Node.js Runtime Environment

A Node.js Runtime Environment is a run-time environment that enables JavaScript code server-side execution.

• Context:
  • It can (typically) contain Node.js Modules, such as: Node.js HTTP Module.
  • It can be a component of a Backend Web Framework.
  • It can be built on top of the V8 JavaScript Engine, allowing it to execute JavaScript code outside a web browser.
  • It can use an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model, which makes it efficient and suitable for building scalable network applications.
  • It can have a large ecosystem of packages and modules available through the npm (Node Package Manager), enabling developers to extend its functionality easily.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Node.js v20.5.0 (~2023-07-18) [1].
  • Node.js v19.5.0 (~2023-01-24).
  • Node.js v18.12.0 (LTS) (~2022-10-25).
  • ...
  • Node.js 0.1.14 (~2011-08-26).
  • https://nodejs.org/en/download/releases/
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Django.
  • ASP.net.
• See: Apache Server, statd Daemon, Web Framework.

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References

2024

• https://youtu.be/LB8KwiiUGy0?si=QkT6eypfLqDuFfsi
  • NOTE:
    • Node.js is a server-side JavaScript runtime environment created by Ryan Dahl in 2009.
    • Node.js utilizes an event-driven architecture, non-blocking I/O model, making it efficient and suitable for building scalable network applications.
    • Node.js is built on Google's V8 JavaScript engine, which allows it to execute JavaScript code outside of a web browser.
    • Node.js has a large ecosystem of packages and modules available through the npm (Node Package Manager), making it easy for developers to extend its functionality.
    • Node.js is widely used for building web servers, API services, and real-time applications like chat and collaboration tools.
    • Node.js has faced challenges related to its governance model and corporate involvement, leading to the creation of the io.js fork in 2014 and the subsequent establishment of the Node.js Foundation in 2015.
    • Node.js continues to evolve and maintain its position as a popular choice for server-side JavaScript development, with regular releases and an active community of contributors.

2023

• chat
  • Q: Is Node.js a web application framework? Explain why.
  • A: Node.js is not a web application framework, but rather a JavaScript runtime environment built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. It is designed for building fast, scalable network applications and allows developers to use JavaScript on the server-side.

    However, Node.js provides the basic building blocks for building web applications, and developers can use Node.js along with additional modules and libraries to build a complete web application. For example, the popular Express.js library, which is built on top of Node.js, can be used to build a web application framework that provides routing, middleware, and other features commonly found in web application frameworks.

2023

• chat
  • Q: What is the relationship between Node.js and an HTTP server?
  • A: Node.js is not an HTTP server by itself, but it provides a powerful set of APIs and libraries that allow developers to build HTTP servers easily. In other words, Node.js provides the ability to create an HTTP server using JavaScript, which makes it a popular choice for building scalable and efficient web applications.

    An HTTP server is responsible for handling HTTP requests from clients (e.g., web browsers) and returning HTTP responses. It listens on a specific port and accepts incoming requests, processing them and returning appropriate responses.

    With Node.js, developers can create HTTP servers by using the built-in HTTP module. This module provides a simple and straightforward way to create an HTTP server and handle incoming requests. The HTTP server can be configured to listen on a specific port and respond to various types of HTTP requests, such as GET, POST, and PUT.

2023

• chat
  • Q: What is Node.js and what are some alternatives to it?
  • A: Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. It allows developers to run JavaScript on the server-side, enabling the creation of server-side applications using JavaScript. It is commonly used for building scalable network applications.

    Some popular alternatives to Node.js are:

    • Ruby on Rails: A server-side web application framework written in Ruby.
    • Django: A high-level Python web framework that enables rapid development and clean, pragmatic design.
    • [[Express framework]Express]]: A minimal and flexible Node.js web application framework that provides a robust set of features for web and mobile applications.
    • Laravel: A free, open-source PHP web framework used for web application development.
    • Flask: A micro web framework for Python.

2017

• (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Node.js Retrieved:2017-5-16.
  • Node.js is an open-source, cross-platform JavaScript run-time environment for executing JavaScript code server-side. Historically, JavaScript was used primarily for client-side scripting, in which scripts written in JavaScript are embedded in a webpage's HTML, to be run client-side by a JavaScript engine in the user's web browser. Node.js enables JavaScript to be used for server-side scripting, and runs scripts server-side to produce dynamic web page content before the page is sent to the user's web browser. Consequently, Node.js has become one of the foundational elements of the "JavaScript everywhere" paradigm, allowing web application development to unify around a single programming language, rather than rely on a different language for writing server side scripts. Though .js is the conventional filename extension for JavaScript code, the name "Node.js" is not referring to a particular file in this context—it's just the name of the product. Node.js has an event-driven architecture capable of asynchronous I/O. These design choices aim to optimize throughput and scalability in Web applications with many input/output operations, as well as for real-time Web applications (e.g., real-time communication programs and browser games). The Node.js distributed development project, governed by the Node.js Foundation, is facilitated by the Linux Foundation's Collaborative Projects program. Corporate users of Node.js software include GoDaddy, Groupon, IBM, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Netflix, PayPal, Rakuten, SAP, Voxer, Walmart, Yahoo!, and Cisco Systems.

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