Table of Contents for

Node.js 8 the Right Way

What’s in This Book

This book is for intermediate to advanced developers who want to learn how to write asynchronous JavaScript for the server using Node.js. Some prior JavaScript experience will definitely help, but you don’t have to be an expert.

The book proceeds in three parts, outlined here briefly.

Part I: Getting Up To Speed on Node.js 8

Part I is about getting you up to speed on Node.js 8. You’ll write Node.js programs that use core modules—and a few external modules as well—to do things like interact with the filesystem, spin up a cluster of worker processes, and manage network connections.

Getting Started

Chapter 1, ​Getting Started​, introduces the Node.js event loop, explaining how it empowers Node.js to be highly parallel and single-threaded at the same time. This chapter also outlines the five aspects of Node.js development that frame each subsequent chapter and has some brief instructions on getting Node.js installed on your machine.

Wrangling the File System

In Chapter 2, ​Wrangling the File System​, you’ll start writing Node.js programs. If you’ve done any server-side programming in the past, chances are you’ve had to access a filesystem along the way. We’ll start in this familiar domain, using Node.js’s filesystem tools to create asynchronous, nonblocking file utilities. You’ll use Node.js’s ubiquitous EventEmitter and Stream classes to pipe data, and you’ll spawn and interact with child processes.

Networking with Sockets

We’ll expand on those concepts while exploring Node.js’s network I/O capabilities in Chapter 3, ​Networking with Sockets​. You’ll create TCP servers and client programs to access them. You’ll also develop a simple JSON-based protocol and a custom class for working with these messages. To develop unit tests for the code, you’ll use Mocha, a popular Node.js test harness.

Connecting Robust Microservices

Then, in Chapter 4, ​Connecting Robust Microservices​, we’ll branch away from the Node.js core and into the realm of third-party libraries. You’ll use npm to import ØMQ (pronounced “Zero-M-Q”)—a high-efficiency, low-latency library for developing networked applications. With ØMQ, you’ll develop programs that communicate using several important patterns, such as publish/subscribe and request/reply. You’ll create suites of programs that work together in concert, and you’ll learn the clustering tools to manage them.

Part II: Working with Data

In Part II, you’ll work with real data and lay the groundwork for an end-to-end application. This starts with processing data files in a testable way. You’ll also learn to compose rich command-line utilities using Node.js and interact with HTTP services.

Transforming Data and Testing Continuously

Chapter 5, ​Transforming Data and Testing Continuously​, kicks off an ongoing project that spans Part II and Part III. You’ll download the catalog from Project Gutenberg, an online resource for ebooks in the public domain. Using a module called Cheerio, you’ll write Node.js code to parse the data files and extract the important fields. You’ll use npm, Mocha, and an assertion library called Chai to set up continuous testing, and you’ll learn to use Chrome DevTools for interactive debugging.

Commanding Databases

In Chapter 6, ​Commanding Databases​, you’ll insert the extracted Project Gutenberg catalog into an Elasticsearch index. To get this done, you’ll write a command-line utility program called esclu using a Node.js module called Commander. Since Elasticsearch is a RESTful, JSON-based datastore, you’ll use the Request module to interact with it. You’ll also learn to use a handy and powerful command-line tool called jq for manipulating JSON.

Part III: Implementing an Application

Part III is where everything comes together. You’ll develop web services that mediate between your API users and your back-end data services. End users don’t interact directly with APIs, though, so for that you’ll implement a beautiful UI. At the end, you’ll tie it all together with session management and authentication.

Developing RESTful Web Services

Node.js has fantastic support for writing HTTP servers, and in Chapter 7, ​Developing RESTful Web Services​, you’ll do exactly that. You’ll use Express, a popular Node.js web framework for routing requests. We’ll dive deeper into REST semantics, and you’ll use Promises and async functions for managing code flows. In addition, you’ll learn to configure your services using the nconf module, and keep them running with nodemon.

Creating a Beautiful User Experience

With the web services in place, in Chapter 8, ​Creating a Beautiful User Experience​, you’ll craft a front end for them. You’ll learn how to assemble a front-end project using a Node.js-based build tool called webpack, along with a host of peer-dependency plugins for it. You’ll transpile your code for consumption by the browser using TypeScript, a language and transpiler from Microsoft that features inferred type checking. To make your UI look modern and fabulous, you’ll bring in Twitter’s Bootstrap styling framework, and implement templating with Handlebars.

Fortifying Your Application

Chapter 9, ​Fortifying Your Application​, is where everything comes together. You’ll combine the user experience with the web services from the previous two chapters for an end-to-end solution. Using Express middleware, you’ll create authenticated APIs and implement stateful sessions. You’ll also learn how to use npm’s shrinkwrap option to insulate yourself from upstream module changes.

Developing Flows with Node-RED

After Part III concludes, there’s a special bonus chapter on Node-RED. Chapter 10, ​BONUS: Developing Flows with Node-RED​, walks you through this clever visual editor for designing event-based code flows. It ships directly with Raspbian, the default operating system of Raspberry Pi.

Using Node-RED, you can quickly stub out exploratory HTTP APIs. I’ll show you how!

Appendices on Angular and React

In case you’re interested in using the front-end frameworks Angular and React, Appendix 1, ​Setting Up Angular​, and Appendix 2, ​Setting Up React​, show you how to integrate them with webpack and Express. The appendixes will help you put the pieces in place to start experimenting, but they don’t take the place of a good tutorial on how to fully develop with them.