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Today, we will look at Node.js, a JavaScript server-side programming language developed on the server and used to create web servers. It can run on various operating systems. We will also see how we can install Node.js on Windows and macOS along with its usage. You can learn Node.js or even brush up your skills while earning certification with this certification course on Node.js.
Node.js is a server-side built JavaScript language. Node.js is especially well-suited to serving client queries made via an API; therefore, it's ideal for Single Page Applications (SPAs) running on clients like laptops or smartphones. Node.js is well-suited to the expanding number of microservices designs on the web, in which a client may access several services operating on various servers at the same time.
Brendan Eich of Netscape created JavaScript in the 1990s as a scripting language that could add dynamic features to a web page from an HTML file running in the Netscape browser. A callback function, which is a function supplied as an input to another function, is a useful feature of JavaScript. Callback functions make asynchronous tasks like server disc access possible, allowing Node.js to manage large amounts of API calls with a queue of requests. Node.js never waits (blocks) for what it needs to respond to a request. It simply moves on to the next request and "returns" when the previous request is ready to be handled, such as when the data from the disc is returned.
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Step 1: Download Node.js Installer
Go to https://nodejs.org/en/download/ via a web browser. To get the newest default version, click the Windows Installer button. Version 16.15.0-x64 is the latest version of Node JS that is currently available.
Step 2: Installing Node JS from the installer window
Step 3: Verify Installation
Enter the following into a command prompt (or PowerShell):
$ node -v
The system should show the Node.js version installed on your machine. You can use the same logic for NPM:
$ npm -v
Step 1: Download the .pkg Installer.
For Mac, Node provides a .pkg installer. We may also get it via the company's official website. To download the .pkg installer, go to the macOS Installer option on the official website and download it to your preferred location.
Step 2: Run Node.js Installer
Your installer is now ready to use. Let’s go to the steps of installing it one by one. All these steps would be what you will be facing in the installer:
Introduction > Continue License > Select Continue > Agree Installation Type > Install > Authenticate with your Mac to allow the Installation > Install Software Summary > Close
Step 3: Verify Node.js Installation
Run the following command in your terminal to see if Node.js is installed correctly on your Mac:
$ node -v
Step 4: Update NPM
Run the following command to update the NPM package manager once Node JS is installed.
$ sudo npm install npm --global
Step 5: Set Node JS in the PATH variable
$ *export PATH=/usr/local/git/bin:/usr/local/bin:$PATH*
var http = require('http');
http.createServer(function (req, res) {
res.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/html'});
res.end('Hello!');
}).listen(8080); Nowadays, most individuals utilize phone-based applications or social media sites to communicate with their pals. Independent chat rooms are probably not very popular on today's Internet, but they are frequently used in online games that are more enjoyable when they include a chat component. Chat rooms may be readily created with Node.js.
With Node.js, massive volumes of data can be gathered and processed more efficiently. Because database access is a stopped action, significant amounts of data entering a database frequently create a bottleneck. Node.js, on the other hand, receives this data and sends it in pieces to the backend. This guarantees that data is saved without causing any system to malfunction.
Video and audio media content files are uploaded to streaming video sites like YouTube and Facebook and then processed so that they may be viewed or heard by people all over the world. After these files have been submitted, they will be processed. These movies may be handled as they are being uploaded using Node.js apps. This earns you a lot of time and allows media to be sent quickly. Other data kinds, such as real-time input and output, require real-time processing to collaborate on projects with colleagues halfway around the world.
Because the MEAN Stack is entirely written in JavaScript, it is well worth investigating. MEAN stack makes application development straightforward for both developers and devices. MEAN can also be used in combination with other modules. Mongoose is used in conjunction with Node.js, making MongoDB integration considerably easier. N in Node.js also stands for N in MEAN Stack.
Node.js is an excellent solution for applications that process many brief messages with little delay. Node.js makes it simple to create such systems. Node.js may also be used to create real-time collaborative sketching and editing applications. Trello and DropBox are two examples.
If there are a lot of requests, Ruby on Rails is probably not fast enough. Node.js has shown to be effective in instances when speedier and more scalable software is required. The node can handle many requests in a short amount of time, and it distributes information like validation code between client and server. This makes Node.js apps ideal for current web applications. With node.js, you can perform a lot of processing on the client-side. Node.js is a common server-side language for single-page applications and mobile apps where the client does the rendering, and the backend provides a JSON API.
When processing large amounts of IO-bound requests, Node.js comes in handy. It will not be efficient if many CPU processing requests are necessary to fulfill the request. If it's basically about shifting data around, then node.js will be quite efficient. With the same hardware, a single instance can handle more queries. Node.js outperforms traditional massive and bulky apps like rails.
Although Node.js excels in real-time applications, it's an excellent choice for exposing data from object databases (e.g., MongoDB). Even when there is no impedance mismatch and data conversion, Node.js can work thanks to JSON stored data.
As previously said, when a large volume of data is received simultaneously, a database becomes a bottleneck. However, Node.js apps can support many database connections. Even under tremendous demand, the system remains responsive, which is extremely important.
We talked about Node.js, its installation process in Windows and macOS, and its uses. The Window installation is primarily based on GUI and does not require us to set PATH variables in the system. While the Mac OS required a few sets of commands to install Node JS completely. We also saw how Node JS could be used to create servers and other web services. You can learn Node.js at KnowledgeHut to add more skills to your resume and get benefited.
We can tackle this problem by using a project called Node Version Manager for Windows.
npm comes packed with Node.js so that when you install Node.js, it will also install npm. Run the following command to update the NPM package manager once Node JS is installed.
$ sudo npm install npm --global
The simple way is to visit the repositories and select the version. Alternatively, we can use nvm to install specific versions on our machine.
The Node Version Manager can be used (NVM) for this task. NVM, lets you install many Node JS versions on the same system and switch between them.
We can use nvm to install a specific version of Node on Mac using the following command:
$ nvm install <version>
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