Learning NodeJS for PHP Developers

Compare PHP and Node, explain their equivalence with the right extensions, and contrast their web servers, routes, and database interactions using Express or built-in HTTP module.

Compare blocking and non-blocking IO in PHP and Node.js, and examine how Node's event-driven model and browser compatibility contrast with PHP's server-based approach and composer.

Discover node's libraries for servers and tooling, compare routing with Express and Happy, and review authentication with Passport alongside front-end dependencies managed by NPM and Gulp.

Explore blocking (synchronous) vs non-blocking (asynchronous) IO in Node.js, and how external requests affect code flow and site performance, including the use of callbacks to handle results.

Explore JavaScript's rapid growth alongside PHP and Node, with npm leading packages and Node overtaking PHP in module growth.

Install node based on your platform, using Windows installer or macOS homebrew, and download the stable version from nodejs.org to avoid permission issues.

Explore the history of io.js, a node.js fork driven by developers and corporate sponsors, the split into io.js and node.js, and the 2015 merger into node.js 4.0 with ES6 features.

Choose an integrated development environment or text editor for JavaScript, note that JavaScript is not strongly typed, and consider Sublime Text for its balance of features.

Explore the command line interface with node, using bash terminals on macOS and Windows, running JavaScript, creating scripts, and executing commands to automate tasks and verify code.

Learn how node package management streamlines dependencies, coordinates version updates, and supports multi-developer projects, enabling one-command installs and GitHub uploads without shipping node_modules.

Explore npm, the node package manager installed with node, and use the npm CLI to install dependencies from a central repository like GitHub, as you compare it to composer.

Learn how composer aligns with npm principles for php developers, using similar versioning and js on file. Explore why npm is easier to use and installed with node.

Learn how to use npm to install dependencies from the command line or via package.json, covering backend modules like express and passport, front-end libraries, and the idea of isomorphic code.

Install npm modules like express, explore the node_modules and package.json dependencies, and initialize projects with npm init, including using http-server for quick previews.

Publish npm packages to central repositories or private servers via the command line, with GitHub or local targets, noting publishing is advanced and not covered here.

Explore how web servers handle http requests, compare node and apache php serving, and glimpse hello world examples in node and php, highlighting node's flexibility and scalability for large apps.

Learn to serve files with node using http-server, building a hello world app in any folder, and compare it with a php and lamp setup.

Explore routing concepts in node and php, compare framework-based and manual routing, and learn how express handles cross-platform quirks like line endings.

Learn how Express powers node applications by handling http requests with routes in JavaScript. Use middleware, including static middleware, to enable authentication and turn Express into a web server.

Install Express, scaffold a server, create a /api route, and return a simple API message with a 200 status.

Discover what a restful api is, how routes return json data, and how http methods shape responses. Compare restful apis in php and node and implement a sample.

Compare restful APIs in PHP and Node, and learn how PHP knowledge translates to Node building; Node uses Express to craft routes from scratch.

Compare Laravel and Express for building RESTful APIs, exploring relational MySQL with Laravel versus non-relational MongoDB with Express, and how schemas and data interaction differ.

Create a simple restful API with Express by defining the /api/items route that returns a hard-coded json list of items (name, link, rank) and run the server to view it.

Explore task automation to speed repetitive development tasks, reduce errors, and enable a small team to work efficiently with gulp and npm in a dev ops workflow.

Compare task runners in php and node, noting golpe as a javascript-based approach and the role of plugins in Grunt, Robo, and Paik.

Compare task runners in node, such as grunt and gulp, and learn to run and monitor tasks from the CLI, including pre compiling ESX to S-5 and plugin support.

Explore gulp's website and GitHub page to discover plugins, documentation, and community activity, and prepare to install gulp with npm in the next video.

Install gulp globally and locally with npm, create a gulpfile, define a default and server task, and run gulp to execute the configured tasks.

Define a node variable as the running server, cancel any existing server, then spawn a new node server using child_process.spawn with standard in/out inherited and the specified server file.

Learn how to configure a golpe workflow to automatically restart your server when server.js changes, by defining server, serve, and watch tasks.

Learn why testing node applications matters for front-end code, compare node testing options to PHP, and see how tests prevent regression and catch runtime errors.

Node offers a richer testing ecosystem than PHP, with Jasmine, Karma, and QUnit for unit and functional tests, and lets you test backend code directly in JavaScript.

Compare jasmine, mocha, and chai for node testing across front- and back-end JavaScript, note karma's angular focus, and preview a geste demo with chai assertions like is undefined.

Set up jest in a node project by configuring tests and module extensions, then scaffold a tests/app folder with a simple rest helper for get requests.

Implement jest testing for a node app by creating a rest helper test, using describe blocks, and verifying that rest helper makes a get request via ajax with expected parameters.

Explore isomorphism, or morphism, and how JavaScript-powered front and back ends share the same language to boost productivity and server-side code efficiency.

Explain how isomorphism enables front and back ends to share javascript, enabling server-side rendering for faster pages. Highlight benefits such as code reuse, full-stack workflows, and testing without a browser.

Explore how code reuse drives isomorphic apps, enabling JavaScript utilities like Lodash and jQuery to run on both node back ends and front ends, unlike PHP.

Learn to reuse front-end code across server and client with ESX modules and precompilers, render isomorphic pages via Express and React, and bundle with browserify for instant loading.

Add a front end to an isomorphic app by integrating a React project from the course files, examining actions, components, and stores, and preparing the server for isomorphic code.

Update the server to support isomorphic rendering by wiring react on the backend, installing babel and jsx tooling, and rendering with react-dom/server renderToString to inject front-end data.

Master finishing isomorphic components in Node.js by wiring an Express server to serve a front-end app, adding static assets, dummy user and list routes, and prep for authentication.

Discuss databases in node and php, comparing relational and non-relational options, schemas, and mongoose models, with json results and local versus external hosting trade-offs.

Learn how Node works with MongoDB, including denormalized data via sub objects and the challenges of schema-less design. Use a schema with Mongoose to keep queries reliable.

Compare MySQL and MongoDB to understand hosting availability, pricing, and administration options like phpMyAdmin versus MongoDB admin. Identify that MySQL enforces normalization, while MongoDB does not.

Install and run MongoDB locally to add a persistent database to our application using Mongoose. Download MongoDB, install, open a terminal, run mongod, and keep it running.

Install mongoose, connect your node app to MongoDB using mongoose.connect with a database name, log when connected, and drop the database on each startup for a fresh development environment.

Design mongoose schemas for a top ten list system, where a list owns multiple items and each item references its parent list using object id and ref.

Populate the database by creating a top 10 list named favorite songs and saving it, then programmatically insert 10 items mapped from 1 to 10 with ranks and a link.

Learn how to return all top ten list items from MongoDB in a Node.js API by replacing hard-coded data with a find query and sending the results with status 200.