When and how do you use server side JavaScript?

javascript server-side
Johnno Nolan picture Johnno Nolan · Jan 19, 2009 · Viewed 75.4k times · Source

Occasionally I search for some JavaScript help and I come upon the term "Server-side JavaScript". When would you use JavaScript server-side? And how?

My experiences of JavaScript have been in the browser. Is there a compiled version of JS?

Answer

Kev picture Kev · Jan 19, 2009

It's not AJAX, unless people are using the term improperly. As its name suggests, SSJS is JavaScript that runs on the server, interpreted by a standalone (i.e., browser-independent) JavaScript engine, like SpiderMonkey.

Why bother? Well, one area I currently see it underutilized in is in data validation. With SSJS you write one piece of code that then gets used on both the server and the client. Thus you get immediate user feedback from the client-side JS that will automatically match the data checking taking place on the server.

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