Express.js Fundamentals

Writing raw Node.js code (like we did in the last chapter) is hard. Express.js is a framework that sits on top of Node.js and makes building servers easy and fast.

1. Setting Up Express 🚂

First, install it: npm install express

Then, create your server in 5 lines of code:

2. Basic Routing 🛣️

Express makes routing readable. You use app.METHOD(PATH, HANDLER).

3. Sending JSON 📦

In raw Node.js, we had to use JSON.stringify and set headers manually. In Express, just use res.json().

4. Serving Static Files 🖼️

Want to serve images, CSS, or HTML files? Express has a built-in middleware for that.

5. Dynamic Routes (Parameters) 🆔

What if you want to get a user by ID (e.g., /users/123)? Use a colon (:).

Quiz

Key Takeaways

✅ Express simplifies server creation.
✅ app.get/post handles routing.
✅ res.json() sends JSON data.
✅ req.params captures URL parameters.

What's Next?

Express is powerful because of Middleware. Let's learn what that means in the next chapter!

Keep coding! 🚀