Node.js the Right Way

Programming for the Node.js Event Loop

Let’s get started by developing a couple of simple programs that watch files for changes and read arguments from the command line. Even though they’re short, these applications offer insights into Node’s event-based architecture.

Watching a File for Changes

Watching files for changes is a convenient problem to start with because it demands asynchronous coding while demonstrating important Node concepts. Taking action whenever a file changes is just plain useful in a number of cases, ranging from automated deployments to running unit tests.

Open a terminal to begin. On the command line, navigate to an empty directory. You’ll use this directory for all of the code examples in this chapter. Once there, ...