Authentication

code 102 notes

Authentication

  1. What is middleware?

  • a function which is executed during the request pipeline (between the request and the response)

    • next must be called in order to move on to another function

    • error: an optional parameter which triggers error-handling middleware when passed into the next function

Understand middleware and you can make express do anything. Anything. Any. Thing.

  1. Sequalize Data Modeling
  • define a model for sequelize
  • connection string

  • database to which our models connect

  • Unit test: tests one single thing (a unit)
  • Integration test: tests many things and how they integrate

Authentication lecture notes

  • who is the user?
    • can the user tell me who they are?
    • can i validate that?
  • this is different from Authorization (i.e. “is the user allowed to do something?”)

encoding and encryption

Authentication HTTP requests with headers

  • credentials are encoded: formalizing and standardizing an input in order for the machine to read passwords properly
  • encryption hides this information by making it really hard for a computer to read it
  • encode => decode (briefly) => encrypt
  • NEVER LOG UNENCRYPTED STUFF

Reading Notes

  1. Explain what a “Singleton” is (in Computer Science terms)
  • a design pattern which restricts the instantiation of a class to a single instance
  1. Explain how the Singleton pattern can be used with Node modules, specifically with classes
  • within the class’s constructor function, you’d check to see if an instance of the class has already been made
  • if an instance exists, it can either be returned or be replaced with a new one
  • if no instance exists, one is created
  1. If you were tasked with building a middleware system like Express uses, what approach might you take to construct/operate it?
  • REST

Document the following Vocabulary Terms

  • Router Middleware: manages incoming HTTP requests

  • Dynamic Module Loading: allows the computer to load a library, retreive data and execute functions from within the library, then unloads the library from memory

  • Singleton Pattern: ensures there’s only ever a single instance of an object

  • CRUD -> REST Method Matches: POST - Create, GET - Read, PUT - Update/Replace, PATCH - Update/Modify, DELETE - Delete

  • Mock Testing: helps test run more quicklier and reliablier