Node Web Development: A Practical Introduction to Node, the Exciting New Server-side Javascript Web Development Stack - Softcover

Herron, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 184951514X ISBN 13: 9781849515146

Publisher: Packt Pub Ltd, 2011

Synopsis

A practical introduction to Node, the exciting new server-side JavaScript web development stack

• Go from nothing to a database-backed web application in no time at all
• Get started quickly with Node and discover that JavaScript is not just for browsers anymore
• An introduction to server-side JavaScript with Node, the Connect and Express frameworks, and using SQL or MongoDB database back-end

In Detail

Node is an exciting new technology stack that brings JavaScript to the server-side of web applications for the first time. Node means that JavaScript is no longer just for browsers. It's for web application development, it's for developing any internet protocol, it's for the real-time web, it's for command line scripts, and much more.

Node Web Development gives you an excellent starting point straight into the heart of developing server side web applications with node. You will learn, through practical examples, how to use the HTTP Server and Client objects, the Connect and Express application frameworks, the algorithms for asynchronous execution, and use both SQL and MongoDB databases.

This book is the ideal companion for getting started with Node. Starting with practical advice on installing Node for both development and application deployment, you will learn how to develop both HTTP Server and Client applications. Many different ways of working with Node are shown, including using database storage engines in applications and developing websites both with and without the Connect/Express web application framework. You will also get an introduction to Node's CommonJS module system allowing you to implement an important subset of object-oriented design.

What you will learn from this book

• Discover the role of server-side JavaScript in web application development
• Make informed architecture choices in Node for performance and throughput
• Install and use Node for both the development and deployment of server-side web applications
• Use the Connect and Express application frameworks
• Set up either SQL or MongoDB database systems in your application
• Learn the difference between synchronous and asynchronous algorithms and why they are important

Approach

This book is a practical introduction to learning about Node. Each chapter introduces you to a different area of Node, using screenshots and examples to get you up and running as quickly as possible.

Who this book is written for

If you are a developer who wants to use JavaScript on the server side in order to build quicker, higher performing web applications, then this book is for you. It is recommended that you should have at least a rudimentary understanding of JavaScript and web application development.

About this title

About the Author

David Herron has worked as a software engineer and software quality engineer in Silicon Valley for over 20 years. His current role at Yahoo is an Architect of the Quality Engineering team for their new Node.js based web app platform.

While a Staff Engineer at Sun Microsystems, David worked as Architect of the Java SE Quality Engineering team where he focused on test automation tools, including the AWT Robot class that's now widely used in GUI test automation software. He was involved with launching the OpenJDK project, the JDK-Distros project, and ran the worldwide Mustang Regressions Contest asking the Java developer community to find bugs in the Java 1.6 release.

Before Sun he worked for VXtreme on the video streaming stack which eventually became Windows Media Player when Microsoft bought that company. At The Wollongong Group he worked on both e-mail client and server software and was part of several IETF working groups improving e-mail-related protocols.

David is interested in electric vehicles, world energy supplies, climate change and environmental issues, and is a co-founder of Transition Silicon Valley. As an online journalist on examiner.com he writes under the title Green Transportation Examiner, he blogs about sustainability issues on 7gen.com, runs a large electric vehicle discussion website on visforvoltage.org, and blogs about other topics including Node.js, Drupal and Doctor Who on davidherron.com.

Edition details

• Publisher: Packt Pub Ltd
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 184951514X
• ISBN 13: 9781849515146
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 156