Create A Server In Node JS

Introduction

Node.js is a popular runtime environment that allows you to run JavaScript code on the server side. It uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model, making it lightweight and efficient for building scalable network applications.

Prerequisite

Before starting the development, make sure you have the following things:

1. Node JS Installed

2. A Proper Text Editor like VSCode

You can start the journey by using the following command :

npm init --y

The above step will initialize an empty project for you where you can write and play with your Node JS code.

STEPS

There are basically 4 major steps involved in the process of creating the server.

1. Import the HTTP module

const http = require('http')

1. Initialize variables

const PORT = 8080 || 8081  // choose the other one if first is not available
const HOST = 'localhost'

The two variables will act as a placeholder for the values of PORT and HOST in upcoming steps.

1. Create a listener

const listener = (req,res)=>{
    res.writeHead(200)
    res.end('Hello from Node JS Server')
}

1. Create a server and join the listener to the created server

const server = http.createServer(listener)

1. Start the server at a specific PORT and HOST

server.listen(PORT,HOST,()=>{
    console.log(`Server Running On Port : ${PORT} and Host : ${HOST}) 
})

Run and Test

Run the following command to start the app

SYNTAX: node <filename.js>

node node.js

To check if the server is working properly

SYNTAX: curl http://<host>:<port>

curl http://localhost:8080

Output

If all the above-mentioned steps are followed, then the output will be as follows:

Output when the app start

Server Running On Port : 8080 and Host : localhost

Output when using curl

Hello from Node JS Server

Ending Note

You can find more about http module from the official node website