Databases & ORMs for Node.js
Connect real databases to Node.js applications, raw SQL with PostgreSQL, the Prisma ORM, MongoDB and Mongoose, including relationships, migrations, and a full CRUD API backed by a real database.
Welcome to Databases & ORMs for Node.js, the second course in a backend development track. Every project so far has stored its data in an in-memory array, gone the moment the server restarts. This course replaces that array with a real, persistent database: PostgreSQL first, with raw SQL and then the Prisma ORM, followed by MongoDB, with its native driver and then Mongoose.
⚠️ Prerequisite: This course requires working knowledge of Node.js and Express, models, controllers, routes, async/await, and building a REST API, covered in Node.js & Express Foundations. If you haven’t taken that course, start there first.
Why This Course?
Knowing Express isn’t enough to build a real application, at some point the data has to actually persist. This course starts with raw SQL against a real PostgreSQL database, so the ORM that comes right after isn’t a black box, then introduces Prisma to show what an ORM actually buys you: models, migrations, and a typed query API in place of hand-written SQL strings. From there it moves to MongoDB, a genuinely different way of modeling data, first with the native driver, then with Mongoose for schemas and validation. The course closes by rebuilding a full CRUD API against a real database, the same MVC structure from the first course in this track, now with real persistence underneath it.
What Makes It Different
- Starts with raw SQL and the
pgdriver before ever introducing an ORM, so Prisma’s migrations and generated client are understood, not just trusted. - Every code example in this course is written to actually run, verified against a real PostgreSQL or MongoDB database, not described from memory.
- Covers two genuinely different database models, relational (PostgreSQL) and document-based (MongoDB), not just one.
- Treats relationships, one-to-many and many-to-many in SQL, embedding versus referencing in MongoDB, as a first-class topic with real trade-offs, not a single paragraph.
- Ends with a capstone that reuses the MVC structure from Node.js & Express Foundations, swapping an in-memory array for a real database with minimal changes to routes or controllers.
Learning Format
Each module builds on the last: concepts are introduced with runnable examples against real databases, then practiced in hands-on exercises. By the end of the course, every piece, raw SQL, Prisma, MongoDB, and Mongoose, comes together in a capstone project with real persistence.
Final Outcome
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to connect a Node.js application to a real database, relational or document-based, design schemas and relationships correctly, and build a complete CRUD API backed by real, persistent data. From here, the next courses in this track pick up production-readiness (authentication, validation, security, testing) and scaling and deployment, building directly on the foundation practiced here.