Starting Node.js

Welcome to the world of Node.js! If you're just beginning your journey into this powerful JavaScript runtime, you've come to the right place. Below, we'll cover the basics of Node.js, its benefits, and how to get started.

What is Node.js?

Node.js is an open-source, cross-platform JavaScript runtime environment that enables developers to execute JavaScript code outside of a browser. It's built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine and uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient.

Features of Node.js

Single Language for Both Client and Server: Node.js allows you to use JavaScript for both the front-end and back-end, which simplifies development and reduces the need to learn multiple languages.
Non-blocking I/O: Node.js uses an asynchronous, non-blocking I/O model which makes it highly scalable and efficient.
Rich Ecosystem: There are thousands of open-source packages available on npm (Node Package Manager) that you can use to extend the functionality of your Node.js applications.

Getting Started with Node.js

To get started with Node.js, you'll need to follow these steps:

Install Node.js: Download and install Node.js from nodejs.org.
Set Up Your Project: Create a new directory for your project and initialize it with npm init.
Write Your Code: Create a file with a .js extension and start writing your JavaScript code.
Run Your Application: Use the node command to run your JavaScript file.

Example: Hello World

Here's a simple example of a "Hello World" application in Node.js:

// hello.js
console.log('Hello, World!');

To run this application, save the code to a file named hello.js and execute it with the following command:

node hello.js

You should see "Hello, World!" printed to the console.

Starting Node.js

What is Node.js?

Features of Node.js

Getting Started with Node.js

Example: Hello World

Further Reading