Node.js : Day 2

Webserver in node.js, Routing in node.js, NPM and Prettier set-up

Rahul Kumar
3 min readDec 14, 2024

How to create web server in Node.js?

→ by using http module.

Step 1. Import http module

const http = require("http");

Step 2. Create a Server

const server = http.createServer((req,res)=>{
res.end("Hello from the server");
)

Step 3. Start a Server and listen to request

server.listen(3000, "127.0.0.1", ()=>{
console.log("Server is running on Port 3000");
})
/*
PORT is 3000
localhost ip is 127.0.0.1
*/

Step 4. Requesting to server by using browser

go to any browser and type “http://127.0.0.1:3000”

Routing in Node.js

How can we check which url user is requesting:

Routing and How to send response header:

Checking for header in browser:

Intoduction to npm:

npm is actually node package manager, It is used for installing, updating, and managing dependencies in a project.

To initialize a project:

npm init

Two main types of dependencies:

  1. Dependencies: These are libraries or packages that your project needs to run. These are required during production.
npm i package_name

2. Dev Dependencies:

  • These are packages that are only needed during development (e.g., for testing, building, or compiling code). They are not required for the application to run in production.
npm i package_name --dev

To uninstall the packages:

npm uninstall package_name

node_modules contains all the dependency of project.

Q. What is the meaning of Tilde and Caret in package.json:

~ (Tilde): Allows patch updates but not minor or major updates.

  • Example: "~4.17.1"4.17.x but not 4.18.x or 5.x.x.

^ (Caret): Allows minor and patch updates but not major updates.

  • Example: "^4.17.1"4.x.x but not 5.x.x.

dotenv. eslint, image preview, prettier — code formatter

How to configure prettier?

Steps to configure Prettier using the .prettierrc file:

  1. Install Prettier

First, you need to install Prettier in your project.

npm install --save-dev prettier

2. Create a .prettierrc Configuration File

  • The .prettierrc file allows you to specify various settings to control how Prettier formats your code. You can create this file in the root of your project.
  • The .prettierrc file can be in JSON format, YAML format, or JavaScript format. The most common and simplest is the JSON format.
  1. Example of a .prettierrc file (JSON format):
{   "semi": true,   
"singleQuote": true,
"trailingComma": "all",
"tabWidth": 2,
"printWidth": 80
}
  • semi: If set to true, Prettier will add a semicolon at the end of every statement. If set to false, no semicolons will be added.
  • singleQuote: If set to true, Prettier will use single quotes (') instead of double quotes (") for strings.
  • trailingComma: This controls when trailing commas are added. It can have the following values:
  • "none": No trailing commas (default).
  • "es5": Adds trailing commas where valid in ES5 (like in arrays and objects).
  • "all": Adds trailing commas everywhere possible, including function parameters.
  • tabWidth: Defines the number of spaces per indentation level (default is 2).
  • printWidth: Specifies the line length where Prettier will wrap the code. For example, a value of 80 means the line will wrap after 80 characters.

there are other’s configuration options too, you can go through this document:

thanks…

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Rahul Kumar
Rahul Kumar

Written by Rahul Kumar

MERN Stack Developer building scalable web apps with MongoDB, Express.js, React.js, Node and TS. Sharing insights and best practices for modern web development.

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