My Backend Journey: The Big Problem I Solved and My Path to the HNG Internship

Damilola Amushan – Junior back-end developer.

I began my coding journey in late 2023 when I first started out as a full-stack web developer first receiving training in the front-end track and subsequently in the back-end track.

During the period of my training, I encountered numerous challenges that I had to overcome. One that stands out however, was a database connection failure which I call the “the big problem.”

To solve my big problem, the first thing I did was to check for any typographical errors in my code, as even mistakes as little as a typo can affect the result of your code. But after a review of my written code, I had identified zero typos moving me to the next attempt at a solution, server inspection.

I opened the terminal on my IDE to see if my server was up and running. After checking, I discovered that my server was indeed up and running. As a final server check, I decided to kill the server and restart it using the command php artisan serve. However even after doing so, the database connection still failed.

At this point, I started to fear that much bigger steps would need to be taken in order for this big problem to be solved. This realisation led me to check if I had exceeded my database limits, a suggestion I was received from ChatGPT. I went ahead to run the suggested code netstat -aon ,which displayed all listening established ports. I saw that I had not exceeded the database limit leading me to yet another dead end.

Now, I was beginning to get annoyed. Turning to chatGPT yet again, I received another suggestion I could try, configuring firewall settings. I learned that a firewall setting might be preventing my database from successfully connecting. Putting my annoyance aside, I tried again, this time going to my firewall settings and allowing inbound traffic from the specific port I was attempting to connect my database with. Here’s a rundown of how I did it:

I opened the Windows Defender Firewall, clicked on advanced settings in the sidebar and then selected inbound rules.
On the right, I selected new rule.
I then selected the rule type which was port and then clicked next.
I chose TCP and then entered the specific port number 3306, clicking next afterwards.
I selected all three options as I wanted the rule to apply for Domain, Public and Private.
I finished by naming the rule “MySQL Inbound Rule”
At last I had hit the jackpot. I established a successful connection and the big problem had been solved.

The big problem had taught me quite a lot. Not only did I learn more about coding, but I also learned a bit about myself. It taught me to develop more patience and problem-solving skills which would be useful throughout my coding career.

A friend of mine informed me of a way to develop as a back-end developer. He made mention of an internship program known as HNG Internships and suggested that I enroll. I gave it some thought and decided that it would be a brilliant opportunity to sharpen my skill especially since it was free. I visited their website and began the enrollment procedure. Along the way, I found out that there was an option to get HNG Premium which was an opportunity to participate in the internship as a premium member. Going through the additional perks, such as CV reviews, mock interviews and access to the latest job openings, I decided it was a good deal and seeing as it attracted a fair price, I went for it. I am now awaiting its start in January of 2025.

I hope this program will help me sharpen my coding skill, efficiency and speed. I also hope to become a better problem solver by the end of the internship. One important goal I have is to improve my teamwork skills. I have little knowledge on working in teams and I would want to have a taste of team work involving people from my track and other tech-related tracks like, design, analysis and front-end development.

I hope you enjoyed this read and found some helpful tips for dealing with database connection problems. Feel free to visit the HNG website using the embedded links. Take care!

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