Installing node.js in Linux

I tested these steps in RHEL 5.4 and Ubuntu 12.10.

1. wget http://nodejs.org/dist/v0.10.1/node-v0.10.1.tar.gz
2. tar -xvf node-v0.10.1.tar.gz
3. cd node-v0.10.1
4. ./configure --prefix=<a directory to which you have write and execute access>
5. make
6. make install
7. Create a file, say Test.js and add the following lines to it
   var http = require('http');
   
   http.createServer(function (request, response) {
     response.writeHead(200, {'Content-Type': 'text/plain'});
     response.end('Hello World\n');
   }).listen(8124);
   
   console.log('Server running at http://127.0.0.1:8124/');
8. node Test.js
9. Open a browser and visit http://127.0.0.1:8124/. If all went fine, you should see Hello World in the browser.

It is as simple as that. I did not hit any road block at all. They all went fine.