Question

I'm a noobie to the web-development world, and I started with learning Node.js. I have to say, although I can't draw comparisons to other tools, I am really having fun with Node.

However, I draw a blank when people ask me things like "what are you running your app on?". I just reply "on Node?", and they proceed to stare blankly back at me.

Perhaps this is because they don't know enough about Node, or (more likely) I just don't know enough about setting up a webserver.

So far, I've lived in a world where I write my little Node server (with the help of the amazing Express framework), run node server and boom: my server ready to accept incoming requests on some port.

Perhaps I'm being naive, but should I be running my server alongside or ontop of something like IIS, Apache, or ngnix? Frankly, since I've started with Node, I don't quite understand what these do that Node doesn't?

Was it helpful?

Solution

You do not need IIS, Apache, or nginx if you already have node serving requests. Also, depending on your OS, some of those technologies might not be available (ex. if your server is a Linux server, IIS will not be available).

"What are you running your app on?" That is a somewhat vague question. Possible responses to that question would include:

  • Windows/Linux
  • Node
  • The internet

Maybe the weird looks are coming from those who do not know what node is.

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