Table of Contents

• 1. Introduction
  • Why understanding networking is crucial for backend developers
  • Short comparison of TCP and UDP
• 2. Deep Dive into TCP
  • 2.1. When to Use TCP?
  • 2.2. TCP Handshake: SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK
  • 2.3. Error Handling & Retransmission
  • 2.4. Advantages & Limitations of TCP
  • 2.5. TCP Code Examples in Golang
• 3. Deep Dive into UDP
  • 3.1. When to Use UDP?
  • 3.2. Stateless Communication and Speed
  • 3.3. Why UDP Doesn’t Guarantee Delivery
  • 3.4. Advantages & Limitations of UDP
  • 3.5. UDP Code Examples in Golang
• 4. Advanced Topics
  • 4.1. Concurrent TCP and UDP Servers Using Goroutines
  • 4.2. Implementing Protocol Buffers or JSON Data Serialization with TCP/UDP
  • 4.3. Handling Scalability and Performance Tuning
• 5. Best Practices & Common Pitfalls
  • 5.1. Resource Management and Avoiding Memory Leaks
  • 5.2. Handling Network Errors Gracefully
  • 5.3. Security Considerations in Networking
• 6. Conclusion
  • Summary of Key Learnings
  • Guidance for Choosing TCP vs UDP

1. Introduction

- Why understanding networking is crucial for backend developers

In today’s connected world, backend developers are expected to build reliable, scalable, and high-performance systems. Whether you’re designing REST APIs, microservices, real-time chat apps, or distributed systems, a solid understanding of computer networking is essential. Knowing how data is transmitted, how connections are established, and what trade-offs exist between reliability and speed empowers you to make better architectural decisions and debug network issues effectively.