Can you run JSNode scripting on standard hosting packages? - javascript

I am relatively new to the server-side scripted JSnode environment and I found mixed answers when I was looking online for what is needed to run JSnode on my server. I am primarily looking to replace my PHP with JSnode and I was wondering if I would be able to do that without my host having to install any new server packages. Thank you for the response.

You can't run server side JavaScript that depends on Node.js without the host having installed Node.js.
Node.js itself doesn't have any unusual dependancies. It does require installing on the server though (and it is not a common option for hosting services, I've only used it when I've had root access to a VPS). If you want to interact with it from Apache (for example) you might need to install something along the lines of mod_proxy.

No, there is no way to do it without installing the new server packages.

Related

Can I use the Node.js packages along with Django?

I think I haven't understood this concept right . If I am using Django as a backend to run server side code , is there a way to include the packages of Node.js also .
Isn't Node.js kind of another environment or language for server side code ?
If I can use Node packages with Django , how to go about it. What does it mean when people say "Node js is a platform and Django is a framework" ?
I would be very greatful if you include some indepth details about these two environments ( new to web development here:))
Can I use the Node.js packages along with Django?
No. Django is a Python framework and thus runs in a Python interpreter. That interpreter cannot run node.js modules because those are Javascript and rely on the node.js Javascript engine.
If you want to compare things:
node.js <==> python (runtime language engines with built-in libraries)
express <==> django (frameworks that run in a given runtime)
This is kind of confusing because Node.js is a server-side javascript platform
Node.js is a Javascript programming environment. It can be used to write servers, but it can also be used as a general purpose scripting environment to do anything you may want to do on your computer, such as implement various build tools.
webPack is one such build tool that is written in Javascript to be run in node.js. Its function happens to be packaging client-side Javascript files, but it could be any type of tool.
There are many tools written in node.js, particularly tools that are often used by node.js developers (since they already have that environment installed).
If you really needed to combine functionality from both node.js and django, then you would have to create two separate programs 1) a python program using django and 2) a node.js program using whatever Javascript libraries you want and then you could communicate between the two programs using whatever IPC mechanism you choose (TCP, stdio, files, etc...).
While you'd need two different environments to use nodejs as a server along with django as a server, node.js has a critical role in managing packages for client Javascript in modern web development.
As an example, tools like Webpack will bundle a series of Javascript modules for a client. One of the more convenient ways to package these modules and their dependencies is using npm, the Node package manager.
So, it would be entirely reasonable to use Node to bundle the Javascript for your client and even to install the modules for bundling. This is especially true if you're using a framework like Angular on the client. So, if you had an Angular application backed by a Django server, your work flow might look like the following:
Create a node project with your Angular App
use npm to install and manage its dependencies
use ng build --prod to call webpack to produce a bundle that could be sent to the client.
All the above would use Node.
Then:
Write your models and business logic for the server in Django
use some Django restful framework to present a REST API that your client application can call.
This is kind of confusing because Node.js is a server-side javascript platform, but it's being used to:
Provide packaging for client modules
provide server-side transformations to prepare the content that your particular site sends to the client.

Questions on NodeJS application

I have very basic questions on NodeJS apps;
When someone says a NodeJS app, does it refer to a pure server-side written NodeJS app ? I mean nowadays, when projects (say Angular, Ember, etc) use Node to install dependencies, can those client-side apps (which run in browser) be also called NodeJS app ? Or are these just NPM using apps ?
The unit-testing frameworks like Mocha, Jasmine, etc be used for both the types of apps I described above ? Or is it meant only for server-side NodeJS app ?
does it refer to a pure server-side written NodeJS app?
Yes. Specifically it refers to apps that have nodejs backend/server.
can those client-side apps (which run in browser) be also called NodeJS app?
It depends. Certain libraries that depend on browser api (e.g navigator, window, etc) will not work. This is because those browser objects will not exists in nodejs environment. For example, jQuery will not work fully in nodejs as certain functions to do with DOM manipulation depends on the browser api. On the other hand. React can be used in both browser and nodejs because it has APIs which are compatible in both browser and nodejs environment.
Previously, if we want to use a library (e.g jQuery) we'd have to attach a corresponding script tag that points to the source. Now, you can use npm to download the library code into the node_modules folder and use it from there using require or ES6 import. But, you probably have to do some preprocessing first such as bundling your code using Browserify and Gulp. You might want to look a tutorial on how to do that here.
The unit-testing frameworks like Mocha, Jasmine, etc be used for both the types of apps I described above ? Or is it meant only for server-side NodeJS app ?
Mocha, jasmine, chai does not depend on browser or nodejs specific features so they all should work in both platforms. As for the others, you have to check if they depend on browser or nodejs specific features. If they do, the library might work in one platform (e.g browser) but not the other.
"Node.js" is a server-side "JavaScript" platform. That means in a NodeJS app we replaces the typical server side languages like PHP, Ruby, etc.. with the JavaScript. When it comes to frontened we have been using Javascript and its libraries like JQuery for a very long time to add behavior to our apps. But after the recent boom of SPA(Single Page Applications) we can see lots of frameworks like Angular, Ember built on JavaScript to make SPA easier.
NPM is a package manager for JavaScript which itself uses Node to perform its operations. Using NPM we can bring many JavaScript packages (that includes all the client side JS libraries) to our project. But that does not mean your's is Nodejs app if you are using NPM to install AngularJs for your ASP.net application. It is like we need Ruby gems to install SASS preprocessor.
That's the beauty of a pure JavaScript(NodeJS) app. We can use the testing framework in both ends. Moreover that a developer can avoid mental switching between different syntax of the two languages, and even we can reuse some code/logic in both server and client side.
npm is a package manager for javascript. Using npm to import and manage packages for your application does not make it a Node.js app.
There is no such "Node.js apps". Applications refer to the front-end/client side.
You can choose Node.js or whatever on your back-end/server side, independently from your front-end.
I hope I have clarified a bit :-)

