Building Your First Node.js Express Server: A 'Hello World!' Tutorial

Node.js is a popular open-source JavaScript runtime environment for building web applications and server-side scripting. The Express framework is a minimal and flexible web application framework that provides a robust set of features for web and mobile applications. In this blog, we will show you how to create a simple "Hello World" program using the Express framework in Node.js.

First, make sure you have Node.js installed on your computer. Then, open a terminal or command prompt and create a new directory for your project. Run the command "npm init" to create a "package.json" file and then run "npm install express --save" to install the Express framework.

In your project directory, create a new file named "app.js" and write the following code:

Save the file and run it using the command "node app.js". You should see the output "Server running on port 3000" in the terminal or command prompt.

In this code, the first two lines include the Express framework and create an instance of it. The "app.get('/', (req, res) => {" block creates a GET request that listens for incoming HTTP requests at the root ("/") path. The function inside the block sends the response "Hello World" back to the client. The "const port = process.env.PORT || 3000" line sets the port number for the server to listen on, and the "app.listen(port, () => {" block starts the server and listens for incoming requests on the specified port.

In conclusion, creating a simple "Hello World" program using the Express framework in Node.js is a great way to start learning about building web applications. With just a few lines of code, you can have a functional server up and running.

Reference taken from: https://programming-quest.blogspot.com/2018/10/node-js-express-server-hello-world.html