Express Server
To set up an Express server, follow these steps:
Install Node.js: First, ensure that you have Node.js installed on your system. You can download the latest version from the official Node.js website and follow the installation instructions for your operating system.
Create a project directory: Create a new directory for your Express project. Open a terminal or command prompt and navigate to the desired location. Use the following command to create the directory:
mkdir express-server
Initialize a new Node.js project: Inside the project directory, initialize a new Node.js project by running the following command:
npm init -y
Install Express: Install the Express framework by running the following command:
npm install express
Create the server file: Create a new file named
server.js
(or any other preferred name) in your project directory. This file will contain the code for your Express server.Import the Express module: At the top of the
server.js
file, import the Express module using therequire
function:javascript const express = require('express');
Create an Express app: Create a new Express app by calling the
express()
function:javascript const app = express();
Define routes: Set up your server's routes by using the
app.get()
,app.post()
,app.put()
,app.delete()
, and other methods provided by Express. For example, to handle a GET request to the root URL ("/"), you can use:javascript app.get('/', (req, res) => { res.send('Hello, world!'); });
Start the server: Add the following code at the end of the
server.js
file to start the server and listen for incoming requests on a specific port (e.g., 3000):javascript const port = 3000; app.listen(port, () => { console.log(`Server listening on port ${port}`); });
Run the server: Finally, run the server by executing the following command in your terminal or command prompt:
node server.js
That's it! Your Express server is now up and running. You can access it in your web browser by visiting http://localhost:3000
(or the port you specified). Feel free to add more routes and functionality to your server as needed.