Learning Node

Chapter 2. Interactive Node with REPL

While you’re exploring the use of Node and figuring out the code for your custom module or Node application, you don’t have to type JavaScript into a file and run it with Node to test your code. Node also comes with an interactive component known as REPL, or read-eval-print loop, which is the subject of this chapter.

REPL (pronounced “repple”) supports a simplified Emacs style of line editing and a small set of basic commands. Whatever you type into REPL is processed no differently than if you had typed the JavaScript into a file and run the file using Node. You can actually use REPL to code your entire application—literally testing the application on the fly.

In this chapter, I’ll also cover some interesting quirks of REPL, along with some ways you can work around them. These workarounds include replacing the underlying mechanism that persists commands, as well as using some command-line editing.

Lastly, if the built-in REPL doesn’t provide exactly what you need for an interactive environment, there’s also an API to create your own custom REPL, which I’ll demonstrate in the latter part of the chapter.

Note

You’ll find a handy guide for using REPL at http://docs.nodejitsu.com/articles/REPL/how-to-use-nodejs-repl. The Nodejitsu site also provides a nice tutorial on how to create a custom REPL at http://docs.nodejitsu.com/articles/REPL/how-to-create-a-custom-repl.

REPL: First Looks and Undefined Expressions

To begin REPL, simply type node without providing ...