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01 Node Overview

The document explains how web applications, like Twitter, function when accessed by users on different devices. It details the client-server relationship, the requirements for loading a web app, and the role of programming languages, particularly JavaScript and Node.js, in server-side operations. The goal of the course is to understand how JavaScript interacts with system resources through Node.js without focusing on C++ syntax.

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utku nihat tekin
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5 views2 pages

01 Node Overview

The document explains how web applications, like Twitter, function when accessed by users on different devices. It details the client-server relationship, the requirements for loading a web app, and the role of programming languages, particularly JavaScript and Node.js, in server-side operations. The goal of the course is to understand how JavaScript interacts with system resources through Node.js without focusing on C++ syntax.

Uploaded by

utku nihat tekin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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🔓 Opening a Web App

• Scenario: Three users open Twitter from different devices:

• Michael on a Mac (his personal feed).

• Rich on Linux (tweets about Node.js).

• Zep on a phone (Twitter homepage).

• All open Twitter via a web browser, which means loading a web application.

📦 Web Application Needs


To load a web app, two things are required:
1. Code written in:
• HTML → defines the structure and content.

• CSS → styles and beautifies the content.

• JavaScript → handles logic and user interaction.

2. Data, e.g., tweets, images, videos.

🌐 Where Do Code & Data Come From?


• From a server, which is just another computer that's always connected to the internet.

• When a user opens Twitter, their device sends a request to Twitter's server asking for code
(HTML/CSS/JS) and data (tweets, images).

💬 Client-Server Relationship
• User devices (Mac, Linux, phone) are clients.

• Twitter's machine is the server.

• Clients send requests, and the server responds with the appropriate content based on the
request.

🖥️ What Controls the Server Response?


• The server must inspect the incoming request and decide what content to return.

• This logic is written as code on the server.

🧾 Choosing a Programming Language for the Server


• Possible languages: PHP, Java, Ruby, C, C++.

• Ideal dream: reuse JavaScript on the server as well, since frontend developers already know
it.
⚙️ What Is a Server Really Doing?
To respond correctly, the server needs to:
• Access incoming network requests.

• Read files (e.g., HTML, CSS, JS).

• Retrieve data from storage or a database.

• Send a response back.

To do this, it needs access to internal features of the computer such as:


• The network card

• The file system

• The operating system APIs

🤖 Can JavaScript Do This Alone?


• No. JavaScript in the browser cannot access low-level computer features.

• Languages like C++ can access the operating system and hardware directly.

🧩 Solution: Node.js
• Node.js = JavaScript + C++

• JavaScript provides the high-level logic.

• C++ provides access to the low-level system features.

• Together, they enable developers to use JavaScript to control server behavior.

🧰 Node.js Tools & Modules


• Node exposes key features through built-in modules:

• http for networking.

• fs for file system access.

• These are JavaScript labels that internally call C++ functions.

🎯 Goal of the Course (as per Will Sentance)


• Learn how JavaScript (via Node.js) controls the server.

• Understand how JavaScript triggers C++ features to access system resources.

• Focus on mental models, not learning C++ syntax.

• Build intuition for how Node.js empowers JavaScript to serve as a backend language.

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