Best Node.js Books

Books can provide you with knowledge on a wide range of subjects, including open-source server environments such as Node.js. If you are interested in server-side programming and you have been searching for the best books to learn Node.js as a beginner, or you want to brush up on your server-side JavaScript as an experienced developer, read on.

This comprehensive guide will provide you with the best books to learn Node.js, the best books for a software developer or Node.js developer, and tips for choosing the best books for Node.js, overall. These books will provide you with basic knowledge of the core fundamentals of the Node.js code to help you learn Node web development and build your Node.js portfolio.

How Can I Choose the Best Books for Node.js Developers?

You can choose the best books for beginner and advanced Node.js development by finding print books or ebooks that include practical examples for beginners and professionals, source code samples, extensive explanations of key concepts, server-side web development methods, and three or four approaches to learning a topic.

Tips for Choosing the Best Node.js Books

• Read book reviews: Book reviews can help you decide whether a book is worth your time. If others have had a positive learning experience with a book, you might also benefit. However, keep in mind that a reviewer’s opinion may not be the same as yours.
• Check the table of contents: The table of contents outlines the core concepts you will learn throughout the book. If the topics you’re interested in learning don’t appear in the table of contents, you can assume that any coverage the book provides will be too brief to use.
• Examine the length and simplicity of sentences: An excellent Node.js book should make difficult topics as simple as possible to understand. Choose another hands-on guide if the fundamental concepts are hard to understand.
• Check the index: A good index is essential in a quality book because it contains the keywords you need and organizes them so that you see other places to look for related information. Check if the terms you’re looking for are in the index. You won’t be able to find them in the book if you don’t see them in the index.
• Consider the author of the book: Professional authors receive payment for writing books that are well-researched, well-organized, and well-focused. Collaborations including three or more authors, while not usually the case, can sometimes lack focus or even contain contradictory information.

The 10 Best Node.js Books: An Overview

The 10 Best Node.js Books: A Closer Look

Quality Node.js books can provide you with a basic understanding of the Node.js environment. Books help you grasp key concepts and give you a deeper understanding of advanced topics, and they can come as print books or ebooks. Below, you will find detailed descriptions of the 10 best Node.js books for beginners or advanced developers.

Beginning Node.js

• Author: Basarat Ali Syed
• Best for: Beginners, students hoping to learn about Node.js applications

Beginning Node.js is an in-depth guide to learning about building maintainable Node.js apps. It shows how Node.js builds high-performing, scalable web applications and how simple it is to get started. 

After reading this book, an absolute beginner can use Node.js for projects and become familiar with key Node.js features for server-side programming. This book will teach you the development knowledge you need to test your Node.js code and deploy real-world apps to the Internet.

Express in Action: Writing, Building, and Testing Node.js Applications

• Author: Evan M. Hahn
• Best for: Students with proficient knowledge in JavaScript and web application design

This effective learning resource shows you how to use Node and Express to create web applications. The book begins by introducing Node’s powerful attributes and demonstrating how they correspond to the development features of Express. 

You will learn about key application development methods and know the ecosystem of related tools and libraries. By the end of this learning experience, you’ll be able to build a Node app with Express and learn how to test it, connect it to a database, and manage the development process with your development skills.

Get Programming with Node.js

• Author: Jonathan Wexler
• Best for: Front end developers, advanced users

Get Programming with Node.js is a hands-on guide that teaches you to write server-side code in JavaScript using Node.js in 37 practical lessons. With this book, you will be able to create eight different projects and study the core features of the Node development process, like application security, database management, authenticating user accounts, and production deployment.

Learning Node: Moving to the Server-Side

• Author: Shelley Powers
• Best for: Advanced users

This second edition is not a beginner book. However, if you have previous knowledge of the programming language JavaScript server-side development, this book contains valuable programming and deployment examples. Learning Node allows you to explore the full functionality of Node.js and get to know how to use Node.js with the Internet of Things (IoT) and microcomputers, among other subjects.

