Psychz - Girish
Votes: 0Posted On: Aug 23, 2017 02:44:35
Nodejs vs Apache vs Nginx
There is a lot of confusion among people about the difference between Nodejs and Apache and Nginx. I will try to throw light on some points which will help you in understanding their underlying concepts better.
Node.js is an asynchronous process which implies that a single thread is used to run each node.js process. On the other hand, Apache, as well as Nginx, use multiple threads for multiple processes. Due to this, node.js can handle more number of requests as compared to Apache and is much faster when it comes to dynamic sites.
ALthough Nodejs can be used for dynamic as well as static sites, it's complete functionality is not justified in the case of static sites. It is more suitable to use Apache or Nginx in case of static sites. However, in the case of high-performance real-time applications, Nodejs can serve a great purpose.
Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. It means that Node.js provides a platform to run JavaScript on a server. Hence, we do not need server-based languages to develop a web application. You can use the Node.js application to create your own HTTP server.
Here are the steps that will guide you towards creating your own HTTP server.
Installing Node.js
1.Please run the following command on your terminal to install the current version.
sudo apt-get install python-software-properties
curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_8.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install nodejs
2.You can also visit the Nde.js website and install the current version.
https://nodejs.org/en/
Create your own HTTP server
Create an empty file with the extension ".js". We are creating a file called "Hello.js" for our example. Use the following command for the following.
sudo touch Hello.js
Once the file is created, edit the file and enter the following code.
var http=require('http')
var server=http.createServer(function (request, response)
{
response.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type' : 'text/plain'});
response.end("You have entered\n");
});
server.listen(80);
The functionality of this code is that it reads the JavaScript, executes it and returns the object. Let us guide you through the code line by line.
1. We include the HTTP module to get the required functions from it so that they can be used in the application.
2. We create a server application with the functions of "request and response". The "request" function is called every time the user requests for a URL. The "Response" function is the response we give to the request.
3. When a request is received, we are saying to send a response with a header type of '200.' This number is the normal response which is sent in an http header when a successful response is sent to the client. The "content type" is text. Hence, the response should be in text format.
4. This is the response that will be given to the request. It will display "You have entered" on the screen and end the response.
5. The server will listen to Port 80 which is the default HTTP port. However, it is not mandatory.
Final Step
After you have finished writing the code, type the following command to get your HTTP server running.
node Hello.js
You can check the working of HTTP server by going to your browser. When you type in "localhost", the message "You have entered" will be displayed.
