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Guide to Building a Basic HTTP Server Using Node.js

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Guide for Setting Up a Basic HTTP Server Using Node.js
Guide for Setting Up a Basic HTTP Server Using Node.js

Guide to Building a Basic HTTP Server Using Node.js

Want to create your own HTTP server using Node.js? Here's a step-by-step guide to help you get started.

First, you'll need to import the HTTP module using:

Next, create the server using , which takes a callback handling incoming requests and outgoing responses:

Inside the callback, set response headers and body:

Finally, start the server on a desired port using :

Putting it all together, the full minimal example looks like this:

```js const http = require('http');

const server = http.createServer((request, response) => { response.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain' }); response.end('Hello, World!'); });

server.listen(3000, () => { console.log('Server running on port 3000'); }); ```

When you start the server, you'll see a message in the terminal, and a simple HTTP server will be created that listens on port 3000, sends a "Hello, World!" plain text response for every request, and logs a message when it starts.

One common use of Node.js is to create HTTP servers that handle incoming requests from clients (typically web browsers), process them, and send back appropriate responses. When you access in your web browser, the server responds with the "Hello, World!" message.

You can enhance the server to handle more complex use cases like CRUD operations. Node.js is a powerful runtime environment used for building scalable and high-performance applications, particularly for I/O-bound operations.

Before you start, make sure to initialize the project using npm. This will create a file to manage project dependencies and configurations. The module is required to create an HTTP server in Node.js. The method is used to create the server, which accepts a callback function that handles incoming requests and sends responses. The method starts the server on the specified port and IP address.

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