Backend Developer
Backend developers spend their day designing APIs, optimising queries, reviewing architecture, and writing technical documentation. This path covers the professional English needed to communicate about server-side concerns with precision.
Topics covered
- API design
- Database & ORM
- Authentication & Auth
- Microservices
- Caching strategies
- Message queues
Vocabulary spotlight
4 terms every Backend Developer should know in English:
idempotent adj.
Producing the same result regardless of how many times the operation is performed
"PUT requests should be idempotent by design."
race condition n.
A bug caused by unpredictable ordering of concurrent operations
"The payment processor had a race condition that allowed double-charges."
backpressure n.
Resistance that limits data flow to prevent overwhelming a consumer
"We implemented a queue with backpressure to avoid overwhelming the processor."
sharding n.
Horizontal partitioning of a database across multiple instances
"We moved to database sharding once a single node could no longer handle the read load."
📚 Vocabulary Reference
Key terms organised by category for Backend Developers:
API Design
Database
Architecture
Server & Runtime
Recommended exercises
Real-world scenarios you'll practise
- Writing API documentation for external consumers
- Explaining a database migration strategy in a design review
- Communicating breaking changes to downstream teams
- Presenting a caching solution during sprint planning
Recommended reading
Reference glossaries for Backend Developers
Deep-dive glossaries covering terminology specific to this role: