This document provides an overview of Node.js, including common uses, a simple "Hello World" example server, how Node.js is an event-driven platform rather than just a web server, its single-threaded asynchronous architecture based on an event loop, prerequisites for programming in Node.js like understanding callbacks and closures, its module system and use of npm, challenges of asynchronous programming, common patterns and antipatterns, and difficulties of debugging and monitoring Node.js applications.