It's easy! How to build a node.js environment

How to download and install node.js #

The general way to download and install Node.js is to use the installer downloaded from the official website.

1. Access the official site (https://nodejs.org/en/).
2. Download the version of Node.js installer for your OS from the download page.
3. Run the downloaded installer and follow the on-screen instructions to proceed with the installation.
4. When the installation is complete, enter “node -v” at the command prompt or terminal, and if the version number is displayed after “v”, it is successful.

This is a necessary step to use Node.js, so please try it out.

Basic usage of node.js #

Node.js is a JavaScript execution environment used on the server side. High-speed processing can be achieved by using asynchronous I/O processing. You can develop web applications using Node.js. It also provides a package manager called npm with many libraries available. Node.js has various modules such as http for handling HTTP requests, socket.io for Websocket communication, and jsonwebtoken for parsing JSON data. Node.js allows you to develop fast and scalable web applications.

What libraries are required for node.js #

The libraries required by Node.js vary for different uses, but the following are typical.

・Express: MVC framework for building web applications ・socket.io: A library for realizing real-time two-way communication ・Mongoose: ODM (Object Data Model) for handling MongoDB ・fs: library for accessing the file system ・http: A library for sending HTTP requests ・request: A library that makes it easy to make requests to external APIs ・jade: A template engine for generating HTML

These libraries extend the functionality of Node.js and enable more advanced application development.

// Express example
const express = require('express');
const app = express();

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

app.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Example app listening on port 3000!');
});

// socket.io example
const io = require('socket.io')(http);

io.on('connection', (socket) => {
  console.log('a user connected');

  socket.on('chat message', (msg) => {
    console.log('message: ' + msg);
    io.emit('chat message', msg);
  });

  socket.on('disconnect', () => {
    console.log('user disconnected');
  });
});

By combining these libraries, you can develop various applications such as advanced web applications and real-time applications.

How to build a development environment for node.js #

To build your development environment for using Node.js, do the following:

1. Download the installer for your OS (Windows/Mac/Linux, etc.) from the official Node.js website and install it.
2. Select and install an editor. We recommend VS Code, Sublime Text, Atom, etc.
3. Open a terminal (use PowerShell for Windows, Terminal for Mac/Linux).
4. Type node -v and check if the version information is displayed correctly.
5. Install the required npm packages for your project. Initialize the project with npm init and install the required packages with the npm install command.

You have now completed your Node.js development environment. You can create a project, write code, and run it.

summary #

Node.js is a server-side execution environment for developing fast and scalable web applications using JavaScript. It is common to use the installer downloaded from the official site for installation, and many libraries can be used by the package manager called npm. To build a development environment, you need to install Node.js, select an editor, and install npm packages. By following these steps, developers can develop advanced web applications using Node.js.