Node.js: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Learn Node.js Step by Step

• Author: John Bach, Alexander Aronowitz
• Best for: Beginners

This book for beginners helps them understand Node in a bite-sized manner without overwhelming them. It is a step-by-step guide covering the primary skills needed for developers to learn server-side development with Node.js. You don’t need any previous experience with Node. All that is required is to have a basic understanding of programming concepts.

Node.js Design Patterns

• Author: Mario Casciaro
• Best for: Experienced developers, advanced users

Node.js Design Patterns is the book for JavaScript developers who want to learn everything there is to know about the Node.js environment. This book will teach you the concepts of asynchronous single-thread Node design and make you comfortable enough with asynchronous code and concurrent processing requests to avoid frequent errors.

This book is a practical guide that will also assist you in identifying the most critical concerns and implementing unique techniques to improve your Node.js application’s scalability and modularity.

Node.js Web Development

• Author: David Herron
• Best for: JavaScript developers transitioning into Node

Node.Js Web Development teaches you everything about designing web apps using Node.js. You will go from having a basic understanding of JavaScript and server-side development to building and maintaining a real-world application in Node.js. 

You will also learn about Docker and microservice deployment, HTTP server and client objects and data storage using SQL and MongoDB databases, real-time apps with Socket.IO, mobile-first theming with Bootstrap, and user authentication methods.

Node.js for Embedded Systems

• Authors: Patrick Mulder, Kelsey Breseman
• Best for: Advanced users

This book will boost your professional development toolkit, with a straightforward introduction to Node.js as an Internet of Things platform. Node.js for Embedded Systems will teach you how to run Node.js on Intel Edison or Raspberry Pi, program microcontrollers and sensors using JavaScript, and prototype IoT devices using the Tessel 2 platform, among other things.

Node Cookbook

• Authors: David Mark Clements, Mathias Buus, Matteo Collina, Peter Elger
• Best for: Students who want to learn how to build fast, efficient, scalable client-server solutions

Node Cookbook will guide you through the process of developing apps with increased performance and a scalable production system using Node.js best practices. You will learn how to use the latest version of Node.js for asynchronous programming to create a fast, efficient, and scalable client-server solution.

Web Development with Node and Express

• Author: Ethan Brown
• Best for: Advanced users

This example-driven tutorial book will teach you how to build efficient code by having you build some fictitious apps that will expose a public website and a RESTful API. 

You’ll make a web page templating system for displaying dynamic data and driving into requests and response objects, middleware, and URL routing. For testing and development, you will also be replicating a production environment.

Alternative Ways to Learn Node.js

Apart from reading books, you can learn Node.js by taking online courses to get practical knowledge about the fundamental concepts of the Node.js code. Online courses and online Node.js resources provide beginners and advanced developers with core fundamentals, advanced concepts, and practical examples, usually including video tutorials.

A Node.js bootcamp is another excellent option for learning all these useful JavaScript framework applications over a short span of time. Within a bootcamp, you are guaranteed expert guidance and career services throughout your learning journey. You also have the opportunity to interact with the development community and ask programming questions.

Is Learning Node.js Worth It?

Yes, learning Node.js is worth it because you’ll develop highly sought-after skills for related career opportunities. A Node.js developer earns an average salary of $113,755 per year, according to ZipRecruiter. With Node.js, you can build real-time applications and send and synchronize data between server-side and client-side coding for efficient development.

Best Node.js Books FAQ

Is Node.js easy to learn?

Yes, learning how to use Node.js is easier if you already know how to use JavaScript, since it’s a JavaScript-based platform. All you have to do is become familiar with some of Node.js’ most frequent APIs, such as the HTTP server API, and you shouldn’t have a major issue with learning it.

What is Node.js used for?

Node.js is best suited for non-blocking, event-driven servers because of its single-threaded nature. Node.js is also used to create simple RESTful web services and build working websites and mobile apps.

Is Node.js front end or backend?

Developers can use Node.js on both the front end and backend of a website in the development environment, making it useful for full stack development.

Is Node.js good for a career?

Yes, front end programming with Node.js and comparable technologies has good career prospects. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of web developers, including Node.js developers, should expand by 13 percent between 2020 and 2030, which is somewhat higher than the estimated growth rate of eight percent for all jobs in the US.

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