Foundations
Build the mental model for how modern web applications actually run. Master the browser rendering pipeline, frontend frameworks, build systems, container and sandbox technologies, and the networking stack from DNS to edge.
Foundations
The modern web platform stack
Build the mental model for how modern web applications actually run. Master the browser rendering pipeline, frontend frameworks, build systems, container and sandbox technologies, and the networking stack from DNS to edge.
Modules in This Level
F.1 How Browsers Execute Code
Trace the six-stage browser rendering pipeline — from HTML parsing and CSSOM construction through layout, paint, and compositing — and understand the JavaScript event loop well enough to diagnose why Make previews jank, flash, or block the main thread.
F.2 Modern Frontend Frameworks
Understand why Make defaults to React instead of Svelte or Vue — how the virtual DOM, component model, and SSR capabilities of each framework directly determine the runtime environment, build tooling, and deployment targets Make must support.
F.3 Build Systems & Bundlers
Learn why build speed is a product feature, not an engineering metric: how Vite's native-ESM dev server, esbuild's Go-powered transforms, and tree-shaking together determine whether Make's preview feedback loop feels instant or broken.
F.4 Containers, VMs, and Sandboxes
Map the isolation spectrum from sandboxed iframes to Firecracker microVMs, and understand why the choice between containers, V8 isolates, and WebContainers determines Make's cost structure, startup latency, and security posture for executing untrusted AI-generated code.
F.5 DNS, CDNs, and Edge Networks
Follow a deployed Make app from DNS resolution through CDN edge caching and TLS termination, and understand how wildcard records, content-hashed assets, and automated certificate provisioning determine how quickly a new deployment goes live for users worldwide.