The basic requirement is to install Node.js and have a programmer-oriented text editor. The editor need not be anything fancy, vi/vim will even do in a pinch. We will show you how to install everything that's needed. It's all open source software that can be easily downloaded from websites. 

The most important tool is the one between your ears.

Some chapters require database engines, such as MySQL and MongoDB.

Although Node.js is a cross-platform software development platform, some third-party modules are written in C/C++ and must be compiled during installation. To do so, native-code development tools such as C/C++ compilers are required, and Python is required to run the tool-chain. The details are covered in Chapter 2, Setting up Node.js. Microsoft is involved with the Node.js project and to ensure developer productivity with Node.js on Windows.

You can download the example code files for this book from your account at www.packtpub.com. If you purchased this book elsewhere, you can visit www.packtpub.com/support and register to have the files emailed directly to you.

You can download the code files by following these steps:

1. Log in or register at www.packtpub.com.
2. Select the SUPPORT tab.
3. Click on Code Downloads & Errata.
4. Enter the name of the book in the Search box and follow the onscreen instructions.

Once the file is downloaded, please make sure that you unzip or extract the folder using the latest version of:

• WinRAR/7-Zip for Windows
• Zipeg/iZip/UnRarX for Mac
• 7-Zip/PeaZip for Linux

The code bundle for the book is also hosted on GitHub at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Node.js-Web-Development-Fourth-Edition. We also have other code bundles from our rich catalog of books and videos available at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/. Check them out!

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

CodeInText: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles. Here is an example: "The http object encapsulates the HTTP protocol, and its http.createServer method creates a whole web server, listening on the port specified in the listen method."

A block of code is set as follows:

var http = require('http'); 
http.createServer(function (req, res) { 
  res.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/plain'}); 
  res.end('Hello World\n'); 
}).listen(8124, "127.0.0.1"); 
console.log('Server running at http://127.0.0.1:8124/'); 

When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items are set in bold:

 if (urlP.query['n']) { 
    fibonacciAsync(urlP.query['n'], fibo => {
        res.end('Fibonacci '+ urlP.query['n'] +'='+ fibo);
    });
  } else { 

Any command-line input or output is written as follows:

$ node --version
v8.9.1  

Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see onscreen. For example, words in menus or dialog boxes appear in the text like this. Here is an example: "In the Start menu, enter PowerShell in the applications search box."