Being lightweight, open source, event-driven, cross-platform environment built on Google Chrome’s JavaScript V8 Engine, Node.js is used to build server-side applications with one of the most popular scripting languages invented to date, JavaScript. Now there are several modules such as the “http” and “request” that particularly helps in processing server related requests in the web server space. In the following post, you will come across how to implement an HTTP web server in Node.js. But before that lets’ learn about the salient features offered by Node.js runtime.
Why should I use it?
Node.js turns out to be a great choice for all the following scenarios:
- I/O applications
- Applications that are data intensive
- Applications that require a lot of data streaming
Some of its key features include:
- Event-driven- The technology is non-blocking, event-driven runtime. This means a Node.js server would not wait for the response from the previous call. Rather it would move on to the next call. Moreover, it takes advantage of events to get notifications on the response to a call.
- Performance- Node.js being asynchronous and fast, it doesn’t make use of buffering and transfers data in chunks.
- Scalable- Node.js is single-threaded with event looping and is a highly scalable environment. Unlike many traditional servers, Node.js uses a single thread and works in a non-blocking way — using an event looping mechanism.
Building a HTTP Web Server In Node.Js
In case, if you have already downloaded Node.Js and installed in your system then you can simply set up HTTP web server on your system. To do this, follow these steps outlined below:
- Open a Command Prompt Window in the administrator mode
- Type the following command there:
npm install -g http-server
- Switch to the directory that contains the static website files
- Next, start the web server using the following command
http-server
So that’s all for now! A minimalistic web server has been set up locally in your system. You can now browse http://localhost:8080 from your web browser.
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In a nutshell
Node.js technology has gained a lot of popularity due to its ability to write server-side applications using JavaScript. Due to its simplicity, ease of use, performance, and scalability, more and more development companies have started to provide best Nodejs development services in town.
