#What is Node.js?

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime that is based on the V8 JavaScript engine. It enables programmers to create backend JavaScript applications that are both fast and scalable. Its asynchronous and event-driven structure makes Node.js an excellent choice for designing applications that must handle a high number of connections simultaneously, which is a specific need for web servers and other backend services.

Through the use of JavaScript on both the frontend and the backend, development becomes more consistent, allowing for the creation of full-stack web applications within the same development environment. You can leverage the node.js frameworks that are available in the market to provide server-side development.

Popularity

Node.Js was developed for the purpose to solve Apache’s problem. Also, with the help of NodeJs, you are able to easily create real-time data streaming applications. Do you know that with the help of NodeJs Netflix reduced the application startup from 40 minutes to 1 minute!

In StackOverflow’s survey, Node.Js was on the top of the list. On Github repository for Node.js has 87K stars, 23.3K forks, and 2.9K people who are following it. There are 116.2K people who follow Node.Js on StackShare and 8.4K votes.

Coding

Node.js was initially developed as a server-side runtime environment but is also widely used by the developer community for front-end development. Although NodeJs has more lines of code to accomplish a task compared to PHP, thanks to JavaScript being a full-stack, you don’t need to learn many languages to complete a task. It is advisable to take help from JavaScript experts to complete some complex tasks.

Server-Side Coding

Node.js gives the client a lot less work to do. Node.js is an excellent choice if your target audience has smartphones with a fair amount of processing power, so it’s a good choice for your use case. However, because it uses an AJAX engine to make new web pages in response to client requests, it needs to stay connected to the server at all times to do this.

Speed

I would say that Node.js is unmatched as an asynchronous development environment. This means that it does not run the modules in a sequential manner, which improves overall performance generally. Furthermore, this greatly reduces downtime as well as enhances the quality of user experience at the same time, also faster loading of websites helps a lot in SEO factor.

Performance

Node.js has a single-threaded, event-driven architecture that allows it to handle a lot of connections at the same time without slowing down. Most popular online platforms start processing each new request by creating a new thread, which uses RAM for the time it takes to process the new request.

Node, on the other hand, runs on a single thread, utilizing the event loop and callbacks for I/O activities and outsourcing database functions as quickly as it is possible. The result is a system that can handle hundreds of thousands or even millions of simultaneous connections at once.

Frameworks

Node.js frameworks are generally classified into three categories: MVC, Full-Stack MVC, and REST API frameworks. Essentially, a node framework is a workspace platform that supports the use of Node.js and allows developers to build both the front-end and back-end of an application using JavaScript. Node frameworks are becoming increasingly popular. Some of the most famous Node.Js frameworks are Meteor, Derby, Express, and Sails.

Database

A database can be anything, and you can use Node.js with any kind of database. You can choose the database that is best for the size of the project and its goals. Node.js is often able to work with noSQL databases like MongoDB and CouchDB, as well as graph databases like Neo4j. Nonetheless, NoSQL databases pose a well-known security vulnerability.

Request Handling

Node.js can make the best use of single threading, which leads to fast response times and simultaneous processing. Your system can also handle multiple requests in parallel using the Node.js cluster module or worker_threads.

Modules

Although NodeJS has a large community and a huge repository, its modules are considered immature due to their lack of quality. If modules are not thoroughly tested and if they are low quality, you may run into difficulties in your project. Node.js package registry has launched the npm-audit initiative as a control measure. Now, each package can be checked for malicious code.

Ecosystem

The Node.js ecosystem is pretty healthy, with about 836,000 libraries already available in the npm registry and more than 10,000 new ones being contributed on a weekly basis. According to the exact figures as above, Npm modules make up 97 percent of all web applications now in use.

Although Node.js has a very big library, it is nowhere near PHP, they lag behind PHP numbers, but since it can be used in both front end and backend it gets a variety of projects and this makes up for the lack of quantity it has.

Hosting

Node.js offers a variety of features that help it to remain competitive in the market. Joyent, the firm in charge of Node.js’s maintenance, provides a SmartOS option as an alternative. This is advantageous for debugging and optimization strategies, and the distribution’s ease can be accomplished. If you’re using Heroku and Nodejitsu, you’ll have no trouble using Node.js in a Platform-as-a-Service environment.

Famous Application

One unexpected trend is that the need for Node.js developers is outpacing the demand for PHP experts, despite the fact that PHP is one of the web’s most well-established and popular technologies. As a clear indication, the number of businesses that have adopted Node.js as their preferred framework for developing web applications has increased dramatically, and this trend is expected to continue. Therefore you should hire Nodejs developers and take the advantage of their expertise and all the features NodeJs offers.

Let’s take a look at all the companies using Node.Js: Netflix, NASA, PayPal, LinkedIn, Uber, Twitter, etc.

Cost of Development

The cost of development is impacted by a number of factors, which includes the development platform (or framework). As JavaScript can be used on both the front-end and back-end development of a website, the project can be finished by full-stack developers with minimal effort which decreases the development cost.

Strength of NodeJs

• Offers easy scalability for modern applications.
• It is easy to learn and quick to adapt.
• Improves app response time and boosts performance.
• Reduces time-to-market of your applications.
• Offers extensibility to meet customized requirements.
• Reduces loading time by quick caching.

Limitation of NodeJs

• API is not stable.
• Does not have a strong library support system.
• Asynchronous programming model.