01. Foundations
The bedrock concepts every other section quietly assumes. If a later entry says “the request hits the server,” this section is where I learn what a request and a server actually are.
Planned entries
| # | Entry | Status | One-line description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What is a computer? | 🟩 COMPLETE | The simplest useful mental model: input, processing, storage, output |
| 2 | What is a program? | 🟩 COMPLETE | A recipe a computer follows — code, instructions, processes |
| 3 | What is the internet? | 🟩 COMPLETE | A global network of computers agreeing to speak the same protocols |
| 4 | How the web works | 🟩 COMPLETE | URLs, browsers, requests, responses — the end-to-end journey of opening a webpage |
| 5 | Client vs server | 🟩 COMPLETE | Who asks (client) and who answers (server) — the foundational relationship |
| 6 | Operating systems intro | 🟩 COMPLETE | What Windows/macOS/Linux actually do for you |
| 7 | Files and folders | 🟩 COMPLETE | Paths, extensions, hidden files, why .env is special |
| 8 | command line | 🟩 COMPLETE | The text interface to your computer — and why it’s not scary |
| 9 | Text encodings & UTF-8 | 🟩 COMPLETE | Why “café” sometimes shows up as “café” and how to avoid it |
Suggested reading order
1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 7 → 8 → 6 → 9. If you only read three, read 4, 5, and 8.
See also
- 02. Frontend
- 13. Networking essentials — for going deeper than “how the web works”
- Glossary — quick lookups