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Node.js in Action
Summary
Node.js in Action is an example-driven tutorial that starts at square one and guides you through all the features, techniques, and concepts you'll need to build production-quality Node applications. You'll start by learning how to set up your Node development environment, including loading the community-created extensions. Next, you'll run several simple demonstration programs where you'll learn the basics of a few common types of Node applications. Then you'll dive into asynchronous programming, a model Node leverages to lessen application bottlenecks.
About this Book
JavaScript on the server? You bet. Node.js is a JavaScript server capable of supporting scalable, high-performance web applications. Using asynchronous I/O, the server can do more than one thing at a time, a key requirement for real-time apps like chat, games, and live statistics. And since it's JavaScript, you use the same language end to end.
Node.js in Action shows you how to build production-quality applications. Clear introductions of key concepts and example-by-example coverage take you from setup to deployment. You'll dive into asynchronous programming, data storage, and output templating, and interact with the filesystem to create non-HTTP applications like TCP/IP servers and command-line tools. Perfect for a web developer transitioning from Rails, Django, or PHP. Requires basic knowledge of JavaScript. No prior experience with Node.js needed.
Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.
What's Inside
Set up Node and extensions Grok asynchronous programming and the event loop Examples including microblogging, IM, games, and more
About the Authors
As skilled practitioners, expert teachers and trainers, and contributors to the core framework, authors Mike Cantelon, Marc Harter, T.J. Holowaychuk, and Nathan Rajlich represent the best of the Node.js development community.
Table of Contents
PART 1 NODE FUNDAMENTALS Welcome to Node.js Building a multiroom chat application Node programming fundamentals PART 2 WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT WITH NODE Building Node web applications Storing Node application data Connect Connect's built-in middleware Express Advanced Express Testing Node applications Web application templating PART 3 GOING FURTHER WITH NODE Deploying Node applications and maintaining uptime Beyond web servers The Node ecosystem
Node.js in Action is an example-driven tutorial that starts at square one and guides you through all the features, techniques, and concepts you'll need to build production-quality Node applications. You'll start by learning how to set up your Node development environment, including loading the community-created extensions. Next, you'll run several simple demonstration programs where you'll learn the basics of a few common types of Node applications. Then you'll dive into asynchronous programming, a model Node leverages to lessen application bottlenecks.
About this Book
JavaScript on the server? You bet. Node.js is a JavaScript server capable of supporting scalable, high-performance web applications. Using asynchronous I/O, the server can do more than one thing at a time, a key requirement for real-time apps like chat, games, and live statistics. And since it's JavaScript, you use the same language end to end.
Node.js in Action shows you how to build production-quality applications. Clear introductions of key concepts and example-by-example coverage take you from setup to deployment. You'll dive into asynchronous programming, data storage, and output templating, and interact with the filesystem to create non-HTTP applications like TCP/IP servers and command-line tools. Perfect for a web developer transitioning from Rails, Django, or PHP. Requires basic knowledge of JavaScript. No prior experience with Node.js needed.
Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.
What's Inside
Set up Node and extensions Grok asynchronous programming and the event loop Examples including microblogging, IM, games, and more
About the Authors
As skilled practitioners, expert teachers and trainers, and contributors to the core framework, authors Mike Cantelon, Marc Harter, T.J. Holowaychuk, and Nathan Rajlich represent the best of the Node.js development community.
Table of Contents
PART 1 NODE FUNDAMENTALS Welcome to Node.js Building a multiroom chat application Node programming fundamentals PART 2 WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT WITH NODE Building Node web applications Storing Node application data Connect Connect's built-in middleware Express Advanced Express Testing Node applications Web application templating PART 3 GOING FURTHER WITH NODE Deploying Node applications and maintaining uptime Beyond web servers The Node ecosystem
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
1 person is currently reading
145 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
February 2, 2020
The beginning was great but then it turned into an advertisement for different packages. "In Action" book series is great but this one missed its point.
