Node.js

Definition

A program that runs JavaScript outside the web browser, which is how many backends and developer tools are built in JavaScript.

More from Backend & APIs

• API (Application Programming Interface)

  A set of agreed requests one program can send to another to get data or have something done, like ordering from a restaurant menu without seeing the kitchen.

• Authentication vs Authorization

  Authentication checks who you are (usually when you log in), and authorization checks what you're allowed to do once the app knows who you are.

• Backend

  The part of an app that runs on a server, out of sight: it stores the data and does the work behind what you see on the screen.

• Connection Pool

  A small set of open database connections an app keeps ready and shares between requests, instead of opening a new one every time.

• CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing)

  A browser safety rule that stops a web page from reading data from a different website unless that other website says it's allowed.

• CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete)

  The four basic things an app does with saved information: add a new item, look at it, change it, and remove it.