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Week 1: Monorepo and Runtime Foundations

This week builds the student mental model of the codebase. The student should finish Week 1 able to explain where code belongs, how requests move through the app, and where common failures are likely to occur.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify the responsibility of each top-level package.
  • Trace one request from UI action to API and provider layer.
  • Distinguish app-layer code from shared/provider code.
  • Run common local workflows: install, dev, build, test.

Detailed Topics

1. Monorepo Architecture Map

Walk through package boundaries: storefront app, shared commerce abstractions, and provider-specific implementations. Explain the reason monorepos are useful for keeping contracts aligned across teams.

2. Runtime Flow in Production

Use one real feature flow, such as add-to-cart or checkout billing update, and trace each handoff: UI event, client service, internal API route, provider client, external integration, and response.

3. Environment and Tooling Basics

Review package manager scripts, orchestrated task running, and coding standards checks. Teach the student to read errors from build and test output before editing code.

Pair Session Plan (90 Minutes)

  1. Open one UI page and identify data dependencies.
  2. Locate corresponding API route and validation logic.
  3. Find provider handler or SDK call path.
  4. Document two failure modes and expected logs.

Independent Ticket

Create a one-page architecture note with one request flow diagram and one ownership matrix describing which layer should own future changes.

Mentor Checkpoint

  • Student can explain why provider abstraction exists.
  • Student can justify code placement for a hypothetical cart change.
  • Student can run project tasks without guidance.

Helpful Resources

Next: Week 2 →