Node.js is a versatile programming language that uses Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine to provide a JavaScript runtime environment. It Is highly used in developing network applications that can offer high scalability. Node.js finds use in both the front-end and back-end, enabling developers to create consistent full-stack solutions.
As a programmer, you should consider learning Node.js programming due to the following reasons:
- JavaScript Mastery: knowing node.js will deepen your understanding of JavaScript because it uses JavaScript as its primary language.
- Full-Stack Development: with node.js, you are able to work on both backend and frontend programming which can make you to handle end-to-end development easily.
- Vast Ecosystem: learning node.js allows you to enjoy the vast ecosystem of open-source packages and libraries made available through NPM.
- High Demand in the Job Market: Node.js is one of the highly adopted languages in most companies which makes it a valuable skill for programmers. It opens opportunities for backend development, server-side programming, API development, etc.
- Rapid Prototyping and Development: It provides a lightweight and flexible environment that allows rapid prototyping and development. Developers are able to quickly build ad test apps which leads to faster delivery.
- Integration with Modern Technologies: It is easily integrated with existing modern technologies, such as front-end frameworks like React or Angular, databases like MongoDB or PostgreSQL, and cloud platforms like AWS or Azure.
- Efficient and Scalable Applications: since Node.js uses event-driven, non-blocking I/O it becomes highly efficient and scalable. Learning Node.js can give you the ability to build applications that can handle a large number of concurrent connections which are ideal for most organizations that have high transactions and traffic.
This guide will unearth the best Books To Learn Node.js Programming in 2023.
1. Beginning Node.js, Express & MongoDB Development
Beginning Node.js, Express & MongoDB Development is a fun-to-read book authored by Greg Lim, a technologist who has many years of teaching programming in tertiary institutions. In this book, he provides a hands-on and thrilling journey through Node.JS Express and MongoDB development. Here, you will have your Node.js app running in minutes. Each chapter is straight to the point, no time is wasted on the content that is not required.
This book provides an in-depth guide on how to get started with Node.js and develop efficient and scalable web applications. All the common development patterns for Node.js are covered here. By reading it to the end, you will have gathered enough skills to spin a blog app and have it running on the internet.
2. Node.js Design Patterns
This book, written by two professional software engineers Mario Casciaro and Luciano Mammino describes itself as the reference book for Node.js developers. It is designed for those who yarn to master the most crucial patterns and best practices required to spin Node.js applications in production environments.
This book covers:
- How to build solid server-side applications by putting into use the full Node.js power.
- Detailed coverage of how Node.js works and helping you learn how to take full advantage of its core components and the solutions offered by its ecosystem
- Using proven patterns and avoiding common mistakes when creating Node.js applications for Production
3. Node.js Design Patterns – Second Edition
This is another book provided by Mario Casciaro and Luciano Mammino to help you master Node.js, its components and the patterns to create modular and scalable applications.
It covers various ideas and comments as well as the challenges experienced when designing and developing software using the Node.js platform.
It starts from the basics, exploring the asynchronous single-threaded architecture and the design patterns for Node.js. Reading it to the end will help you:
- Understand server-side JavaScript patterns and where to implement them.
- How to use your modules, organize and connect them coherently
- Tricks and how to apply them to achieve higher scalability and modularity in your Node.js application
- The latest trends in Universal JavaScript. You will learn how to write code that runs on Node.js and browsers as well as use React and its ecosystem to implement universal applications.
- Gain comfortability when writing asynchronous code using constructs such as promises, callbacks, generators and the async-await syntax
View the details of this book with the below link:
4. Node.js Web Development: Server-Side Web Development Made Easy
If you are looking for a guide when building scalable web apps with Node.js, Express as well as the latest ECMAScript techniques, then this updated 5th Edition by David Herron should sort that.
This book covers backend web programming using the JavaScript stack, as well as the best practices involved when developing production-grade Node.js apps. You will also be taken through the various stages when creating robust and scalable apps using Node.js
In this book, you will learn the following:
- How to install and use Node.js 14 and Express 4.17 for web development and deployment.
- How to implement RESTful web services with the help of the Restify framework
- Developing, testing and deploying microservices with Docker, Docker Swarm, and Node.js, on AWS EC2 using Terraform.
