3.3 Creating a Basic HTTP Server with Node.js

Hey Codders! 👋
It’s me, Vikas Sankhla from Web Codder. Today, we’re building something cool and real—our very own web server using Node.js! 🤩

No worries if this sounds hard. I’ll guide you step by step with easy words, fun code, and visuals. 🛠️

🚀 What Is a Server Anyway?

A server is like a shop 🏪.

• You (the user) come in and ask for something (like a toy 🚂).
• The shop gives you what you asked for (the toy).

A web server does the same!
You ask for a webpage, and it gives you the page. 📄

🛠️ Setting Up a Basic HTTP Server

In Node.js, we use the http module to create a server.

Step 1️⃣: Create a server.js File

Open your code editor and make a new file called server.js. ✍️

Step 2️⃣: Add This Code

jsCopyEditconst http = require('http');

const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
  res.write('Hello from Web Codder! 🚀');
  res.end();
});

server.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Server is running at http://localhost:3000');
});

✅ What’s Happening?

• http.createServer() → We create the server.
• (req, res) => {} → We set up what the server does when someone visits.
• server.listen(3000) → The server listens on port 3000 (like a door 🚪 number).

🔗 Test Your Server

1️⃣ Open your terminal.
2️⃣ Run:

bashCopyEditnode server.js

3️⃣ Go to your browser and type:
👉 http://localhost:3000

🎉 You’ll see: “Hello from Web Codder! 🚀”

📦 Handling Routes (GET, POST, etc.)

What if we want to handle different URLs?

Example:

• / → Home page 🏠
• /about → About page ℹ️

📝 Updated Code:

jsCopyEditconst http = require('http');

const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
  if (req.url === '/') {
    res.write('Welcome to the Home Page! 🏠');
  } else if (req.url === '/about') {
    res.write('This is the About Page. ℹ️');
  } else {
    res.write('404 Not Found 🚫');
  }
  res.end();
});

server.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Server running at http://localhost:3000');
});

📮 Handling Different HTTP Methods

Let’s say someone sends data to your server. 🚚
We handle that with methods like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE.

Example: Only handle POST requests to /submit.

✍️ Code:

jsCopyEditconst http = require('http');

const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
  if (req.url === '/submit' && req.method === 'POST') {
    let body = '';
    req.on('data', chunk => {
      body += chunk.toString();
    });
    req.on('end', () => {
      res.write('Data received: ' + body);
      res.end();
    });
  } else {
    res.write('Welcome! 😊');
    res.end();
  }
});

server.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Server is listening on http://localhost:3000');
});

📬 Request & Response Objects

Let’s look closer at req and res:

✅ Quick Recap Table

🎯 Conclusion

And that’s it, Codders! 🎉 You now know how to:

• ✅ Build a basic HTTP server
• ✅ Handle routes
• ✅ Work with GET & POST requests
• ✅ Understand req & res objects

Isn’t that awesome? 🌟

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