Training Guide: Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3 Ebook

344 CHAPTER 8 Websites and services

var http = require('http');

var url = require('url');

http.createServer(function (request, response) {

var url_parts = url.parse(request.url, true);

response.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/plain'});

response.end('Hello ' + url_parts.query.name + '!\n');

console.log('Handled request from ' + url_parts.query.name);

}).listen(8080, 'localhost');

console.log('Server running at http://localhost:8080/');

This application was saved to hello_ joe.js. Run the application and then launch the

browser. Navigate to the following URL.

http://localhost:8080/?name=Joe

When the request is received, a response is sent, and a message is logged to the console

window, as shown in Figure 8-2. Try different names and notice that you get a personalized

response.

FIGURE 8-2 Creating a personalized response with Node.js

Creating a Node.js module

In the previous examples, you used the require function to load modules, which provide code

reuse when adding functionality to Node.js. You can create your own module by wrapping

your code in a function and exporting it so it can be called from other code, as follows.

var http = require('http');

var url = require('url');

function start(){