Node ​

https://nodejs.org/en/
https://github.com/nodejs/node

Node.js® is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine.

Useful for running Javascript on a server with access to local system resources.

Running ​

node

node

Parameters / Args ​

var args = process.argv.slice(2);

var args = process.argv.slice(2);

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4351521/how-do-i-pass-command-line-arguments-to-a-node-js-program
javascript - How do I pass command line arguments to a Node.js program? - Stack Overflow

For more involved command line parameter parsing:

https://github.com/substack/minimist
GitHub - substack/minimist: parse argument options

https://nodejs.org/docs/latest/api/process.html#process_process_argv
Process | Node.js v17.1.0 Documentation

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=node+pass+parameters+to+script&ia=web
node pass parameters to script at DuckDuckGo

Sample Script ​

See also files

#!/usr/bin/env node

var fs = require('fs');

var args = process.argv.slice(2);
console.log("Parameters passed in: ", args);

// require arguments
if (args.length == 0) {
  console.log("Usage:");
  console.log("template.js [source] [destination]");
  process.exit(1);
}

console.log();
console.log("Directory contents:", args[0]);
console.log();
// for scanning a directory
fs.readdir(args[0], (err, files) => {
  files.forEach((file) => {
    console.log(`[${file}](${file})  `);
  });
  console.log();
});

// For system calls
// const { exec } = require("child_process");

// exec(`ls -la ${args[0]}`, (error, stdout, stderr) => {
//     if (error) {
//         console.log(`error: ${error.message}`);
//         return;
//     }
//     if (stderr) {
//         console.log(`stderr: ${stderr}`);
//         return;
//     }
//     console.log(`stdout: ${stdout}`);
// });

// For reading files and loading them as JSON

// var obj;
// fs.readFile(args[0], 'utf8', (err, data) => {
//   if (err) throw err;

//   // parse data as json:
//   // obj = JSON.parse(data);

//   // iterate over lines:
//   const lines = data.split('\n');
//   for(var i=0; i < lines.length; i++) {
//     console.log(lines[i]);
//   }
// });

#!/usr/bin/env node

var fs = require('fs');

var args = process.argv.slice(2);
console.log("Parameters passed in: ", args);

// require arguments
if (args.length == 0) {
  console.log("Usage:");
  console.log("template.js [source] [destination]");
  process.exit(1);
}

console.log();
console.log("Directory contents:", args[0]);
console.log();
// for scanning a directory
fs.readdir(args[0], (err, files) => {
  files.forEach((file) => {
    console.log(`[${file}](${file})  `);
  });
  console.log();
});

// For system calls
// const { exec } = require("child_process");

// exec(`ls -la ${args[0]}`, (error, stdout, stderr) => {
//     if (error) {
//         console.log(`error: ${error.message}`);
//         return;
//     }
//     if (stderr) {
//         console.log(`stderr: ${stderr}`);
//         return;
//     }
//     console.log(`stdout: ${stdout}`);
// });

// For reading files and loading them as JSON

// var obj;
// fs.readFile(args[0], 'utf8', (err, data) => {
//   if (err) throw err;

//   // parse data as json:
//   // obj = JSON.parse(data);

//   // iterate over lines:
//   const lines = data.split('\n');
//   for(var i=0; i < lines.length; i++) {
//     console.log(lines[i]);
//   }
// });

https://www.codegrepper.com/code-examples/shell/node+run+shell+command

Import vs Require ​

Cannot use import statement outside a module

Cannot use import statement outside a module

To use ESModules syntax, need to switch package. (Note: all code will need to follow this pattern)

"type": "module"

"type": "module"

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/62488898/node-js-syntaxerror-cannot-use-import-statement-outside-a-module

Or Use commonjs syntax instead of es module syntax:

module.exports.func = function (){
    console.log("Hello World");
}

module.exports.func = function (){
    console.log("Hello World");
}

const myMod = require("./mod")
myMod.func()

const myMod = require("./mod")
myMod.func()

ES6 modules use the import syntax. Seems like the way to go moving forward.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/46677752/the-difference-between-requirex-and-import-x
node.js - The difference between "require(x)" and "import x" - Stack Overflow

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/31354559/using-node-js-require-vs-es6-import-export
javascript - Using Node.js require vs. ES6 import/export - Stack Overflow

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=javascript+require+vs+import&ia=web
javascript require vs import at DuckDuckGo

Local Development ​

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=work+on+npm+module+in+development&ia=web
work on npm module in development at DuckDuckGo
https://nodesource.com/blog/an-absolute-beginners-guide-to-using-npm/
An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Using npm - NodeSource
https://www.deadcoderising.com/how-to-smoothly-develop-node-modules-locally-using-npm-link/
How to smoothly develop node modules locally using npm link

Module Not Found ​

Make sure you've actually installed the module if you get a message like MODULE_NOT_FOUND

https://nodejs.org/api/modules.html#modules_all_together

https://gist.github.com/MattGoldwater/78f89ea93b9f1dfc19d3440e172cfa49

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9023672/how-do-i-resolve-cannot-find-module-error-using-node-js

Package Managers ​

Package managers ensure that all of the modules that your application depends on are compatible and available to the local code base.

