Project Setup Tutorial

Welcome to the Project Setup Tutorial! This guide will walk you through the essential steps to get your project up and running efficiently.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have the following prerequisites:

A local development environment set up with Node.js and npm.
Basic knowledge of JavaScript and HTML.
A text editor or IDE of your choice.

Step 1: Initialize Your Project

To begin, create a new directory for your project and navigate into it:

mkdir my-project
cd my-project

Initialize a new Node.js project by running:

npm init -y

This command creates a package.json file that will keep track of your project dependencies and scripts.

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Next, install the necessary dependencies for your project. For example, if you're building a web application, you might need a framework like Express.js:

npm install express

This command adds Express.js to your project's dependencies and installs it locally.

Step 3: Create Your Application Structure

Organize your project by creating a basic file structure. Here's an example:

my-project/
├── node_modules/
├── package.json
├── server.js
└── public/
    ├── index.html
    └── styles/
        └── styles.css

In this structure, server.js is your main application file, and public/ contains your static files like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Step 4: Write Your Application Code

Open server.js in your text editor and write the following code to start a basic Express server:

const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const port = 3000;

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('Hello World!');
});

app.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Server is running on http://localhost:${port}`);
});

This code sets up a simple Express server that listens on port 3000 and responds with "Hello World!" when you navigate to the root URL.

Step 5: Run Your Application

To start your server, run the following command in your terminal:

node server.js

Your server should now be running, and you can access it by navigating to http://localhost:3000 in your web browser.