Explain It Like I'm 5: NodeJS

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine – nodejs.org/en/about

That's a whole lot of terminology so let's break it down.

First, Chrome's V8 Engine refers to Google Chrome's JavaScript engine. The browser's JavaScript engine is responsible for reading, understanding, and breaking down JavaScript into machine code in order to run it. Second, the runtime refers to the state at which JavaScript runs in the browser.

Essentially, Node.js packages the runtime state for JavaScript usage outside of the browser.

But why would we want to run JavaScript out of the browser?

Now, we can write JavaScript not only for the browser, but also as a general programming language to write our scripts to running our servers.

Node.js has been at the core of JavaScript's recent explosion in the last few years, driving innovation on the frontend and the backend.

Additional Resources:

• Node.js About Page
• DroidHead's Understanding How the Chrome V8 Engine Translates JavaScript into Machine Code
• Learn You The Node Tutorial

See the entire series.

Thanks for reading! You are my favorite person for sticking around until the end. 🍻

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