Installation

To run our first javascript program, we need to install some software that can read our code and execute it on the computer. We'll be using Node.js.

What is Node?

Node.js is a runtime environment that lets us use JavaScript to build server-side applications. It's a big leap from the old days where JavaScript was confined to just browsers. With Node.js, the same language you use to make a webpage interactive can now power your entire server backend. It's a game-changer in the world of web development, enabling full-stack JavaScript development and opening up a whole new world of possibilities.

What is npm?

The letters in npm stand for node package manager, and it allows us to download additional libraries and packages to enrich the Node development experience. We'll learn more about npm later in the course!

Installing nvm

To manage the installation of Node and npm, we will be using a tool called nvm (Node version manager).

To install nvm on your machine, open a terminal and run

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh | bash

If that doesn't work, you could try

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh | bash

INFO

Make sure you are running this from a bash (or zsh) terminal. If you are working on Windows, this means you should be working from WSL.

Installing Node and npm

After installing nvm, it is recommended to close and re-open your terminal.

You should be able to run

nvm install node

to get the latest version of Node.

Verify the installation

You can run node -v in the terminal to print the version number for Node.js. You should see the version number printed in the console. If you do, that's great! You've successfully installed Node.

Run npm -v to print the version number for npm. If you see it, then npm is installed successfully too.