Node.js Internals Explained: Why It Exists and How Modules Work

Node.js was created by Ryan Dahl in 2009 to run JavaScript outside the browser, enabling a unified language for frontend and backend development. It is a runtime environment, not a language, using the same JavaScript engine as Chrome but with server-specific APIs like fs and http. This first part of a series explains Node's origin and the module system in a conversational tutorial format.