Node Package Manager (npm)

Node Package Manager (npm) is a package manager specifically designed for JavaScript. It comes bundled with Node.js, which is a JavaScript runtime environment that allows us to run JavaScript code outside of a browser. npm simplifies the process of managing, installing, updating, and removing JavaScript libraries or frameworks within a project, and it is the largest repository of JavaScript packages in the world.

Here’s how npm and Node.js relate:

1. Node.js Environment: Node.js allows JavaScript to be used for server-side applications and provides a runtime to execute JavaScript code on a server.

2. npm for Dependencies: npm provides a massive registry of reusable code packages and libraries that developers can install and use in their Node.js projects. It is used to install both small utility modules and entire frameworks for Node.js applications.

3. Package Management: npm enables developers to easily manage dependencies, making it easy to keep track of package versions, automatically resolve package dependencies, and share code with other developers.

In short, npm is crucial for managing and sharing libraries in Node.js projects, which is why the two are often used together.