Installing Node.js on Ubuntu 12.04

Download the source of Node.js for Linux. Make sure you have the Ubuntu package 'build-essential' already installed before building Node.js.

You can check if Ubuntu package 'build-essential' is already installed by issuing the following command on the terminal:

suleman@devbox:~$apt-cache policy build-essential 
build-essential:
  Installed: 11.5ubuntu2.1
  Candidate: 11.5ubuntu2.1
  Version table:
 *** 11.5ubuntu2.1 0
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates/main amd64

The above Installed line indicates, which version of  'build-essential' is installed, if it was not installed then you would have seen something like the following:
build-essential:
  Installed: Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 11.5ubuntu2.1
  Version table:
 *** 11.5ubuntu2.1 0
        500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates/main amd64

If you don't have package 'build-essential' installed then please install it:
suleman@devbox:~$sudo apt-get install build-essential

Issue the following commands in the terminal to build Node.js for local use as opposed to system wide use:
suleman@devbox:~$tar xzf node-v0.10.26.tar.gz
suleman@devbox:~$cd node-v0.10.26
suleman@devbox:~/node-v0.10.26$./configure
suleman@devbox:~/node-v0.10.26$make
suleman@devbox:~/node-v0.10.26$mkdir ~/local
suleman@devbox:~/node-v0.10.26$./configure --prefix=~/local
suleman@devbox:~/node-v0.10.26$make && make install

Then  I would add the following in your ~/.bashrc:
export PATH=~/local/bin:$PATH

Either open new terminal or source ~/.bashrc in current terminal and check you have node installed successful:
suleman@devbox:~$node -v
v0.10.26

I installed Node.js for tutorial I was doing on AngularJS, once I have finished this tutorial I am hoping to have look in anger at Node.js for server side programming.

The book Node: Up and Running looks good for Node.js server side programming.