There are two great reasons to learn Node. First, you can learn the principles of back end programming without leaving the comfort blanket of JavaScript. Second, Node is gaining a lot of popularity and should be a good skill in the future.
A quick warning though. Out in the real world, the backend is still dominated by Java, C#/.NET and PHP. Node is a bit of a minority sport. So you might want to research your local market before making a decision.
For example, I’m making a meme award page that shows everyone (shared data amongst multiple users that persists after refresh, so if 10 people clicked on a meme that was voted to be number 1, all of them would see it)
Could I pair javascript with java for that? Its pretty simple but it is a start.
I’d just stick with using Node instead of trying to use JavaScript with Java and intermixing frameworks. As you yourself said, you still have to learn Node.js. And most likely Express.js, Mongodb and Mongoose. It’s a lot to take in.
Using JavaScript with Java isn’t the solution to your project. It can be done with a Node.js backend.
Yes, You’ll create a Node server running Express. You then create a Express API Endpoint that gets called when someone “votes”. That vote is then verified and logged to a MongoDB Database.
You can then call that vote back if you want to show what the current “Vote Count” is.
You can decide the logic part of the website. The main thing is Node.js would be more than capable being used as a Vote Counting System.
You should read the Node.js Docs on how to configure a Node.js Server that binds to a port. Reading the Node.js Docs will give you the best idea of whether it will work for your project.
And yes, You don’t need to use Express.js or Mongoose. It can be done with just Node.js and MongoDB. Express and Mongoose are just libraries that makes it easier to work.
Cool. thanks for the info. I know this was a broad question so I didnt expect anything definitive to come out of it. It sounds like with every system you try learn, it ends up being a “it depends” question.
On the same train of thought, do you think I should pick out certain areas of the free code camp curriculum to use? I feel like I could learn all of it and still feel quite lost or learn certain areas and more quickly work on projects (when and if I continue to have them).
This is all related to my initial question because the initial question was aiming at how I could save time and this is also aimed at how I could save time.
Best place to learn Node.js on freeCodeCamp would be doing the Backend Certification part. I would suggest you go on https://beta.freecodecamp.org and do the projects there. It will teach you on how to get user input and store it in a database using Node.js and MongoDB