JS file not running with Node.js in terminal

Question

I'm trying to use node.js in my Command Prompt to run a js file but the terminal is saying this and not running the file.

>hello.js:1
(function (exports, require, module, __filename, __dirname) { 
console.log(hello world)
                                                                      ^^^^^
SyntaxError: missing ) after argument list
at new Script (vm.js:79:7)
at createScript (vm.js:251:10)
at Object.runInThisContext (vm.js:303:10)
at Module._compile (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:657:28)
at Object.Module._extensions..js (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:700:10)
at Module.load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:599:32)
at tryModuleLoad (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:538:12)
at Function.Module._load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:530:3)
at Function.Module.runMain (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:742:12)
at startup (internal/bootstrap/node.js:283:19)

New error log:

hello.js:1
(function (exports, require, module, __filename, __dirname) { 
console.log(hello world)
                                                                      ^^^^^

SyntaxError: missing ) after argument list
at new Script (vm.js:79:7)
at createScript (vm.js:251:10)
at Object.runInThisContext (vm.js:303:10)
at Module._compile (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:657:28)
at Object.Module._extensions..js (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:700:10)
at Module.load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:599:32)
at tryModuleLoad (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:538:12)
at Function.Module._load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:530:3)
at Function.Module.runMain (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:742:12)
at startup (internal/bootstrap/node.js:283:19)

solved: cd into the folder that the file is in then open the js file with node

Can you post the contents of the file you are trying to run? — Daniel Tate
– Daniel Tate, Commented Feb 28, 2019 at 3:35
This is the contents of the file i was trying to run: console.log('hello world'); — Emir Sulaiman
– Emir Sulaiman, Commented Feb 28, 2019 at 3:43
You claim that the code you write is different from the code printed in the error. This is not the case for my node version. A string literal is printed as a string literal, including quotation marks. Which node version are you using? It looks like there may be a bunch of unprintable characters after the function call. Delete those. Make sure you are actually editing the right file and are not executing the wrong file. — Felix Kling
– Felix Kling, Commented Feb 28, 2019 at 7:31

Joshua Robinson · Accepted Answer · 2019-02-28 03:45:08Z

1

Notice in the error log that hello world is not a string, looks like two different variables. Think what was intended was 'hello world'. Node is complaining about an argument list because the code is being interpreted as a list of arguments like console.log(someVariableFoo, someVariableBar) since there is a space between hello and world and the text is not wrapped in quotes.

A string in JavaScript looks like:

const a = 'Hello World'; // single quote
const b = "Hello World"; // double quote 
const c = `Hello World`; // template literal

hello.js:1 (function (exports, require, module, __filename, __dirname) { console.log(hello world)

More on strings via MDN https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/String

edited Feb 28, 2019 at 3:45

answered Feb 28, 2019 at 3:37

Joshua Robinson

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2 Comments

Emir Sulaiman Over a year ago

Hello, i tried to fix it, but it still gives me the error log. This is the new code: console.log('Hello world!');

Joshua Robinson Over a year ago

Hello Emir, what is the new error log output. Could you please edit your question above and include this below your original question? Or open a new question? Would also be helpful as Daniel commented above to post the entirety of the code in your question.

Akash Karwande · Accepted Answer · 2019-02-28 03:48:32Z

1

(function (exports, require, module, __filename, __dirname) { 
console.log("hello world");
}

make hello world string inside the quotes and make sure to close the curly braces

answered Feb 28, 2019 at 3:48

Akash Karwande

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