Node.js Classes Near Me

Node.js is a popular open-source, cross-platform, back-end JavaScript runtime environment that executes JavaScript code outside of a web browser. This powerful tool is used broadly across many job roles, including Software Developers, Full-Stack Developers, Back-End Developers, and DevOps Engineers. According to the 2020 StackOverflow developer survey, Node.js is the most commonly used technology among professional developers, with 51.4% reporting that they use it. The increased desire to learn Node.js is largely driven by its unparalleled efficiency, scalability, and highly active and supportive developer community, which makes it vital for aspiring developers and those seeking to remain relevant in the evolving development landscape.

Top In-Person and Virtual Node.js Classes

Node.js Courses at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop is a leading design and coding school in New York City. Founded in 1990, Noble Desktop offers hands-on classes and certificate programs in web design and development, graphic design, motion graphics, data science, UX, and digital marketing. Emphasizing a practical, hands-on learning approach, it provides students with the necessary skills to jump-start their careers in the dynamic fields of digital design, programming, data science, and online marketing, among others. Noble Desktop offers career-support services for students. In addition, all Noble Desktop classes are available in person or through live online instruction.

JavaScript Development with Node, Express, and MongoDB

• Price: $2,995
• Duration: 120 hours
• Locations: NYC, Live Online

The JavaScript Development with Node, Express, and MongoDB course at Noble Desktop equips students with the necessary skills to build web applications with popular JavaScript frameworks like Node.js, Express, and the database program MongoDB. Through hands-on projects, students can gain practical experience in real-world programming projects to create server-side applications. Students will leave with the knowledge to build functional web applications.

Node.js Courses at The Web Design Academy

The Web Design Academy is a repository of knowledge for aspiring web designers, offering an extensive range of courses to arm students with a solid foundation in various web design principles and techniques. From mastering the fundamentals of HTML and CSS to exploring advanced aspects of UX design and web development, students can gain an in-depth understanding of these disciplines, equipping them to create compelling, user-friendly websites.

Node.js Essentials Course

• Price: $1,377.21
• Duration: Two days
• Locations: Several (see school website)

The Node.js Essentials Course at The Web Design Academy is a comprehensive course that will teach students the fundamental concepts of Node.js and how to build web applications using this popular runtime environment. Throughout the course, students will learn about the core features of Node.js, how to use modules and packages, how to work with databases, and how to deploy their applications to a hosting platform.

Key Information about Learning Node.js

In learning Node.js, a student would delve into topics like asynchronous programming, Express.js, dealing with databases using MongoDB, and REST APIs. It is not uncommon for beginners to grapple with the concepts; however, with dedication and a well-structured course, they can learn and master Node.js efficiently. The duration it would take to learn Node.js largely depends on a student’s prior knowledge of JavaScript, as Node.js is built on JavaScript runtime and the level of proficiency they aim to achieve. A student must have a solid foundation in JavaScript, and familiarity with concepts such as callbacks, promises, and asynchronous programming would be advantageous. Before embarking on the learning journey, the student would need a suitable environment, which includes downloading and installing Node.js and npm from the official website and having a text editor like Visual Studio Code or Sublime Text to write the code.

Career Paths and Job Outlook for Node.js

According to the Node.js 2020 User Survey Report, the use of Node.js has grown by 50% year after year, indicating a rise in the number of positions requiring this skill. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not provide information specific to Node.js, but they reported a 22% projected growth rate for software developer opportunities overall in the coming decade. On the entry level, Software Developers with Node.js skills in the US can expect an average salary of around $76,526 per year, according to Payscale. With experience and specialization, Node.js developers can earn an average salary of $107,474 per year in the United States, as reported by Glassdoor. Node.js is versatile across multiple job functions. For instance, Backend Developers use it to manage server-side application logic, whereas DevOps Engineers use it for developing automation tools and scripts. On the other hand, Data Analysts utilize it to manage large datasets efficiently due to its non-blocking, event-driven architecture.

What Can You Do With Node.js?

