Node.js - From Zero to Web App

Explore Node.js as a cross-platform, open source server-side runtime that runs JavaScript on the server, and learn how Express adds routing and web application capabilities to build web apps.

Explore running JavaScript with node, using the cloud 9 editor, check node's version, enter the node REPL, and log messages with console.log to understand node as a JavaScript runtime.

Create a project directory, add a simple file, and run it with node to see how a full web app can live in a single file.

Set up a new GitHub repository, initialize a local git project, stage and commit all files (including server.js, package.json, and client directory), and push to the cloud to track progress.

Explore how Express works with node to build web apps, set up a web app from command line, and connect a Cloud9 project to a GitHub repository for safe hands.

Learn to download and install Express using npm, configure your app's startup in a standard way, and apply basic routing to add pages and user interface routes.

Install Express with npm, create a live Express instance, and configure a port for the app. Then start listening with app.listen(port, callback) and log the running port to the console.

Update the package.json scripts.start to the correct startup command, such as node project/app.js, so the app runs locally and on cloud platforms like Heroku or Google Cloud.

Learn to implement simple routing with Express in a Node.js web app: define get routes, handle root and /routing, and respond with text to browser requests.

Install and configure express with npm, setting up the project to start in a standard way for easy collaboration and cloud deployment, and implement basic routing to demonstrate routing capabilities.

Bootstrap a template to quickly set up pages, download and integrate a Bootstrap template into your project, customize it, and use Node and Express to inject data and control display.

Learn to integrate a bootstrap template, such as Bootstrap Agency, into a Node.js project by downloading, unzipping, and organizing files into public and source/views, then start the app.

Configure a static directory in express to serve bootstrap and other public resources efficiently, letting express check public first, then source views before routing, and test with agency.css to confirm.

Learn to manage bootstrap and jQuery with Bouwer, a web package manager, using its config file and a components directory to upgrade assets without touching the index.

Found and integrated a bootstrap template into the project, managing dependencies to set up the UI, then prepare to inject data in upcoming sections.

Use gold as a task manager in a Node.js project, bring golpe with npm, and configure it to automate mundane tasks with a defined set of tasks.

Learn how to use JSHint in Gulp to enforce JavaScript quality, configure it via a config file, and run a style task that reports issues in the console.

Automate dependency injection with wiredep in a node.js project by creating a gulp inject task that reads dependencies and injects js and css into index.html.

Automate asset injection with gulp-inject by wiring custom css and javascript from public/css and public/js into the HTML. Install gulp-inject and enable automatic re-injection on changes with gnomon.

Install and configure gnomon to watch JavaScript files, automatically restart the server on changes, and inject code into the pages for a live, time-saving development workflow.

Configure npm to pull in and set up tasks that inject assets into HTML pages and watch JavaScript files to restart the server on changes.

Explore templating engines for Express to automate web page construction. Compare options and integrate one into your project to automatically render pages and send them to the browser.

Compare three popular templating options—Jade, Handlebars, and Ejay—explaining their templates, syntax, and how they integrate with existing HTML, including trade-offs between weight and ease of use.

Install the Ejaz templating engine, configure your app to use it as the view engine, rename index.html to index.ejaz, and render a dynamic list with Ejaz syntax and for loops.

Put EJS to work by replacing hard-coded nav items with a dynamic list built from an array using a for loop. Pass these values into the template to keep navigation scalable and maintainable.

Explore templating engines, compare three options, and select Ejaz to implement in an Express project. Create dynamic web pages using Ejaz syntax integrated with Express.

Learn to configure routing in a Node.js web app, add new pages and routes, and enable navigation between them. Move routing logic into separate files for a cleaner, scalable project.

Build a data-driven navigation bar and enable Express routing with an events router to handle /events and /events/event singular.

Create a new events page by copying and renaming an existing page, render it via the route, and pass an events data array to display date, time, name, and description.

Move routing logic into a dedicated routes file by creating an event routes module, exporting the router, and requiring it in app.js to keep the codebase clean and modular.

Clean the event page by removing unused sections and linking each event to a single event page via routes, and plan to replace hard-coded data with a database.

Learn express routing features, add two new pages, and configure routes to navigate between them. Move routing code into separate files to achieve a separation of concerns and better organization.

Set up MongoDB in your Node.js environment and get it running. Insert data into MongoDB, perform queries, and inject the results into your web pages.

Learn to set up and run MongoDB in a Node.js project on Cloud9, start mongod with bind IP and no journaling, and install the mongodb package.

Define a temporary insert route to move hardcoded events data into MongoDB, wire a new db router into the app, test the route, and prepare data for your web page.

Learn to insert a hard-coded events data array into a MongoDB database by establishing a connection, creating the events collection, and using insert many to obtain inserted IDs.

Connect a Node.js route to MongoDB, fetch all event records from the events collection, and render them into the events page using the template with navigation data.

Integrate MongoDB into the project, inject hard-coded data, query it, and render the results on pages to deliver a fully functioning web app backed by a database.

Recap learning objectives: build a node.js web app with npm and express, using a templating engine like ejs, and implement routing with MongoDB integration.

Expand the Express implementation, consult the Express documentation, explore the golpe and Ejaz documentation for expanded syntax, and consider NPM to add web services and publish the project.

Gain confidence using Node.js for future development, whether professionally or personally, as the course closes with a warm aloha from Maui.