This book is intended for professionals or students who have a comfortable working knowledge of JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and the stateless nature of HTTP. If you’re not comfortable with JavaScript, I highly recommend reading both JavaScript: The Definitive Guide and JavaScript Garden. Although I’ll quickly go over some necessary fundamentals for beginners, it will be difficult to become a ‘node.js developer’ without a solid foundation in JavaScript. HTML, CSS, and client-side JavaScript will be necessary for the presentation of your application, while understanding the stateless nature of HTTP will make some of the techniques discussed in this book easier to learn.