In-Class NodeJS Exercise 1

Exercise · Explain This Node.js Script (Reading a File)

Node.js · Beginner

Explain this code out loud. Focus on modules, file paths, callbacks, error handling, and reading files.

const fs = require("fs");

fs.readFile("message.txt", "utf8", (error, data) => {
    if (error) {
        console.log("Something went wrong:", error.message);
        return;
    }

    console.log("File content:");
    console.log(data);
});

🎯 Instructions oral task

Explain what the script does.
Explain why we use require("fs").
Describe what readFile() does.
Explain what "utf8" means.
Explain the callback function.
Describe how errors are handled.
State what happens if the file is read successfully.

📖 Vocabulary core

module — reusable code that provides extra functionality.
file system — the part of the system that stores and manages files.
callback — a function passed into another function to run later.
error handling — checking and responding to problems in code.
encoding — the format used to read text correctly.
asynchronous — code that can run without blocking the rest of the program.

🧩 Collocations natural English

read a file
handle an error
import a module
pass a callback function
print the file content
return early

🗣️ Phrasal Verbs interview speech

set up — "First, we set up the file system module."
look for — "Node looks for the file called message.txt."
go wrong — "If something goes wrong, the error is printed."
carry on — "If there is no error, the program carries on and prints the data."

🎤 Model Answer spoken

This Node.js script reads a text file called message.txt.

First, it imports the built-in fs module, which allows Node.js to work with the file system.

Then it uses fs.readFile() to read the file asynchronously. The second argument, "utf8", tells Node to read the file as normal text.

The third argument is a callback function. This function runs after Node finishes trying to read the file.

If there is an error, the program prints an error message and returns early. If there is no error, it prints the file content to the console.