Types of dependencies ​

https://classic.yarnpkg.com/en/docs/dependency-types#toc-dev-dependencies

Dependencies serve many different purposes. Some dependencies are needed to build your project, others are needed when you’re running your program. As such there are a number of different types of dependencies that you can have (e.g. dependencies, devDependencies, and peerDependencies).

Choosing a package manager ​

NPM vs PNPM vs Yarn

The answer? Use what the project is using. Be consistent.

All are good. No need to get hung up here. See what works best and make a change when necessary.

Npm ​

NPM is the default package manager for Node. In some environments, it may be all you have access to.

Install packages ​

Install everything as configured in package.json file

npm install

npm install

Calls to

npm install --save [package name]

npm install --save [package name]

or

npm install --save-dev [package name]

npm install --save-dev [package name]

or

npm install --save-optional [package name]

npm install --save-optional [package name]

will update the package.json to list your dependencies.

Upgrade / Update packages ​

To upgrade a package that has already been installed, use either:

npm install [package name]@latest

npm install [package name]@latest

or

npm update [package name]

npm update [package name]

Remove packages ​

To remove a dependency:

npm uninstall <name> --save

npm uninstall <name> --save

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/13066532/how-to-uninstall-npm-modules-in-node-js

pnpm ​

If you have a bit more control over the hosting environment and can install a user level package manager, pnpm is a good option.

PNPM uses links to node modules so you don't end up with 100 copies of the same module on your local drive. This is useful in development when you may want to use a large development module in multiple projects.

https://pnpm.io/

https://pnpm.io/installation

With npm:

npm install -g pnpm

npm install -g pnpm

npx:

npx pnpm add -g pnpm

npx pnpm add -g pnpm

With node:

curl -f https://get.pnpm.io/v6.16.js | node - add --global pnpm

curl -f https://get.pnpm.io/v6.16.js | node - add --global pnpm

One downside is that it is not included by default in the main docker node image. May not be necessary to use it in a container context. pnpm is more helpful with local development.

One downside is the addition of _tmp_* directories. These are easy to ignore in VSCode

Yarn ​

It should be available in most Node containers.

Once you have yarn available, you can add packages as a requirement with:

yarn add <name>

or as a dev dependency with:

yarn add <package...> [--dev/-D]

https://classic.yarnpkg.com/en/docs/cli/add/
https://classic.yarnpkg.com/en/docs/cli/add/#toc-yarn-add-dev-d

To install a package globally, the order of the parameters is important:

yarn global <add/bin/list/remove/upgrade> [--prefix]

To remove a dependency

 yarn remove <name>

Note: manually deleting from package.json removes the dependency from the project, but will not remove the files from node_modules of the local instance.

Reinstall Modules ​

Reinstalling a package after just deleting the node module works with:

yarn install --check-files

via

Install / update yarn: ​

npm install -g yarn

or use a system level package manager

curl -sS https://dl.yarnpkg.com/debian/pubkey.gpg | sudo apt-key add -

echo "deb https://dl.yarnpkg.com/debian/ stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/yarn.list

then, with apt-get:

sudo apt-get install --no-install-recommends yarn

via https://yarnpkg.com/lang/en/docs/install/

Lock files ​

Is it really a good idea to track lock files under version control? Seems like it adds a lot of noise to the process

Yes, it can add noise if you manage it manually. However, without it you may run into situations where deployments to a different environment may not work due to different versions of modules being installed. It's better to test with a set of locked versions. In that case, lock files are necessary.

Resolve yarn.lock conflicts ​

It's as easy as running yarn or yarn install to automatically resolve version control conflicts in a yarn.lock file. Sweet!

Resolving package-lock.json conflicts ​

Occasionally, two separate calls to npm install will create package locks that cause merge conflicts in source control systems. As of npm@5.7.0, these conflicts can be resolved by manually fixing any package.json conflicts, and then running npm install [--package-lock-only] again. npm will automatically resolve any conflicts for you and write a merged package lock that includes all the dependencies from both branches in a reasonable tree. If --package-lock-only is provided, it will do this without also modifying your local node_modules/.

To make this process seamless on git, consider installing npm-merge-driver, which will teach git how to do this itself without any user interaction. In short:

$ npx npm-merge-driver install -g

will let you do this, and even works with pre-npm@5.7.0 versions of npm 5, albeit a bit more noisily. Note that if package.json itself conflicts, you will have to resolve that by hand and run npm install manually, even with the merge driver.

via

See also https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v6/configuring-npm/package-lock-json

Process Monitoring ​

If you have a service running live using a node based (e.g. express) server, a monitoring tool can make sure it stays up. Options include...

