(O'Reilly link, my user review on Amazon.com)
Node.js, or simply "Node", is a server-side solution for running JavaScript (it by itself is NOT JavaScript; "in fact Node is a C program" that you feed JavaScript), and in particular, for receiving and responding to HTTP requests. ... and is "concerned with network programming and server-side request/response processing."
For getting started, the book(let) includes the code for a basic "Hello World" program, and links to download Node from nodejs.org. There is an example and description of using JSON with Node, the evils in eval() in Node, and how to get past the evils (like use JSON.parse() )
Given that this is a short book; 18 pages including the cover, TOC, and other blank pages, where does this leave you? Well, if you are a Node programmer, then this book offers nothing.
If you want to get started with Node, then there are other, more detailed books out there.
If you are a non-programmer, do not have the time or inclination to delve into a 300 page book, but still want to know at least **something** about Node, no matter how basic that may be, then, well, this book may be for you. You could get information on Node from a lot of technical websites out there, so spending $$ on this book may not be a good idea, in my opinion. What does make this book a bargain is the fact that it is free.
© 2011, Abhinav Agarwal. All rights reserved.