Show local weather in node js

Before having another attempt at the show local weather challenge, would it be a good idea to do the first node.js
thing where you set up your cloud 9 challenge first, then come back to this weather one?

Would having mastered node.js be much help in doing this weather app?

Not really no. You can just start building the weather app with jquery in Codepen as you’re (usually) just hitting a web api to get the data. Learning node and having a backend deal with the data isn’t necessary and will just add more time on to your build

Implementing an API requires a backend server like Node.
Using an API can be done entirely with frontend code.

It’s totally unnecessary to understand the implementation details to know how to use the abstraction of an “API”.

You don’t need to master it, but being able to create your own proxy server actually helps a lot. One of the biggest challenges people have with the weather project is just getting the data and that usually requires an HTTPS proxy. Having your own server to make requests also allows you to hide your API key and format the results.

I think that you should probably finish the frontend section first.

Would learning node/backend help you understand APIs better? Yes, maybe. But it also might make you even more confused.

I will say that I didn’t truly understand APIs until I did the backend section, and then only after a lot of struggle. But you can get a “good enough for now” understanding. But they are confusing. And unfortunately, they are often poorly documented and change without warning.

Just push forward. And do some google searches. And if you can’t find what you need, ask here. If you ask a narrow and specific question, I’m sure you’ll get a lot of good responses.

Just keep struggling and trying things out. It will come to you slowly.