What is "server" in server-side javascript like NodeJS?

Asked 29/12, 2015 at 12:53 Answered 29/12, 2015 at 13:1

Solved javascript node.js serverside-javascript

Is it not a Javascript engine hosted by the browser on the client machine itself?

Quar answered 29/12, 2015 at 12:53 Comment(1)

Is your question about an HTTP server that is run within NodeJS? – Packet 29/12, 2015 at 12:55

No, it isn't.

Server generally has two meanings:

A piece of software that listens for network requests and then responds to them
A computer running such a piece of software

A Node.JS server can be either of those.

In web programming, a Node.JS server takes the place of Perl, Python, Ruby, PHP, Scala, etc. (And like those other languages, Node.JS lets you use JavaScript for non-server and non-web purposes).

Generally the server itself is run directly from Node (e.g. with this library) rather than being embedded in another server like Apache (as is most common for PHP).

A browser doesn't need to be involved at all. If one is, then it will probably be one acting as a client and making a request to the server. That said, tools like PhantomJS can allow a browser to be driven from Node (and other programming languages).

Yordan answered 29/12, 2015 at 12:56 Comment(7)

I recently used Node.js to extract data from some txt files and post them to a MSSQL server (school assignment), and that's ALL it does. So it indeed isn't an HTTP server by default :) – Caddis 29/12, 2015 at 13:3

@Quentin. Thanks a lot. Now let's say if I have a web application; that uses NodeJS; is hosted in Tomcat, webLogic etc, then where and how that server comes into play? – Quar 29/12, 2015 at 13:10

As I said, Node.JS is the server. You use it to run a server side JavaScript program instead of using Tomcat or WebLogic to run a server side Java program (or you play juggling games involving multiple servers and multiple server side languages (for different bits of a site) which might require some tricky passing of data between them) – Yordan 29/12, 2015 at 13:12

@Quentin. So if I use NodeJS can't I have a single .war file containing the UI along with Server-Side java code? If not then 2 deployables will be created? – Quar 29/12, 2015 at 13:16

Since JavaScript and Java are completely separate languages (with about as much in common as cars and carpets): no you can't use Node to run a Java program. – Yordan 29/12, 2015 at 13:17

@Quentin. :-) Indeed, that was not the question. I'm just wondering if it is possible to host multiple different deployments with the same domain name so that when UI (NodeJS Deployment) makes a AJAX call to the Server side backend (Tomcat Deployment), it doesn't run into CORS issue. – Quar 29/12, 2015 at 13:24

You can't have multiple servers listening on the same port. You can have one server proxy a request to another. – Yordan 29/12, 2015 at 13:25

From here:

Server-side JavaScript (SSJS) refers to JavaScript that runs on server-side and is therefore not downloaded to the browser. This term is used to differentiate it from regular JavaScript, which is predominantly used on the client-side (also referred to as client-side JavaScript or CSJS for short).

Brandi answered 29/12, 2015 at 12:56 Comment(0)

NodeJS runs on the V8 JavaScript Engine which does not have to be in a browser. It just executes JS. It does not depend on what you do with it. In the case of a NodeJS server, it listens to HTTP requests and is therefore a server.

Yuen answered 29/12, 2015 at 13:0 Comment(0)

node.js is single threaded process and run event loops

Glassco answered 29/12, 2015 at 13:1 Comment(1)

This seems to be a random fact about Node.JS and otherwise completely unrelated to the question that was asked. – Yordan 29/12, 2015 at 13:3

Node.js is a framework/program that is installed on a machine and contains code written in javascript and process those codes requested by a client like a browser, Yes each browser contains its own engine that process the javascript.

Gorgonian answered 29/12, 2015 at 13:1 Comment(0)

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