How to Set Up for Ajax Training on Windows

See Ajax: Tips and Tricks for similar articles.

For our Ajax courses, you will need Node.js, a modern web browser, an editor, and our class files.

To set up your computer for Ajax training, you need:

  1. Visual Studio Code (Download, Install, and Set up)
    • While you may use a different editor or IDE, Visual Studio Code is an excellent IDE to learn to code on. It provides a nice balance of power and simplicity and it is available on Windows and Mac.
  2. The latest version of Firefox and one additional web browser (The latest version of Google Chrome, Edge, or Safari)
  3. Firebug for Firefox (Download here). Firebug allows you to:
    1. See the Ajax calls being made to the server and what parameters, if any, were passed.
    2. See the response from the server after the Ajax calls are made in either plain text, JSON, or XML accordingly.
    3. Inspect HTML elements
  4. Install Node.js
    1. Download the latest LTS (long-term support) version, and run the appropriate installer for your operating system.
    2. The installer packages will be easiest for most users, so use the .msi "Windows Installer", x64 if you have a 64-bit system.
  5. Test Node.js
    1. Once you have installed Node.js, open the Command Prompt for Node.js as an Administrator:
      1. Click Start
      2. On the Search bar, enter node.js.
      3. Right-click on Node.js Command Prompt and choose Run As Administrator.
    2. At the Command Prompt, enter this command to see the version of node.js that you've installed: 
      node -v
    3. In the Command Prompt, enter the command below to navigate to one of your class files for testing (note the "cd" command for "change directory"): 
      cd c:\Webucator\ClassFiles\AjaxBasics\Solutions
    4. Next, enter the command below to download the needed modules as defined in package.json. Node modules will install to the directory node_modules: 
      npm install
    5. After modules have installed, enter the command below to start the application: 
      npm start
    6. Now go to your web browser and go to http://localhost:8080/EmployeeAdmin.html
    7. If the page loads showing a list of Employees, congratulations, you're all set!
    Note: when needed, press CTRL+C on Terminal to stop the Node.js server instance.