node-server

Node.js makes it easy to create a folder-based web server using JavaScript

Links

• Demo
• Source

Requirements

• A browser (e.g., Chrome)
• A text editor (e.g., VS Code, or Notepad++, or Chrome)

Benefits

• Folder-based
• Easy to write
• More practice with JavaScript
• Node.js non-blocking event loop supports many concurrent requests

Install Node.js

1. Install the lastest LTS version from the Node.js website
2. Recommended for Windows Users: Add "Open PowerShell here as Administrator".
3. Verify installation. Open Powershell in your working folder and run:

node -v
npm -v

Start your Server

Start your Server with either of these options. See the package.json for configuring npm scripts.

node server.js
npm start

Open a Browser Client

1. Open a web browser.
2. Go to the URL: http://127.0.0.1:3001/ or http://localhost:3001/.

Modify and Restart

1. Make changes to the server logic.
2. Use CTRL-C, CTRL-C to stop your server.
3. Restart the server to see your changes.

Install Nodemon to enable live updates

1. Install nodemon globally - this is one of the rare packages to install globally.
2. In your folder, open PowerShell here as Administrator, install and check the version.

npm install nodemon -g
nodemon -v

Optional: Create a server from scratch

1. Create a folder for server-side code.
2. In the folder, create a file named server.js.
3. In the folder, open PowerShell and run npm init to generate a package.json with app information.

Terms

• Node.js platform
• npm (Node package manager)
• nodemon
• npm install {packagename}
• npm install -g {packagename}
• npm start
• package.json
• localhost (127.0.0.1)
• host
• port
• URL
• web server
• web service
• web client
• web request
• web response

Reference

• About Node.js

See Also

• js-console
• js-gui
• js-gui-vue
• js-gui-storage
• node-server
• node-express-app
• node-express-chat
• node-express-mvc