Node.js is useful for building back-end services like APIs, Web Applications or Mobile Applications. It’s used in production by large companies such as Walmart, Uber, Netflix, Paypal, etc.
In this tutorial, we are going to see how we can create and run our first Node JS application.
Let’s get started!
First you need to download Node JS. To confirm that it is installed run the command:
node -vCreate a project folder and call it whatever you want to call it. Then open up that folder in your terminal / command prompt and run the following command:
npm initThe npm init command is used to create a Node.js project. The npm init command will create a package where the project files will be stored. All the modules you download will be stored in the package.json file
You will be prompted to add the following project information when creating a project:
The default project entry point is usually index.js. Although that can differ from server to server as will look for app.js or main.js to run your application.
Next, we will add our express server dependency. Express will give you an easier solution to middleware, routing, templating and even debugging.
Run the command:
npm i expressYour package.json file should look like this
Now, go to your directory and create a file called index.js, which will be the entry point to our application and add the following code:
const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const port = 5000; //port number where your server will be listening
app.get('/', (req, res) => { //get requests to the root ("/")
res.sendFile('index.html', {root: __dirname});
});
app.listen(port, () => { //server starts listening
console.log(`listening on port ${port}`);
});
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Node JS Simple App</title>
</head>
<body>
<div>Hello World!</div>
</body>
</html>
Run your app with the following command:
node indexYou have created your first node JS application.
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