Node.js for Beginners

Build your first production-grade web application from scratch using Node.js, Express, MongoDB, authentication, and testing with the help of expert guidance and step-by-step explanations

Key Features

• Learn JavaScript, async programming, and event-driven architectures in Node.js
• Discover best practices for secure deployment and testing of Node.js apps
• Build a feature-rich web app from scratch using MongoDB, Express.js, and passport.js, including testing

Book Description

Node.js is a runtime environment that revolutionizes server-side JavaScript development and combines high performance, a unified language stack, a rich ecosystem of packages, and scalability, empowering developers to build efficient, scalable, and versatile applications across a range of use cases. Node.js for Beginners takes you on a progressive learning path, starting with the basics and gradually advancing to complex topics that will give you the skills needed to leverage Node.js.

First, you’ll delve into Node.js fundamentals and refresh your knowledge of JavaScript before transitioning to the development of modern web applications using Node.js, Express.js, and MongoDB. You’ll explore and get hands-on with complex topics such as asynchronous programming, npm libraries, event-driven patterns for HTTP servers, RESTful API, JSON Web Tokens, and more. The final chapters will guide you through the deployment process, offering insights into various strategies, including bare metal setups, virtual machines, and containerization with Docker. You’ll also be guided through the use of Process Manager 2 (PM2) for efficient process management.

By the end of this Node.js book, you’ll have the skills to craft, test, and deploy Node.js web applications confidently and use this powerful stack in your day-to-day projects.

What you will learn

• Build solid and secure Node.js applications from scratch
• Discover how to consume and publish npm packages effectively
• Master patterns for refactoring and evolving your applications over time
• Gain a deep understanding of essential web development principles, including HTTP, RESTful API design, JWT, authentication, authorization, and error handling
• Implement robust testing strategies to enhance the quality and reliability of your applications
• Deploy your Node.js applications to production environments using Docker and PM2

Who this book is for

This book is for developers eager to learn Node.js swiftly and utilize it for web app development. Front-end developers looking to delve into back-end development or become full-stack developers using Node.js will also benefit from this book’s comprehensive coverage of topics. Before you get started with this book, you’ll need to be familiar with the basics of coding (JavaScript programming or another language), Git and/or GitHub, and front-end development, as these topics aren’t covered in the book.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Node.js
2. Setting Up the Development Environment
3. JavaScript Fundamentals
4. Asynchronous Programming
5. Node.js Core Libraries
6. External Modules and NPM
7. Event-Driven Architecture
8. Testing in Node.js
9. Handling HTTP and REST API
10. Building Web Applications with Express
11. Building a Web Application Project from Scratch
12. Data Persistence with MongoDB
13. User Authentication and Authorization with Passport.js
14. Error Handling in Node.js
15. Securing Web Applications
16. Deploying Node.js Applications
17. Dockerizing a Node.js Application

About the Author

Ulises Gascón has more than 10 years of experience as a software engineer, having worked for companies such as Google, IBM, consultancy firms, and startups. He is a Node.js core team member and top contributor to several open source organizations and projects, including top-100 packages on the npm registry. He has been awarded as a Docker Captain, Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) and Google Developer Expert (GDE) for his contribution to the Node.js community. He has extensive experience in building IoT with Open Hardware, SaaS products, developer tools, microservices, legacy systems migration, and distributed systems.