Building a Node.js Server with CMD/Vim: Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Node.js has emerged as a preferred platform for developing server-side applications, due to its speed and versatility. In this guide, we'll demonstrate how to set up a Node.js server using the command line interface (CMD) and the Vim text editor. This approach offers a minimalistic, yet powerful, development environment.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure that you have the following prerequisites in place:

Node.js: You must have Node.js installed on your system. Download it from the official website: Node.js Official Website.
A Text Editor: We will be using Vim for this tutorial, but you can opt for any text editor you are comfortable with.

Creating a Node.js Project Directory

Let's initiate the process by creating a directory for your Node.js project. Open CMD and navigate to the location where you intend to create your project folder.

mkdir my-node-server
cd my-node-server

Initializing a Node.js Project

With your project folder in place, initialize it as a Node.js project by executing the npm init command. This will guide you through the setup and generate a package.json file.

npm init

You can accept the default options for most prompts by pressing Enter or run this code below:

npm init-y

Installing Node.js Modules

To build our server, we'll utilize the built-in http module provided by Node.js. Additionally, we'll employ the popular express package to simplify server creation. Install these packages using npm:

npm install express --save

Creating the Server Script

Now, let's create a JavaScript file for your server, naming it server.js, using Vim or your preferred text editor:

vim server.js

To edit a file with vim, press i.

Within server.js, establish a basic Node.js server using the following code:

const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const port = 8080;

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('Hello, Node.js!');
});

app.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Server is running on http://localhost:${port}`);
});

Save the file and exit Vim (if used) by pressing Esc, then typing :wq and hit Enter.

Running the Node.js Server

With the server script in place, launch your Node.js server from the command line:

node server.js

Your server is now active and accessible through a web browser at http://localhost:8080. You should observe the message "Hello, Node.js!" displayed in your browser.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we've guided you through the process of creating a rudimentary Node.js server using CMD and Vim. You learned how to initialize a Node.js project, install necessary packages, write a simple server script, and run the server. While this is just the beginning of what you can do with Node.js, it provides a solid foundation for building more complex server applications in the future. Feel free to explore Node.js further and expand your server-side development skills.

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