#learning node.js

This beautiful sunny weekend in London I decided to stay in and learn “PostCSS’...there was mentions of modules and similarities now instead I’m learning Node.JS. I figured if, I can get a fundamental understanding of what it is and how it works exactly, I’ll be in better position to understand “Post CSS”... 

yeah...sounds about right. 

I have a basic understanding of javascript, very basic understanding of Terminal, and a basic understanding of Github. The hope is, that while learning Node.JS, I’ll be able to understand more of these other tools in my use of it during this experience.

Shout out to the book I’m using to guide me through the process!

‘Sams Teach Yourself Node.JS in 24 Hours by George Ornbo’. 

It’s speaking my language in terms of my level of understanding, and satisfies the feeling of accomplishment by having you build something small every chapter using it. I’m starting to gain momentum going the first two chapters so I think this might be a good time to document my journey. 

I loaded my first server--relatively, pretty simple. 

Following the instructions on the book, I already had node dl’d. I opened my Sublime Text Editor separately and saved the files under my computer name. This book was written a couple years ago, so when it came to the examples, I googled instead 2016 instructions from The Node Beginner and copied the coding from there vs from the book that has some ancient written texts on it, lol:

Modules

I have since moved on to familiarizing myself with the concept of modules and checked out the IRC database. Following the instructions of the book to also check them out via terminal--

(It scrolls for days)

While this gives me a sense of accomplishment, its mostly false as I still don’t get how they are used in context. 

I then used one for my own module called underscore--I think:

Terminal results after naming the file foo.js: 

Moving forward to JSON packages!

The next exercise had me open another file in the text editor and copy and paste ancient code--that would allow me to store all my ‘dependencies and modules in one place’. However, I believe it wasn’t updated or I didn’t fill in the info in the text editor, so this happened--

Fortunately, they are not deal breakers, but more like a ‘heads up! this sucks’

Meh. Moving on! Exercises:

I got through the workshop and exercises at the end of this second chapter. Used npm search to search for a template engine 

     npm search template engine

...A bazillion packages displayed on the terminal.

Then installed ‘coffee-script’ using the search first to see the options. Then got stuck at installing ‘express’---

Problem: npm install -g express -- the -g should install it globally ( so it can be accessed from anywhere, not just a specific project file). By default, when you install modules, it’s stored locally in a ‘node-modules’ file. Of which, I noticed, despite my use of -g, it kept being stored under:

^Stored in node_modules...so then when I try to call it from outside the folder, I get this:

Googled “can’t install express globally”. Landed on this Stack Overflow Page that had the answer:  sudo npm install -g express-generator

...and now it works!

The current job scenario is very competitive, and you should have special skills and expertise in niche areas if you want to prove yourself. You should have skills that will set you apart from the job-seeking crowd. So, how can you improve your chances of success in the job market? One way you can do that is by learning more advanced technologies and developments in your area of study. This method is very important, especially if you are in the field of computer technology. It is because the world of computing languages and algorithms is constantly changing, and if you’re not updated about the latest changes, then you may find yourself at the flag end of the job race. You can take up tutorials and certification programs to update your knowledge. 

One such advanced application is Node JS. It is an open-source JavaScript based application that is used for networking and server-side applications. Learning Node JS will give you an added advantage if you’re planning on taking up such related jobs. This framework is built on Google Chrome V8 engine. Node JS applications can be run on a number of platforms including Linux, Windows, OS X, IBM, Non Stop and more. You should have some basic understanding of computing languages such as CSS, AJAX and HTML, so you can easily learn this framework. 

When you attend Node JS tutorials, you will learn about this open source application environments and the related eco system. Many tutorials allow you learn at your own pace and experiment with various concepts and applications. Even if you take up tutorials, you should work on live pages and experiment with different applications if you want to fine tune your development skills. There are plenty of online tutorials that offer this program. But you should verify the authenticity of the tutorial and its online reputation before you put down your money.