Docker ​

Docker is a great option.

PM2 ​

https://www.google.com/search?client=ubuntu&channel=fs&q=pm2&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
pm2 - Google Search
https://pm2.keymetrics.io/
PM2 - Home

Nodemon ​

https://github.com/remy/nodemon
GitHub - remy/nodemon: Monitor for any changes in your node.js application and automatically restart the server - perfect for development
https://www.google.com/search?client=ubuntu&channel=fs&q=nodemon+vs+pm2&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
nodemon vs pm2 - Google Search

Environment Variables (.env) dotenv ​

Variables set in a .env file are automatically loaded by node and made available via process.env.* variables.

Try out a ui/.env file. Is the value available via process.env.whatever?

Many frameworks leverage these variables for configuration.

Install ​

See what the latest versions of node are:

https://nodejs.org/en/about/releases/

NVM ​

Node Version Manager - Simple bash script to manage multiple active node.js versions

https://github.com/creationix/nvm

Visit the site for the latest version of the command

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.1/install.sh | bash

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.1/install.sh | bash

Open a new shell and verify with:

command -v nvm

command -v nvm

Clean up old (non-nvm) node version(s):

npm ls -gp --depth=0 | awk -F/ '/node_modules/ && !/\/npm$/ {print $NF}' | sudo xargs npm -g rm

npm ls -gp --depth=0 | awk -F/ '/node_modules/ && !/\/npm$/ {print $NF}' | sudo xargs npm -g rm

Install Node via NVM:

nvm install node

nvm install node

To install a specific version of node, use:

nvm install 14

nvm install 14

To see what version is currently installed

nvm ls # this should be equivalent to `node -v`

nvm ls # this should be equivalent to `node -v`

To see versions available to be installed via nvm

nvm ls-remote

nvm ls-remote

https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm#listing-versions

To install the latest lts version of node:

nvm install --lts

nvm install --lts

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/64002438/installing-node-lts-with-nvm-on-windows

https://www.linode.com/docs/guides/how-to-install-use-node-version-manager-nvm/

To switch to a different version of node with nvm, use:

nvm use 20

nvm use 20

To make this the default version of node so that applications like VS Code will use this version too:

nvm alias default 7.8.0

nvm alias default 7.8.0

Setting the default may make this setting unnecessary: (It didn't seem to have an effect anyway)

I needed to add the following to my .bashrc file in order for VSCode to see the new version of node:

PATH="/usr/local/bin:$(getconf PATH)"

PATH="/usr/local/bin:$(getconf PATH)"

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/44700432/visual-studio-code-to-use-node-version-specified-by-nvm

Nodesource ​

Nodesource is another popular way to install node

https://github.com/nodesource/distributions/blob/master/README.md

Docker ​

Docker containers are a great way to ensure you're running the node environment that you think you're running.

Containers for Node applications are maintained here

https://hub.docker.com/_/node/

In docker-compose.yml, this is a good place to start

image: node:lts

image: node:lts

If you're using a container that does not have Node installed (e.g. Centos), installing from nodesource.com seems like the best option

RUN curl -sL https://rpm.nodesource.com/setup_10.x | bash # for node version 10.x
RUN yum -y install nodejs
RUN node --version # optional to check that it worked
RUN npm --version # optional to check that it worked

RUN curl -sL https://rpm.nodesource.com/setup_10.x | bash # for node version 10.x
RUN yum -y install nodejs
RUN node --version # optional to check that it worked
RUN npm --version # optional to check that it worked

NVM is tricky to use in a container:

# nvm environment variables
ENV NVM_DIR /usr/local/nvm
ENV NODE_VERSION 12.16.2

# Install NVM for installing node
RUN curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/creationix/nvm/v0.33.11/install.sh | bash

RUN source $NVM_DIR/nvm.sh \
    && nvm install $NODE_VERSION \
    && nvm alias default $NODE_VERSION \
    && nvm use default

# nvm environment variables
ENV NVM_DIR /usr/local/nvm
ENV NODE_VERSION 12.16.2

# Install NVM for installing node
RUN curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/creationix/nvm/v0.33.11/install.sh | bash

RUN source $NVM_DIR/nvm.sh \
    && nvm install $NODE_VERSION \
    && nvm alias default $NODE_VERSION \
    && nvm use default

NPM Packages & Docker ​

Official documentation for dockerizing node applications:

https://nodejs.org/en/docs/guides/nodejs-docker-webapp/

May be possible to minimize the number of npm packages pulled down during an image build:

https://itnext.io/npm-install-with-cache-in-docker-4bb85283fa12

Looks like Seth has another tactic for this here:

https://github.com/City-of-Bloomington/myBloomington/blob/master/Dockerfile