Book excerpt: Summary Node.js in Action, Second Edition is a thoroughly revised book based on the best-selling first edition. It starts at square one and guides you through all the features, techniques, and concepts you'll need to build production-quality Node applications. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Technology You already know JavaScript. The trick to mastering Node.js is learning how to build applications that fully exploit its powerful asynchronous event handling and non-blocking I/O features. The Node server radically simplifies event-driven real-time apps like chat, games, and live data analytics, and with its incredibly rich ecosystem of modules, tools, and libraries, it's hard to beat! About the Book Based on the bestselling first edition, Node.js in Action, Second Edition is a completely new book. Packed with practical examples, it teaches you how to create high-performance web servers using JavaScript and Node. You'll master key design concepts such as asynchronous programming, state management, and event-driven programming. And you'll learn to put together MVC servers using Express and Connect, design web APIs, and set up the perfect production environment to build, lint, and test. What's Inside Mastering non-blocking I/O The Node event loop Testing and deploying Web application templating About the Reader Written for web developers with intermediate JavaScript skills. About the Authors The Second Edition author team includes Node masters Alex Young, Bradley Meck, Mike Cantelon, and Tim Oxley, along with original authors Marc Harter, T.J. Holowaychuk, and Nathan Rajlich. Table of contents PART 1 - WELCOME TO NODE Welcome to Node.js Node programming fundamentals What is a Node web application? PART 2 - WEB DEVELOPMENT WITH NODE Front-end build systems Server-side frameworks Connect and Express in depth Web application templating Storing application data Testing Node applications Deploying Node applications and maintaining uptime PART 3 - BEYOND WEB DEVELOPMENT Writing command-line applications Conquering the desktop with Electron