Node.js Get Started

Installing Node.js

To install Node.js, you can use an installer or a binary package, from node.js website: Node JS Downloads.
- I downloaded the windows binary package, then I extracted the files from the .zip archive into a directory named "nodejs", in partition" E" (you can install it in any directory you want).
Node.js Installation directory

- The official Node.js website has installation instructions on various platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, etc.): Installing Node.js via package manager.

Simple Node.js server script

Once you have downloaded and installed Node.js on your computer, you have to write a .js script that will create and start the server.
- In Node.js you use modules to build your script. A module is the same as a JavaScript library, that are included with the require() function.

1. I have Node.js (V.8) installed in "E:/nodejs/" directory. For tests, I created in this directory a folder named "test".
2. Now, in the "test" folder (E:/nodejs/test/) I create a file named "server.js" (you can choose any file name), and added the following code (Click on the code to select it):

//include the http module
const http = require('http');

//define constant for port
const port =8080;

//sets the server
const server = http.createServer((req, res)=> {
  res.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type':'text/plain'});
  res.write('Hello to me.');
  res.end();
});

//pass the port to server to listen to
server.listen(port, ()=> {
  console.log('Server running at //localhost:'+ port +'/');
});

- The code tells the computer to write "Hello to me." if anyone (e.g. a web browser) access the computer on port 8080.

3. The Node.js server must be initiated in the "Command Line Interface" program of your computer.
- To open the command line interface on windows, press the Start button and write "cmd" in the search field.

4. In the command line interface window I navigate to the folder that contains the Node.js application (E:/nodejs/), then, to initiate the "server.js" script, I write: "node test/server.js", and hit Enter.
In the command line interface window, node.js displays: "Server running at //localhost:8080/".
cmd start Node.js

- Now, the computer works as a server.

5. I open the browser, and I type in the address: http://localhost:8080
- Results:
browser Node.js

To simplify the starting of the node.js script, I created a Shorcut for cmd.exe that opens the command line interface directly in the "E:/nodejs" folder. To create this shortcut, follow these steps:
1. Right click on desktop and create New-Shorcut.
2. Browse to "windows/System32/" directory, and select "cmd.exe" file.
3. Once you have created the shortcut for cmd.exe, right click on it, and open Properties.
4. In the "Start in" field add the path to the directory where you installed Node.js.
cmd shortcut for Node.js folder

- When I click that shortcut, the command line interface opens directly in the "E:/nodejs"; then, i just write:

node script_name.js

• To close the Node.js server, press Ctrl+C in the command line interface window, or just close that cmd window.

Node.js Modules->>

Daily Test with Code Example

HTML

CSS

JavaScript

PHP-MySQL

Which attribute specifies the HTTP method (GET, POST) used to submit the form-data?

action method value

<form action="script.php" method="post"> ... </form>

Which CSS property allows to add shadow to boxes?

background-image box-shadow border-radius

#id {
  background-color: #bbfeda;
  box-shadow: 11px 11px 5px #7878da;
}

Which function removes the first element from an array?

pop() push() shift()

var fruits = ["apple", "apricot", "banana"];
fruits.shift();
alert(fruits.length);           // 2

Indicate the function that can be used to check if a PHP extension is instaled.

function() filetype() extension_loaded()

if(extension_loaded("PDO") === true) echo "PDO is available."