A professional Web Developer can leverage Node.js to build real-time applications, such as messaging or gaming apps, thanks to its non-blocking, event-driven servers that support concurrent request handling. These professionals may utilize Express.js, a minimalist web application framework that provides the tools for building robust web applications. They may also use Passport.js for user authentication and interact with a MongoDB database to handle database queries, all of which are powered by Node.js. 

Alternatively, a Software Engineer may use Node.js for other reasons. For example, they may utilize Node.js to create server-side web applications. In addition, a Software Engineer may use the MEAN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, Angular.js, and Node.js), which utilizes JavaScript on both client and server sides, to create a web-based inventory management system. Or, they may have designed the system in such a way that it performs CRUD operations: the ability to create, read, update, and delete data. Software Engineers value Node.js for its high speed and performance, as it operates on Google's V8 engine. A Full-Stack Developer, however, uses Node.js along with the Socket.io library to create a real-time chat application. In this particular project, Node.js provided the back-end part, Express.js managed the routes, and Socket.io implemented the real-time functionality. 

A Full-Stack Developer may also use the EJS templating language to efficiently generate HTML markup with plain JavaScript, allowing the app to serve a range of client requests. Automation Testers also use Node.js. For example, this professional may use JavaScript-based Selenium WebDriverJS coupled with Mocha to automate web browsers and organize and manage tests. The Chai library is used as an assertion library to check if an application is working correctly, and Node.js plays a significant role in running these tests. These examples represent a fraction of what developers can do with Node.js. It provides an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient, far more suitable for data-intensive real-time applications that run across distributed devices than traditional web-serving methods.

Top Node.js Tools For Beginners

1. Express.js: It is a fast and minimalist web application framework for Node.js, providing a robust set of features to develop web and mobile applications. It facilitates the rapid development of Node-based Web applications.
2. Npm (Node Package Manager): This library enables developers to install, share, and control packages in Node.js. All reusable components are available in the npm registry.
3. Socket.io: It is a library that allows real-time, bi-directional communication between web clients and servers, which integrates seamlessly with various web frameworks. It aims to make real-time apps possible in every browser and mobile device, blurring the differences between transport mechanisms.
4. Mongoose: It is a MongoDB Object Modeling (OM) tool designed to work in an asynchronous environment. Mongoose provides a straightforward, schema-based solution to model your application data through features like built-in typecasting, validation, etc.
5. Passport.js: This is a middleware for Node.js, used for authenticating requests. It uses various strategies like local strategy (username and password), OAuth (Facebook, Twitter), and OpenID, among others.
6. Async: It is a utility module that provides powerful functions for working with asynchronous JavaScript by offering higher-order functions and common patterns for asynchronous code.
7. Bluebird: It is a fully-featured promise library focused on innovative features and performance. It can convert traditional callback-based code to promise-based ones.
8. Winston: A universal and simplistic logging library that supports multiple transports (a transport being a storage device).
9. Nodemon: It is a utility that monitors for any changes in your source code and automatically restarts your server, making it perfect for development.
10. Jest: It is a JavaScript testing framework developed by Facebook, known for its speed and simplicity with features like snapshot testing, zero-configuration setup, and intuitive results reporting. It also can test asynchronous code, which is a must when working on a Node.js application.

Node.js Comparison to Other Tools and Fields

Node.js is closely linked with JavaScript since it is a runtime environment that allows for the execution of this popular scripting language on the server side. Hence, users who know and work with Node.js often have proficiency in JavaScript and its various libraries and frameworks, like Express.js for building web applications and React.js for building user interfaces. In addition, users often employ Node.js in conjunction with NoSQL databases like MongoDB, which shares Node.js’s asynchronous, non-blocking I/O model, similarly optimizing for scalability and speed. Web development, back-end development, and full-stack development are often associated with Node.js.

Node.js Advantages

Node.js is highly scalable and efficient, making it ideal for real-time applications like chat, collaborative tools, and gaming. Its non-blocking, event-driven architecture is suitable for processing numerous concurrent requests. Furthermore, using JavaScript throughout the stack allows developers to use one language for both client and server-side development, creating a more cohesive development experience.