13 Server-Side Development 2: Node.js

JavaScript is everywhere: that was one of the early messages of Chapter 8. Chapter 13 continues that story by looking at JavaScript on the server side. It provides an introduction to working with Node.js, which has become extremely popular within the web development community. While Node.js can be used in ways that are analogous to PHP, Node.js is typically used for different use cases than PHP. This chapter looks at the architecture of Node.js, and then focuses on two key uses of it in the real-world: namely, the implementation of APIs and implementing push-based communication flows.