial. It simplifies development by understandably organizing code, making it easier to manage and maintain. As the project expands, this structured approach ensures scalability without losing clarity. Collaboration within teams becomes smoother, debugging is simpler, and deployment is more efficient. Security is bolstered with protected storage of sensitive data, and version control is more effective. Consistency across projects facilitates developer transitions. In essence, a well-organized directory setup is a foundational practice that significantly boosts the efficiency and success of software development projects.

Steps to create files & folders

1. Root folder

Make a root folder. It is generally your project name. For eg. I want to create a YouTube clone so my root folder name is YouTube Clone.

2. Initialization

Because we are using MERN stack technology to create the backend. So just open the terminal and type npm init. Here npm stands for node package manager & init for initialization. The complete statement says that we are initiating the node package in the root folder. As you enter the command it asks some questions like project name, author name, keywords, git repository, etc. After that, it creates a package.json file in the root folder with some pre-default code.

3. README.md

Now you should create a README.md file. It is because when you create a project in a team, all the members can read this file and better understand the project & its working.

4. Gitkeep File

As a backend developer, it usually occurs that you have to upload an image, video & file in your service database like AWS or Cloudinary. But in some cases, when the user uploads files or images due to some network issue or unresponsive browser has to re-upload the whole stuff again. So at the production level, to avoid this scenario, firstly files are uploaded on the server and after that, it uploaded to the database (AWS, cloudinary). So here we need to create a public folder & within this folder, we need to create a temp folder also. Within the temp folder, you must create a .gitkeep file. It is because when you push the codebase to github, Git Hub can’t track empty folders. So without the .gitkeep file, the public folder remains untracked and can’t be uploaded on Git Hub.

5. Env File

As a backend developer, you have to tackle a lot of APIs, secret keys, access tokens, expiry tokens, and user credentials (password, UPI). However, these credentials must not be displayed to the public & not be uploaded on Git Hub. So to hide these you need to create a .env file where env stands for environmental variable.

6. Gitignore File

As mentioned above, the .evn file must not uploaded on Git Hub. There is also another file that should not uploaded on GitHub like node modules. So to remain untracked these files, you have to create a .gitignore file & list out all the files & folders that you want to remain untracked.

7. Src Folder

All the above files are created in the root folders. But now the structure of making actual files & folders starts. These are the files that contain actual programming & business logic. In production, it is recommended that these files & folders be created within a folder named src ( source) for segregation of files.

Now create three files name server.js, index.js & constant.js

Structure of files in vs code

• server.js:- code written to run the server.
• index.js:- code written to connect servers, databases & API’s.
• constant.js :- code written to create & manage some constant variables.
• Besides files, we also need to create some folders named model, utils, middleware, db, route, and controller.
• DB:- code was written to make the database connection, whether the database is Mongo dB or MySQL.
• model:- code written to create a model & define structure to store data.
• middleware:- code written here which works between API request & controller. For eg. user verification.
• route:- all the route codes written here like “/login”, “/post”, “/sign”.
• controller :- Actual core programming & business logic code written here.
• util:- code written which is used as utilities like email, uploading files.

There may be slight differences in names & file count.

Advantages of Production Level Directory Setup

1. Easily accessing files: Because you organize files and folders in such a way that they will be easily accessed. For example, if you want to add a city category to the user model, then you have a clear and structured path: root > src > model > files.
2. Easy to debug: In a large codebase, debugging is a very hectic thing. But in a structured manner, the organization makes it simple and easy to debug.
3. Maintainability: As new versions come, the code base becomes more lengthy and heavy. Here adding a new feature, and updating the old codebase are included. This setup makes it easy.
4. Segment work:  At tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Meta, you don’t work on a complete project. Here, you are assigned to work on a particular segment of a feature or project. In this scenario, it is also helpful.

Conclusion

It is an approach used by professionals to make the codebase more maintainable, easy to debug & update. It makes backend developers’ life more simple. It reduces your codebase to be bulk & messy. Structural organization of files is also helpful to collaborate with your team members. It simplifies project organization, making codebase management and maintenance more straightforward. The systematic creation of files and folders adds clarity and simplicity to the development process making the software development process a success.

Production Level Directory Setup for Backend – FAQs

Is there any prerequisite for the Production-level setup for the backend?

Yes, to perform this structure in real-life cases, You need to have great knowledge about JavaScript, node & express. Besides this you have a little knowledge of github & npm.

What if, we don’t use his approach?

If you don’t use this approach, you code run perfectly until this code is correct. But as more files, it get messy & hard to debug. Here file management & updating code becomes very hectic.

What is the difference between .gitignore & .gitkeep?

All the files & folders that you want to remain untracked and have not been pushed on GitHub are listed in .gitignore while on the other hand .gitkeep is used to track & push the folder in which this file is present.

What is the difference between Frontend and Backend?

Frontend deals with client side of the application. It focus about design of the website, layout of webpage, user interface, user experience , animation , color, font etc. It is also responsible for fetching data from backend through API’s. While backend deals with server side functionalities such as data management, complex calculation and function, business logic, user verification, creating & maintaining API’s etc. HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Tailwind CSS, React are used in frontend while JavaScript, Python, PHP , Ruby, MySQL, MongoDB and many more used in backend.

What is the difference between SQL and NoSQL?

SQL stands for Structured Query Language. It means that here data is store in structured manner. In SQL, data is organized in table format, row and column. While No SQL has not any definite structure. It has dynamically structure which provide more flexibility. For eg. MongoDB store data in document based while Redis store in key-value format. SQL is also used for handing complex queries. MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL are example of SQL database while MongoDB, Redis and Cassandra are example of NoSQL database.