Node.js and Node Local Web Server Primer Tutorial
We love PHP for web server work, but readily acknowledge …
- PHP is losing out, in popularity terms, to frameworks like Node.js (which we introduce to you today with a “Hello World” tutorial, where you’ll see its Javascript (yes, Javascript), in (server side) action)
- Node.js is a framework that has Javascript running on the server side, a pretty powerful scenario
… and so, a great divide in programming (frameworks) is developing. Personally, I like the division of “language” between PHP server code and Javascript client code, but can see the “cuteness” of just thinking “Javascript”, and so, today, we show you a Node.js installation on our MacBook Pro using Mac OS X, though you will see, if you take a skeg at our slideshow that Node.js is very much cross-platform by nature.
If you read this blog, you’ll (hopefully) have seen how fond we PHP’ers are here regarding the …
MAMP local web server on port 8888 supporting PHP and a MySql database on port 8889 on a MacBook Pro Mac OS X using web browsers
… well with Node.js, the scenario is …
Node local web server on port 3000 supporting Javascript (Node.js like) and a MySql database (still) on port 8889 (in our case because we co-exist with MAMP and have MAMP running and access its socket file to make the MySql connection) if co-existing with (running) MAMP or port 3306 (it looks like) if there is no MAMP involved
And so, today, we first show a client “facing” “Hello World” scenario of just showing … “Hello World” … a web application “frontend” if you will.
Then we got a MySql database involved … a web application “backend” if you will … and we hope if you are a regular reader at this blog … even though this blog posting may have “rocked your world” with (Node.js) Javascript getting involved at the server side (though we did warn you with our very first Javascript DOM focused tutorial called JavaScript and the DOM Tutorial?! … it’s taken a while for the “wheel” to turn!) … databases always involve server side code, and so we update the hello_world.js to include showing the results of our MySql query …
SELECT * FROM CIRCLE, POINT WHERE pointid=originid
… linked, “back in the day” with this MySql Stored Procedures Primer Tutorial … and after some dead ends where we didn’t know whether to have MAMP running or not … the slideshow is “warts ‘n all” … we end up finding out that Node/Node.js (Javascript)/MySql can co-exist and be an alternative to our cherished MAMP (local Apache web server)/PHP/MySql “power triplet”. To have a few methods to try things can’t be that bad … huh?! Stay tuned please.
We (almost) leave you with the Open Source links that made the research (culminating in today’s tutorial picture) possible … thanks …
-
Node.js installer download webpage … you download, then for Mac OS X, run package installer
Useful regarding (first draft) Node.js connection to MySql example
Useful regarding Node.js connection to MySql showing how MAMP socket can be used for co-existance
Another player in this realm of thinking is Ruby (on Rails), and with this in mind, take a read of Ruby on Rails Primer Tutorial where port 3000 is used with a local web server arrangement, as well. Finally, if all this “web server” talk interests you as much as us, we’ve been compiling “web server” talk, so to speak into this one Cassini++ WebServer Primer Tutorial blog posting, where Node.js thinking from today has been added … Cassini++ ? … Cassini is the simplest (Windows) local web server we can think of, and we work discussions up from that. That tutorial also mentions Mojito Primer Tutorial which also shows Javascript on both sides of the ledger with Node.js getting involved.
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