From the Preface

Who This Book Is For

This book is for programmers who want to create web applications (traditional websites; single-page applications with React, Angular, or Vue; REST APIs; or anything in between) using JavaScript, Node, and Express. One of the exciting aspects of Node development is that it has attracted a whole new audience of programmers. The accessibility and flexibility of JavaScript have attracted self-taught programmers from all over the world. At no time in the history of computer science has programming been so accessible. The number and quality of online resources for learning to program (and getting help when you get stuck) is truly astonishing and inspiring. So to those new (possibly self-taught) programmers, I welcome you.

Then, of course, there are the programmers like me, who have been around for a while. Like many programmers of my era, I started off with assembler and BASIC and went through Pascal, C++, Perl, Java, PHP, Ruby, C, C#, and JavaScript.

At university, I was exposed to more niche languages such as ML, LISP, and PROLOG. Many of these languages are near and dear to my heart, but in none of these languages do I see so much promise as I do in JavaScript. So I am also writing this book for programmers like myself, who have a lot of experience and perhaps a more philosophical outlook on specific technologies.

No experience with Node is necessary, but you should have some experience with JavaScript. If you’re new to programming, I recommend Codecademy. If you’re an intermediate or experienced programmer, I recommend my own book, Learning JavaScript, 3rd Edition (O’Reilly).

The examples in this book can be used with any system that Node works on (which covers Windows, macOS, and Linux, among others). The examples are geared toward command-line (terminal) users, so you should have some familiarity with your system’s terminal.

Most important, this book is for programmers who are excited. Excited about the future of the Internet and want to be part of it. Excited about learning new things, new techniques, and new ways of looking at web development. If, dear reader, you are not excited, I hope you will be by the time you reach the end of this book….

Notes on the Second Edition

It was a joy to write the first edition of this book, and I am to this day pleased with the practical advice I was able to put into it and the warm response of my readers.

The first edition was published just as Express 4.0 was released from beta, and while Express is still on version 4.x, the middleware and tools that go along with Express have undergone massive changes. Furthermore, JavaScript itself has evolved, and even the way web applications are designed has undergone a tectonic shift (away from pure server-side rendering and toward single-page applications).

While many of the principles in the first edition are still useful and valid, the specific techniques and tools are almost completely different. A new edition is overdue. Because of the ascendance of SPAs, the focus of this second edition has also shifted to place more emphasis on Express as a server for APIs and static assets, and it includes an SPA example.