

The Node Beginner Book - v33ra
http://www.nodebeginner.org/

======
debacle
It's been difficult to "learn" node. Because the libraries have changed
drastically in the last 2-3 years, many guides are out of date. You can learn
the basics through trial and error and the docs, but you can't learn best
practices, which are important if you're trying to write software that other
people will use (OSS).

I've read through this guide before, and it's okay, but it's not really all
that good at defining best practices, and in fact in some places the code
isn't very good, but Manuel fully admits this in a few places.

If you don't already know JavaScript, or only know a little, this is probably
a good place to start, but if you're already fluent in JS and have used
server-side JS a bit in the past (whether through Rhino, sm, v8, whatever),
it's probably not a very useful guide. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of
good resources out there - the language is very new and the library of current
and available knowledge is not very large.

I haven't checked out the Node Cookbook yet, but do plan to in the future.
Until then, to really get a good knowledge of some of the APIs you still have
to do a bit of trailblazing.

~~~
pc86
I wondering this while reading the introductory paragraphs. While I will keep
the bookmark, it's good to know that I may need to reference the documentation
a little more than I might for other frameworks.

~~~
debacle
On the plus side, the docs tend to be pretty good. There's always a bit of
trial-and-error, though.

------
ph0rcyas
'Up and Running with Node.js' is a much better book:

<http://ofps.oreilly.com/titles/9781449398583/index.html>

And seriously, before jumping into node one needs to know some javascript.
Haverbeke's 'Eloquent Javascript' and Resig's 'Secrets of the JS Ninja' will
provide a starting point. They're one of these rare books you thought 'boy, I
wished it was longer...'.

'Up and Running with Node.js''s code aren't thoroughly polished yet
(eg.chapter 2), but plenty people refined and posted them on StackOverflow.

------
superbaconman
This article was actually the tutorial I used to get into node.js. I learnt a
lot, but I still don't feel like I could write anything really good using just
this info. Usually after articles like this (no matter how good) you just need
to dive into the docs to expand your knowledge. It seems like there's just so
much to it.

------
jongold
I read it a few months ago; good at what it professes to be - a quick guide
for beginners. Definitely worth reading and got me over the first few learning
hurdles of Node.

------
geetarista
Has anybody noticed that the entire book is actually loaded into the page? All
you have to do is remove the "hiddenhalf" ID from that div and you can see
everything.

~~~
wingspan
Or just click the link below the buy button that says "Continue reading the
free version", which just removes the hiddenhalf div.

------
calebhc
Thanks for posting. Maybe this will finally get me to actually start
playing/learning node. :)

------
usmanity
This is great for starting out with node, any recommendations on a more
advanced node book?

------
bpedro
Great stuff. Keep up with the good work!

------
mitchi
NICE TUTORIAL

