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Kumar Ayush
Kumar Ayush

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🌐 Mastering HTTP, HTTPS & URL Modules in Node.js — The Foundation of Web Servers

#webdev #backend #node #javascript

When working with Node.js, one of the core capabilities it offers is to create web servers from scratch using native modules — no frameworks like Express needed (though they help a lot!).

In this blog, we’ll explore three key core modules:

  • http – build your own basic web server
  • https – build secure servers using SSL/TLS
  • url – parse and manipulate URLs like a pro

We’ll also compare these native approaches with Express.js to see why frameworks matter.

📦 1. The HTTP Module — Your First Node.js Server
Node.js provides a built-in http module that allows you to spin up a web server without using Express or any third-party library.

🧠 Concept
An HTTP server listens for incoming requests on a port.
It then sends back responses based on the request URL or method.
💡 Basic Example

const http = require('http');

const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
  if (req.url === '/') {
    res.end('Welcome to the Home Page');
  } else if (req.url === '/about') {
    res.end('About Page');
  } else {
    res.end('404 Not Found');
  }
});
server.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Server running at http://localhost:3000');
});
🔍 Breakdown
http.createServer(callback) – sets up a server
req.url – gives the URL path
res.end() – ends the response
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🔐 2. The HTTPS Module — Secure Your Communication
While http is great, it’s not secure. That’s where https comes in.

✅ Why Use HTTPS?
Encrypts communication (SSL/TLS)
Mandatory for handling passwords, payments, etc.
Required in production environments
📁 Prerequisite: SSL Certificates
You need:

  • A private key (key.pem)
  • A certificate (cert.pem) Generate self-signed ones for testing:

openssl req -nodes -new -x509 -keyout key.pem -out cert.pem
💡 HTTPS Server Example

const https = require('https');
const fs = require('fs');

const options = {
  key: fs.readFileSync('key.pem'),
  cert: fs.readFileSync('cert.pem')
};
https.createServer(options, (req, res) => {
  res.writeHead(200);
  res.end('Hello from Secure HTTPS Server!');
}).listen(4433, () => {
  console.log('HTTPS Server running on https://localhost:4433');
});
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🌐 3. The URL Module — Parsing Made Simple
Want to extract ?term=react or /products from incoming requests? That’s what the url module is for.

💡 Modern URL Parsing

const { URL } = require('url');

const myURL = new URL('https://example.com/products?category=books&id=101');
console.log(myURL.hostname);  // example.com
console.log(myURL.pathname);  // /products
console.log(myURL.searchParams.get('category')); // books
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🔁 Comparing: Native https vs Express
Let’s see how things differ between native Node.js and Express.

🧪 Task: Parse /search?term=react

Using Native HTTPS:
const https = require('https');
const fs = require('fs');
const { URL } = require('url');

const options = {
  key: fs.readFileSync('key.pem'),
  cert: fs.readFileSync('cert.pem')
};

https.createServer(options, (req, res) => {
  const fullUrl = `https://${req.headers.host}${req.url}`;
  const parsedUrl = new URL(fullUrl);
  if (parsedUrl.pathname === '/search') {
    const term = parsedUrl.searchParams.get('term') || 'none';
    res.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' });
    res.end(JSON.stringify({ message: 'Search term received', term }));
  } else {
    res.writeHead(404);
    res.end('404 Not Found');
  }
}).listen(4433);
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Using Express (Much Simpler!)

const express = require('express');
const https = require('https');
const fs = require('fs');

const app = express();
const options = {
  key: fs.readFileSync('key.pem'),
  cert: fs.readFileSync('cert.pem')
};

app.get('/search', (req, res) => {
  const term = req.query.term || 'none';
  res.status(200).json({ message: 'Search term received', term });
});
https.createServer(options, app).listen(4433, () => {
  console.log('Express HTTPS server running at https://localhost:4433');
});
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🔧 Bonus: Middleware Example in Express

const morgan = require('morgan');
app.use(morgan('dev')); // Logs every incoming request
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In native https, you'd have to code logging, parsing, etc., all manually!

🎯 Conclusion
Understanding how Node.js works at the core level gives you control and insight into what frameworks like Express abstract away. Here’s what we learned:

Use http or https for learning or small utilities.
For production-grade apps, always use https with SSL.
Use the modern URL class for parsing.
Express makes development faster, cleaner, and more scalable.

🧪 Try It Yourself
✅ Generate SSL certs
✅ Build both native and Express-based HTTPS servers
✅ Parse query parameters from /search?term=yourvalue

Then… compare your code and see why Express is a game-changer!

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