May 22, 2016
Another NodeJS book that puts too much focus on building web apps and libraries instead of Node itself.
Beyond explaining the event loop, this book goes full-library explanation mode that you can always read from the official library's docs.
Beyond explaining the event loop, this book goes full-library explanation mode that you can always read from the official library's docs.
January 6, 2016
What started to be out to be a very great book turned out to be not really great. I really enjoyed the 'lets dive in approach' of the first example, unfortunately due to technology changing so fast the quality (the further in the book the more errors and the more omissions) and means to reproduce the later examples (mainly thinking about express and connect) deteriorate, making it sometimes rather frustrating.
The book also focuses on nodejs a lot, and where they focus a lot on 'third party' npm modules, it lacks some focus on items such as properly dealing with the language itself and it also lacks some proper do and don'ts in term of architecture and best practices.
I'm afraid the window in which this book is relevant has expired some time ago ...
The book also focuses on nodejs a lot, and where they focus a lot on 'third party' npm modules, it lacks some focus on items such as properly dealing with the language itself and it also lacks some proper do and don'ts in term of architecture and best practices.
I'm afraid the window in which this book is relevant has expired some time ago ...
March 1, 2015
While the content and flow is good, this book covers Express 3. It needs to be updated to Express 4 asap as Express 4 is already in wide usage. 3 starts for a book that needs a new revision.
April 1, 2025
¡°Node.js In Action¡± by Mike Cantelon is an extremely accessible and informative resource for anyone looking to leverage Node.js, even if you¡¯re not deeply immersed in coding. As a founder without a heavily technical background, I found that this book clarified many of Node¡¯s core capabilities while remaining digestible and user-friendly. The practical examples and clear explanations shed light on how to structure an application, employ the right libraries, and understand fundamental aspects like asynchronous programming¡ªall crucial concepts that helped me plan and strategize for my startup¡¯s MVP.
What sets this book apart is its balance between theory and real-world implementation. It doesn¡¯t get lost in jargon, and the topics are introduced in a logical sequence, so you¡¯re never left guessing about how to connect one step to the next. If you want a solid grasp of Node.js fundamentals and a dependable guide to help you bring your application to life¡ªespecially when you aren¡¯t a ¡°super technical¡± founder¡ªthis book is an invaluable starting point.
What sets this book apart is its balance between theory and real-world implementation. It doesn¡¯t get lost in jargon, and the topics are introduced in a logical sequence, so you¡¯re never left guessing about how to connect one step to the next. If you want a solid grasp of Node.js fundamentals and a dependable guide to help you bring your application to life¡ªespecially when you aren¡¯t a ¡°super technical¡± founder¡ªthis book is an invaluable starting point.
May 8, 2018
This is a well written book that answered a number of my questions about working with node for both command line and web apps. The book included references to a number of testing and other frameworks that look to be useful and covered deployment considerations. That the tech stack for the examples overlapped the stack I was using was a bonus.
January 29, 2019
Useful for fast read and remember how to do some topics.
Touching WebSockets with simple but useful examples.
Touching WebSockets with simple but useful examples.
December 23, 2024
Suggesting this for my acquaintances
March 9, 2017
The book is not update with latest version of node and express, but is a good foundation for starting programming with node.js
November 18, 2013
Part-1 of the book introduces Node fundamentals in detail covering a chat application in chapter 2,which I felt was tough to follow, being newbie to Node.But Part-2 is the heart of the book covering Node's low-level API's in detail, all the middle-ware's, and then coverage of Web Frameworks Connect and Express is comprehensive and easy to follow.After covering Part-2, revisiting Part-1, clarified all my doubts, the Chapter 2 Chat application was easy to understand now.
It's clear and concise coverage, combined with an easy writing style allows for quick reading and understanding.Overall this book offers a well rounded and highly approachable introduction to developing applications with Node. It's probably too advanced for the absolute beginner, but prior experience in web application development, combined with basic installation of server applications should be adequate.
