JavaScript is the backbone of the modern web, powering nearly every web app’s user interface. Node.js is JavaScript for the server. This book shows you how to develop small, fast, low-profile, useful, networked applications. You’ll write asynchronous, non-blocking code using Node’s style and patterns. You’ll cluster and load balance your services with Node core features and third-party tools. You’ll work with many protocols, creating RESTful web services, TCP socket clients and servers, and more. This short book packs a hefty dose of Node.js. You’ll test your code’s functionality and performance under load. You’ll learn important aspects of Node development—from its architecture and core, to its ecosystem of third-party modules. You’ll discover how Node pairs a server-side event loop with a JavaScript runtime to produce screaming fast, non-blocking concurrency. Through a series of practical programming domains, you’ll use the latest available ECMAScript Harmony features and harness key Node classes such as EventEmitter and Stream. Throughout the book, you’ll develop real programs that are small, fast, low-profile, and useful. Get ready to join a smart community that’s rapidly advancing the state of the art in web development.