Sams Teach Yourself Node.js in 24 Hours: (Sams Teach Yourself)

In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, Sams Teach Yourself Node.js in 24 Hours will help you master the Node.js platform and use it to build server-side applications with extraordinary speed and scalability. Using this text’s straightforward, step-by-step approach, you’ll move from basic installation, configuration, and programming all the way through real-time messaging between browser and server, testing and deployment. Every lesson and case-study application builds on what you’ve already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success!   Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common Node.js development tasks. Quizzes and Exercises at the end of each chapter help you test your knowledge. By the Way notes present valuable additional information related to the discussion. Did You Know? tips offer advice or show you easier ways to perform tasks. Watch Out! cautions alert you to possible problems and give you advice on how to avoid them.   Learn how to… ·         Create end-to-end applications entirely in JavaScript ·         Master essential Node.js concepts like callbacks and quickly create your first program ·         Create basic sites with the HTTP module and Express web framework ·         Manage data persistence with Node.js and MongoDB ·         Debug and test Node.js applications ·         Deploy Node.js applications to thirdparty services, such as Heroku and Nodester ·         Build powerful real-time solutions, from chat servers to Twitter clients ·         Create JSON APIs using JavaScript on the server ·         Use core components of the Node.js API, including processes, child processes, events, buffers, and streams ·         Create and publish a Node.js module