The only thing where I was expecting more information was the real world use cases and scenarios where we can use Node.js.
It's clear and concise coverage, combined with an easy writing style allows for quick reading and understanding.Overall this book offers a well rounded and highly approachable introduction to developing applications with Node. It's probably too advanced for the absolute beginner, but prior experience in web application development, combined with basic installation of server applications should be adequate.
The only thing where I was expecting more information was the real world use cases and scenarios where we can use Node.js.
November 16, 2014
The content quality in this book is extremely good. I really hope there's an updated edition covering the recent significant changes to Connect, Express, Socket IO and all the other modules in this book. Without an updated edition, the shelf life of this book will quickly expire (and to a certain extent already has).
Unfortunately the errata is a problem, even after compensating for the different module versions. The scattered errata makes the exercises difficult to work with and are sometimes downright confusing. Publishing a corrected version of the digital book would be nice as well as an official list of errata.
The best sections of this book are those that walk you through the construction of their sample shout box application, which is a basic blog app. Nearly every aspect of building an application with Node are covered in those sections. If you can make your way through the differences found in the book and current module versions you'll find this book very useful.
Unfortunately the errata is a problem, even after compensating for the different module versions. The scattered errata makes the exercises difficult to work with and are sometimes downright confusing. Publishing a corrected version of the digital book would be nice as well as an official list of errata.
The best sections of this book are those that walk you through the construction of their sample shout box application, which is a basic blog app. Nearly every aspect of building an application with Node are covered in those sections. If you can make your way through the differences found in the book and current module versions you'll find this book very useful.
June 8, 2015
This was a great dive into Node.js and dovetailed with some of the grunt/gulp preprocessor reading I've been looking at. It also gave me another perspective on ASP.NET MVC (and MVC architectures in general) while expanding my literacy with the now near-ubiquitious JavaScript language. There was even a chapter on acceptance testing and another on github which both merge (see what I did there?) nicely with other efforts I have going on at work and on personal projects. Even if you are NOT working on a specific node.js project, this is a worthwhile read.
November 5, 2012
Very good introduction to Node.js. The book teaches the basic conceptions of Node.js, frameworks that are used for creating Node.js apps, web applications.
What I think could be better:
1. More details about Node.js (child processes, creating custom modules).
2. The chapters where we create a photo app using Express would be more structured and easier to follow. I would like to be able to download work in progress code from the book website.
What I think could be better:
1. More details about Node.js (child processes, creating custom modules).
2. The chapters where we create a photo app using Express would be more structured and easier to follow. I would like to be able to download work in progress code from the book website.
January 2, 2017
I enjoyed reading this book, however, I recommend this book for beginners who would like to know Node.js and have a whole idea of Node community, libraries, frameworks and in-use practices. All in all, it is worth to read that.
By the way, I have read Node.js in Action, Second Edition,
By the way, I have read Node.js in Action, Second Edition,
January 7, 2014
Good book for beginners with nodejs.
June 29, 2014
Best node book available right now. Focuses on express
March 28, 2014
A great introduction to Node.js - comprehensive, well structured and with lots of pointers to further reading. I read sections to start with then sat down and read it cover to cover. I'm glad I did.
May 3, 2014
Well structured, good introduction to node. Very nice chapter about debugging.
May 26, 2014
Haven't read every page, but it's a perfect reference book. Covers everything from application setup to protocol descriptions to security and testing.
August 3, 2014
The book is doing a great job describing the fundamentals. It does it correctly and is recommending good practices. Highly recommended for Node.js beginners, but not only.
March 6, 2015
The book has some weird chapters that maybe could be replaced for others with more relevant information ,nevertheless this is a must read book if you are a noob in the NodeJS world
January 3, 2019
Didn't like this when I first looked at it. The new edition seems like an improvement.
January 27, 2017
Easy to follow and quite a few insights inside worthy to learn.
October 18, 2021
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June 18, 2015
Okay book. I would rate Programming JavaScript Applications higher.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
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