Ultimate Beginner-to-LLM Coding Roadmap
(Expanded Version)
LEVEL 0 – Computer & Internet Foundations
- Learn CLI (Command Prompt/Terminal) for OS navigation and running programs.
- Understand clients, servers, and consoles.
- Learn how the internet works: DNS, IP addresses, HTTP/HTTPS.
LEVEL 1 – Programming Basics
- Choose Python or JavaScript.
- Learn variables, data types, loops, conditionals, functions, and debugging.
- Understand how the console outputs logs and errors.
LEVEL 2 – Web Basics
- Frontend: HTML, CSS, JavaScript.
- Backend: Node.js, Django, or Spring Boot.
- Databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB.
- JDBC for Java database connectivity.
LEVEL 3 – Dependencies & Package Managers
- Learn npm, yarn, pip, Maven, Gradle for managing libraries.
- Understand semantic versioning and dependency conflicts.
LEVEL 4 – Web & Application Servers
- Web servers: Nginx (reverse proxy, static file serving, load balancing), Apache.
- Application servers: WildFly, JBoss EAP, Tomcat.
- Understand difference between web and application servers.
LEVEL 5 – APIs & Communication
- REST APIs, JSON, and XML.
- Authentication methods: API keys, OAuth2, JWT.
- CRUD operations for interacting with databases via APIs.
LEVEL 6 – Deployment & Hosting (Expanded)
- Hosting environments: Cloud (AWS EC2, GCP Compute Engine, Azure VMs), VPS,
Platform-as-a-Service (Heroku, Render).
- Web server configuration (Nginx/Apache) for static and dynamic content.
- Reverse Proxy: Directs client requests to the right backend service.
- Load Balancing:
- Distributes requests evenly across multiple servers.
- Types: Round Robin, Least Connections, IP Hash.
- Tools: Nginx, HAProxy, AWS Elastic Load Balancer.
- Environment variables for secure configuration (e.g., API keys, passwords).
- Database hosting and scaling (managed DBs like AWS RDS vs. self-hosted).
LEVEL 7 – Advanced Architecture
- Microservices: breaking applications into smaller services.
- Containerization: Docker to package apps with dependencies.
- Orchestration: Kubernetes to manage containers at scale.
- CI/CD pipelines: Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI.
LEVEL 8 – Specialization Paths
- Web (React, Next.js, Vue), Mobile (Flutter, React Native), Data Science (Pandas, NumPy), Game
Development (Unity, Unreal).
LEVEL 9 – AI & LLMs
- Neural networks, machine learning basics.
- NLP (Natural Language Processing) concepts.
- Transformers (BERT, GPT), fine-tuning models.
- Hosting AI models on GPU-enabled servers.
- Using APIs (OpenAI, Hugging Face) to integrate AI.
Glossary:
- CLI: Command Line Interface for text-based system control.
- Nginx: High-performance web server & reverse proxy.
- WildFly: Java EE application server.
- JBoss EAP: Enterprise-grade WildFly with Red Hat support.
- JDBC: Java API for connecting to databases.
- Dependency: External library required by your project.
- Reverse Proxy: Forwards client requests to backend services.
- Load Balancer: Distributes requests to multiple servers for performance and reliability.
- Deployment: Making your code available to real users.