The npm http package only provides a package.json, no javascript files

I installed a npm package that had 'http' as a dependency, so I installed that as well. All that was downloaded by npm for 'http' was a package.json file which referenced a non-existent index.js file. Is the index.js indeed missing from package.json or am I doing something wrong?
I'm using systemJS as a library loader.
TL;DR: you can't run server-side modules inside a browser.
From what I understand, you're trying to use server-side JavaScript modules inside of a browser, which isn't going to work. Browser have (very) limited abilities to set up network connection, or read from local file systems.
The http dependency that you're refering to is part of the Node standard library. So for Node apps, running server-side, it's always available.
In your case, you assumed that because require('http') didn't work (in the browser), you needed to install a separate package for that (this package).
But even if that package was working properly (it isn't), it wouldn't have worked inside of a browser because it depends on other modules inside the Node standard library, that also aren't available in a browser.
I don't know if CouchDB has a REST API itself that you would be able to use from the browser, but if not, you're going to have to implement a server-side API that will act as go-between between the browser and CouchDB.
From the browser, to talk to CouchDB, try the PouchDB library (https://pouchdb.com/) and put the URL to your CouchDB in the constructor. It's intended for connecting to a local PouchDB (javascript implementation of CouchDB) but their APIs are identical. Or, try actually using a local PouchDB and then syncing between the two databases.

How to make an executable(.exe) that packages a nodejs server? (not UI-centric)

I have implemented a nodejs server that serves incoming requests to use the bluetooth services of the local computer. I want the nodejs server to be packed as an windows executable file so that I can distribute it. People should be able to just install/run that .exe which will install any packages required (if any) and run the server. How to do this?. I saw and tried node-webkit etc., but they are UI-centric, that is it can pack a nodejs application that opens a html page. But I want my server javascript file to be executed, like the way it is done in command prompt : node file-name.js. How to do this?
I've a server running with nodejs and for execute this I use a .bat file.
Create a .bat file
Inside of the file put:
cd path/to/server/
node índex.js
I used JXCore for this task in the past. It basically creates one executable that includes everything.
Unfortunately active development of is halted.
Solution:
You can use nexe for that.
Create a single executable out of your node.js app
Motivation
Ability to run multiple applications with different node.js runtimes.
Distributable binaries without needing node / npm.
Starts faster.
Lockdown specific application versions, and easily rollback.
Faster deployments.

What do I need to do to get a JS3 environment (or at least couchdb) up and running?

I'm primarily a front-end coder but I'm not a stranger to server-side programming or the command line. Regardless I've still got a lot to learn about setting up servers and whatnot so I was wondering if anyone could help me put together some steps for setting up CouchDB on (preferably) ubuntu.
That's my main goal but I'd also like to get the 'JS3' environment going if possible. See this post for more info.
The things I struggle with most are knowing what packages I need to install and how to get it so I can work in my browser on localhost. Thanks for any pointers you can give me.
Packages are very dependant on the Operating System Flavor you use. On Freebsd you could go with
cd /usr/ports/www/helma ; make install clean
cd /usr/ports/databases/couchdb ; make install clean
and you have all the relevant software on your server. Then you need jQuery beeing hosted somewhere. Helma's Jetty Webserver can handle that for you.
For Ubuntu I read it now comes with a couchdb package sou you can just do
sudo apt-get install couchdb

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