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Node JS Development

Node JS Development

Node.js allows the creation of web servers and networking tools using JavaScript and a collection of “modules” that handle various core functionalities. Modules are provided for file system I/O, networking (DNSHTTPTCPTLS/SSL or UDP), binary data (buffers), cryptography functions, data streams and other core functions. Node.js’s modules use an API designed to reduce the complexity of writing server applications.
JavaScript is the only language that Node.js supports natively, but many compile-to-JS languages are available. As a result, Node.js applications can be written in CoffeeScript, DartTypeScriptClojureScript and others.
Node.js is primarily used to build network programs such as web servers.The most significant difference between Node.js and PHP is that most functions in PHP block until completion (commands execute only after previous commands finish), while Node.js functions are non-blocking (commands execute concurrently and use callbacks to signal completion or failure), thus opening up new attack surfaces that are inherently absent in most web server applications
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1. Setting Up Node.js

  • Install Node.js: You can download the latest version from Node.js official website.
  • After installation, you can check your version via the command line:
    bash
    node -v
    npm -v
  • npm (Node Package Manager) is bundled with Node.js. It helps in managing project dependencies.

2. Basic Example: Simple HTTP Server

You can create a basic HTTP server in Node.js like this:

javascript

const http = require('http');

const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
res.write(‘Hello, World!’);
res.end();
});

server.listen(3000, () => {
console.log(‘Server running on http://localhost:3000’);
});

3. Important Modules in Node.js

  • HTTP: Used to create HTTP servers.
  • File System (fs): For reading and writing files.
  • Path: For working with file and directory paths.
  • Events: For creating and handling custom events.
  • Express.js: A web application framework that simplifies routing and middleware handling.

4. Handling Asynchronous Operations

Node.js is asynchronous by default, so you’ll often deal with callbacks, Promises, and async/await:

javascript

const fs = require('fs');

// Callback version
fs.readFile(‘example.txt’, ‘utf8’, (err, data) => {
if (err) throw err;
console.log(data);
});

// Using Promises
fs.promises.readFile(‘example.txt’, ‘utf8’)
.then(data => console.log(data))
.catch(err => console.error(err));

// Using async/await
async function readFile() {
try {
const data = await fs.promises.readFile(‘example.txt’, ‘utf8’);
console.log(data);
} catch (err) {
console.error(err);
}
}

5. Express.js (Web Framework)

Express simplifies building web applications with Node.js:

  • Install Express:
    bash
    npm install express
  • A basic Express server:
    javascript
    const express = require('express');
    const app = express();
    app.get(‘/’, (req, res) => {
    res.send(‘Hello World’);
    });app.listen(3000, () => {
    console.log(‘Server running on http://localhost:3000’);
    });
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