- How to use data storage engines such as MySQL, SQLite3, and MongoDB
- Implementing HTTPS for web apps with Let’s Encrypt to enhance application security with Helmet
- Testing web applications using unit testing with Mocha, and headless browser testing with Puppeteer
5. Node Cookbook: Discover solutions, techniques, and best practices
This guide provides practical recipes to help you get started with Node.js. It covers all from Node.js concepts to complex programming models used to deliver scalable server-side applications.
This book aims to help you get started, create, debug and deploy the Node.js applications alongside common problems and tips that will help you avoid pitfalls when dealing with Node.js apps.
By following this book to the end, you will learn:
- The Node.js asynchronous programming model
- How to create simple applications using Node.js modules and web frameworks
- How to develop simple web apps with the various web frameworks such as Express and Fastify
- How to create and spin Node.js microservices
- How to troubleshoot and diagnose issues with the Node.js applications
6. Beginning MERN Stack: Build and Deploy Node.js App
This is also another book written by Greg Lim to help you master Node.js. Here, you will be taken through a hands-on journey to learning the MERN stack development. MERN stack consists of 4 components MongoDB, Express, React and Node.js. These components are so popular for web development. In this book, you get to learn how each component works in the stack when building web apps.
This book doesn’t require you to have any previous Node.js or React development knowledge, you only need to have basic programming knowledge. You will get a breakdown of short chapters with the development process and each chapter will center on different essential topics. It takes a practical hands-on approach, where you code with the examples provided to help you learn best.
7. Distributed Systems with Node.js
Many engineers love Node.js for its approachable API and familiar syntax. For that reason, many Fortune companies use it to build performant backend services.
In this book, the author, Thomas Hunter II, sheds light on Node.js to make you understand its capability as a traditional enterprise platform for building services that are observable, scalable, and resilient.
By following this book to the end, you will learn:
- The necessity of running redundant copies of the same Node.js service is necessary
- The protocol to use for your apps, depending on the situation
- How to model your application containers for use in production
- How to trace and find errors in a distributed setting to determine which service is at fault
- How to build dashboards to help you monitor service health and throughput
- Identify the tools required when running Node.js apps in prod environments.
- How to offload work to a reverse proxy and improve performance for Node.js apps
8. Get Programming with Node.js 1st Edition
This book teaches you how to develop web applications using Node.js and JavaScript. It will walk you through 8 projects that focus on various topics to sharpen you on writing code for your web server and adding live chat to a web app. It also covers all the important aspects of the Node development process., this includes database management, security, authenticating user accounts, and deploying applications to production environments.
In this book, you will encounter:
- The new features from ES2015 and later
- How to write asynchronous code
- How to create data models
- How to debug JavaScript modules
9. Web Development with Node and Express
In this book, Ethan Brown shares his gathered skills on how to build dynamic web applications using Express. This is a key component of Node.js and JavaScript development. The book covers the fundamentals by taking you through the development stages using an example application. It provides a hands-on guide with everything you need such as server-side rendering and API development suitable for single-page apps (SPAs).
In this book, you will learn the following:
- How to create a templating system used to render dynamic data
- Understand request and response objects, middleware, and URL routing
- How to persist data with MongoDB and relational databases with PostgreSQL
- Secure apps with authentication, authorization, and HTTPS
- How to integrate apps with social media, geolocation etc.
- How to launch and maintain your apps.
- How to debug your code
10. Full-Stack React Projects: Learn MERN stack development
This book will help you build your career as a full-stack developer, understand the different aspects of a MERN application and master the MERN stack through building a robust commerce store, web-based VR game and social media Node.js applications.
It can serve as vital reference material for those who have worked with React but have minimal experience in full-stack development using Node, Express, and MongoDB. It focuses on:
- How to extend the basic MERN-based application to create several applications.
- How to create media streaming applications with MongoDB GridFS
- Create real-time communication capabilities with Socket.IO
- How to improve SEO for your MERN apps using server-side rendering with data
- Using JSON web tokens to implement user authentication and authorization
- Develop user interfaces with VR capabilities using React 360
- How to build scalable and reliable apps using the MERN stack
Conclusion
That marks the end of this detailed guide on the best books to learn Node.js Programming in 2023. There are many either books aside from the ones captured here, feel free to explore. I hope this was helpful.
