Node.js is a runtime environment that allows you to execute JavaScript code on the server side. It is built on the V8 JavaScript runtime engine, which is the same engine that powers the Google Chrome browser. Node.js enables developers to use JavaScript for server-side scripting, allowing them to create dynamic web pages and handle server-side logic.

Key features of Node.js include:

1. Asynchronous and Event-Driven: One of the primary characteristics of Node.js is its asynchronous, non-blocking I/O model. This means that Node.js is well-suited for handling concurrent operations, making it efficient for building scalable network applications.
2. Single-threaded: Node.js uses a single-threaded event loop to handle multiple concurrent connections. This design helps in managing high levels of concurrency without the need for creating a new thread for each connection.
3. npm (Node Package Manager): Node.js comes with npm, a powerful package manager that simplifies the process of installing, managing, and sharing libraries and dependencies.
4. Cross-platform: Node.js is cross-platform and can run on various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.
5. Server-Side Development: Node.js is commonly used for server-side development to build web applications, APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), and microservices.
6. Scalability: Node.js is known for its ability to handle a large number of simultaneous connections with low resource consumption, making it suitable for building scalable applications.
7. JavaScript: One of the significant advantages of Node.js is that developers can use the same programming language (JavaScript) for both client-side and server-side development, fostering code reuse and consistency.

Node.js is widely adopted in the web development community and is used by many organizations to build real-time applications, APIs, and various types of server-side applications. It has a large and active community, and its ecosystem is supported by a vast number of open-source packages and modules available through npm.

How to install

To install Node.js on your computer, you can follow these general steps. The specific steps may vary depending on your operating system. Here, I’ll provide instructions for the two most common operating systems: Windows and Linux (using a package manager).

Windows:

1. Download Node.js:
   • Visit the official Node.js website: Node.js Downloads.
   • Download the LTS (Long-Term Support) version, which is recommended for most users.
2. Run the Installer:
   • Double-click the downloaded installer to run it.
   • Follow the installation prompts, accepting the default settings in most cases.
3. Verify Installation:
   • Open a command prompt or PowerShell.
   • Type the following commands to check the installed Node.js and npm versions:

node -v

npm -v

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Linux (using package manager):

Ubuntu/Debian:

1. Update Package List:

sudo apt update

 2. Install Node.js:

sudo apt install nodejs

 3. Install npm:

sudo apt install npm

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CentOS/RHEL:

1. Enable the EPEL repository (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux):

sudo yum install epel-release

 2. Install Node.js and npm:

sudo yum install nodejs

 3. Verify Installation:

node -v npm -v

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macOS:

1. Install Homebrew (if not already installed):
   • Open Terminal and run:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

 2. Install Node.js and npm using Homebrew:

brew install node

 3. Verify Installation:

node -vnpm -v

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After following these steps, you should have Node.js and npm installed on your system. The version numbers displayed in the verification step will confirm the successful installation. Now you can start using Node.js to run JavaScript on the server side and manage packages with npm.

If you have any further questions, please check out the Node.js website.

I hope you enjoyed this little article on Node.js.

Hope you have a great day!