> > I am not really sure what VS 2017 does, I always just install Node > separately. Node is not a webserver, although you can build a webserver on > it, it is a runtime. So it is not serving anything. The Angular CLI and > tools are built on it. >
I installed Node.js from the main site's MSI download. The Angular project I generated earlier now compiles (with 150 conflicts) and runs and shows a Hello world web page in a browser. It throws the equivalent of a null reference exception each time I navigate, but it seems to keep running (it's alarming that the throw is in a js file that has 92879 lines of code). The structure of the project is bewildering. It contains an 'app' folder which seems to contain the Angular code, it also contains Razor files, C# code and WebApi controllers. It's a complete jumble. Is this just because it's a demo or would you really develop with this structure? I've been reading MSDN magazine articles on JS development regularly, but the project and code and structure is unlike anything I expected when I dive in. It's a gigantic muddle. I still can't figure out what the hell the Node.js runtime is doing. I haven't yet watched any Angular tutorial videos (which I might do today), but first impressions are important, and my first impression of everything I've seen so far with Angular/JS is like a dumpster bin full of burning nappies. I was hoping to do a crash course on Angular and perhaps get started, but there is no obvious guidance about how to proceed into the morass of components and files. It's an order of magnitude more complex than any development environment I've seen in 30+ years ... why? *GK*