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1 Who Should Read This Book?     1 Why Should I Learn Node.js?     2 How This Book Is Organized     2 Code Examples    2 Conventions Used in This Book     3 Part I: Getting Started Hour 1: Introducing Node.js     7 What Is Node.js?    7 What You Can Do with Node.js     8 Installing and Creating Your First Node.js Program     9 Summary     11 Q&A     12 Workshop     12 Exercises     13 Hour 2: npm (Node Package Manager)      15 What Is npm?     15 Installing npm     16 Installing Modules     17 Using Modules     17 How to Find Modules     19 Local and Global Installation     21 How to Find Module Documentation     22 Specifying Dependencies with package.json     23 Summary     25 Q&A     25 Workshop     26 Hour 3: What Node.js Is Used For 27 What Node.js Is Designed to Do     27 Understanding I/O     27 Dealing with Input     29 Networked I/O Is Unpredictable     33 Humans Are Unpredictable     35 Dealing with Unpredictability     37 Summary     38 Q&A     38 Workshop     39 Exercises     39 Hour 4: Callbacks      41 What Is a Callback?     41 The Anatomy of a Callback     46 How Node.js Uses Callbacks     47 Synchronous and Asynchronous Code     50 The Event Loop     53 Summary     54 Q&A     55 Workshop     55 Exercises     56 Part II: Basic Websites with Node.js Hour 5: HTTP      59 What Is HTTP?      59 HTTP Servers with Node.js     59 HTTP Clients with Node.js     69 Summary     70 Q&A     71 Workshop     71 Exercises     72 Hour 6: Introducing Express 73 What Is Express?      73 Why Use Express?      73 Installing Express     74 Creating a Basic Express Site     74 Exploring Express     76 Introducing Jade     77 Summary     89 Q&A     89 Workshop     90 Exercises     90 Hour 7: More on Express      91 Routing in Web Applications     91 How Routing Works in Express     91 Adding a GET Route     92 Adding a POST Route     94 Using Parameters in Routes     95 Keeping Routes Maintainable     96 View Rendering     97 Using Local Variables     99 Summary     101 Q&A     101 Workshop     101 Exercises     102 Hour 8: Persisting Data      103 What Is Persistent Data?      103 Writing Data to a File     104 Reading Data from a File     105 Reading Environment Variables     106 Using Databases     108 Using MongoDB with Node.js     109 Summary     131 Q&A     131 Workshop     132 Exercises     132 Part III: Debugging, Testing, and Deploying Hour 9: Debugging Node.js Applications      135 Debugging     135 The STDIO Module     136 The Node.js Debugger     141 Node Inspector     144 A Note on Testing     147 Summary     148 Q&A     148 Workshop     149 Exercises     149 Hour 10: Testing Node.js Applications     151 Why Test?      151 The Assert Module     152 Third-Party Testing Tools     155 Behavior Driven Development     159 Summary     167 Q&A     167 Workshop     168 Exercises     168 Hour 11: Deploying Node.js Applications     169 Ready to Deploy!      169 Hosting in the Cloud     169 Heroku     171 Cloud Foundry     176 Nodester     180 Other PaaS Providers     184 Summary     184 Q&A     184 Workshop     185 Exercises     186 Part IV: Intermediate Sites with Node.js Hour 12: Introducting Socket.IO      189 Now for Something Completely Different     189 Brief History of the Dynamic Web     189 Socket.IO     191 Basic Socket.IO Example     191 Sending Data from the Server to Clients     194 Broadcasting Data to Clients     199 Bi-Directional Data     204 Summary     209 Q&A     209 Workshop     210 Exercises     210 Hour 13: A Socket.IO Chat Server     213 Express and Socket.IO     213 Adding Nicknames     216 Summary     235 Q&A     235 Workshop     236 Exercises     236 Hour 14: A Streaming Twitter Client      237 Streaming APIs     237 Signing Up for Twitter     238 Using Twitter’s API with Node.js     241 Extracting Meaning from the Data     244 Pushing Data to the Browser     247 Creating a Real-Time Lovehateometer     252 Summary     262 Q&A     263 Workshop     263 Exercises     264 Hour 15: JSON APIs      265 APIs     265 JSON     266 Sending JSON Data with Node.js     268 Creating JSON from JavaScript Objects     269 Consuming JSON Data with Node.js     271 Creating a JSON API with Node.js     275 Summary     285 Q&A     286 Workshop     286 Exercises     287 Part V: Exploring the Node.js API Hour 16: The Process Module      291 What Processes Are     291 Exiting and Errors in Processes     293 Processes and Signals     293 Sending Signals to Processes     295 Creating Scripts with Node.js     297 Passing Arguments to Scripts     298 Summary     301 Q&A     302 Workshop     302 Exercises     303 Hour 17: The Child Process Module      305 What Is a Child Process?      305 Killing a Child Process     308 Communicating with a Child Process     309 The Cluster Module     311 Summary     314 Q&A     314 Workshop     314 Exercises     315 Hour 18: The Events Module      317 Understanding Events     317 Demonstrating Events Through HTTP     321 Playing Ping-Pong with Events     324 Programming Event Listeners Dynamically     326 Summary     330 Q&A     330 Workshop     331 Exercises     331 Hour 19: The Buffer Module      333 A Primer on Binary Data     333 Binary to Text     334 Binary and Node.js     335 What Are Buffers in Node.js?      338 Writing to Buffers     340 Appending to Buffers     340 Copying Buffers     342 Modifying Strings in Buffers     343 Summary     343 Q&A     343 Workshop     344 Hour 20: The Stream Module      345 A Primer on Streams     345 Readable Streams     347 Writable Streams     352 Piping Streams     353 Streaming MP3s     354 Summary     356 Q&A     356 Workshop     356 Exercises     357 Part VI: Further Node.js Development Hour 21: CoffeeScript      361 What Is CoffeeScript?      361 Installing and Running CoffeeScript     363 Why Use a Pre-Compiler?     365 Features of CoffeeScript     366 Debugging CoffeeScript     376 Reactions to CoffeeScript     377 Summary     378 Q&A     378 Workshop     379 Exercises     379 Hour 22: Creating Node.js Modules      381 Why Create Modules?      381 Popular Node.js Modules     381 The package.json File     383 Folder Structure     384 Developing and Testing Your Module     385 Adding an Executable     388 Using Object-Oriented or Prototype-Based Programming     390 Sharing Code Via GitHub     391 Using Travis CI     392 Publishing to npm     395 Publicizing Your Module     397 Summary     397 Q&A     397 Workshop     398 Exercises     398 Hour 23: Creating Middleware with Connect      399 What Is Middleware?      399 Middleware in Connect     400 Access Control with Middleware     406 Summary     414 Q&A     414 Workshop     415 Exercises     415 Hour 24: Using Node.js with Backbone.js     417 What Is Backbone.js?     417 How Backbone.js Works     418 A Simple Backbone.js View     425 Creating Records with Backbone.js     429 Summary     432 Q&A     432 Workshop     433 Exercises     433 Index      435

About the Author :
George Ornbo is a web developer at pebble {code}, an agency that specializes in delivering web applications built with Node.js, Ruby, .NET, and F#. Ornbo has more than eight years of experience delivering web applications for both startups and established corporate clients. He is currently working on an online gaming startup.