Book Image

Node.js Web Development - Third Edition

By : David Herron
Book Image

Node.js Web Development - Third Edition

By: David Herron

Overview of this book

Node.js is a server-side JavaScript platform using an event driven, non-blocking I/O model allowing users to build fast and scalable data-intensive applications running in real time. Node.js Web Development shows JavaScript is not just for browser-side applications. It can be used for server-side web application development, real-time applications, microservices, and much more. This book gives you an excellent starting point, bringing you straight to the heart of developing web applications with Node.js. You will progress from a rudimentary knowledge of JavaScript and server-side development to being able to create and maintain your own Node.js application. With this book you'll learn how to use the HTTP Server and Client objects, data storage with both SQL and MongoDB databases, real-time applications with Socket.IO, mobile-first theming with Bootstrap, microservice deployment with Docker, authenticating against third-party services using OAuth, and much more.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Node.js Web Development Third Edition
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

npm – the Node.js package management system


As described in Chapter 2, Setting up Node.js, npm is a package management and distribution system for Node.js. It has become the de-facto standard for distributing modules (packages) for use with Node.js. Conceptually, it's similar to tools such as apt-get (Debian), rpm/yum (Redhat/Fedora), MacPorts (Mac OS X), CPAN (Perl), or PEAR (PHP). Its' purpose is publishing and distributing Node.js packages over the Internet using a simple command-line interface. With npm, you can quickly find packages to serve specific purposes, download them, install them, and manage packages you've already installed.

The npm package defines a package format for Node.js largely based on the CommonJS package specification. It uses the same package.json file that's supported natively by Node.js, but with additional fields to build in additional functionality.

The npm package format

An npm package is a directory structure with a package.json file describing the package. This...