Authentication vs Authorization Explained | Who Are You vs What Can You Do?

What is the difference between authentication and authorization? In this practical lesson, we answer two simple questions: Authentication: Who are you? Authorization: What are you allowed to do? Using a course-platform example, we create a simple protected-route concept with student, instructor, and admin roles. We also understand: Public and protected routes Authentication and authorization middleware Role-based access control Why middleware order matters The difference between 401 Unauthorized and 403 Forbidden Why backend permission checks are essential This is Day 25 of the 30-Day Real Software Development Skills Sprint. Demo routes GET /courses GET /my-courses POST /courses GET /admin/users Roles used Student Instructor Admin Build practical, job-ready software development skills one day at a time. #Authentication #Authorization #WebDevelopment #BackendDevelopment #NodeJS #ExpressJS #APISecurity #ProgrammingForBeginners #SoftwareDevelopment #CareerReady