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Sneak-peek of node.js
Node.js is an open-source, back-end JavaScript runtime environment that lets you easily develop scalable web applications. Node.js lets developers use JavaScript to write command-line tools to produce dynamic Web page content before the page is sent to the user's Web browser.
Before going into detail let us quickly see what the market is about here. It has been seen that almost everyone in the industry including big firms like Netflix, Uber, and LinkedIn uses Node.js. So let's dive in and learn together what JS Node.js is and when, where, and how it is used with the help of examples.
Did you guys have any idea that Node.js is the primary JS runtime environment for eBay and Aliexoerss too? I did not know that. In 2018, there were 23 million developers in the world and we are still counting on that. To continue with that, let's understand something about Node.js in-depth and conclude.
What is node.js?
Node.js is an open-source Chrome JavaScript runtime environment that allows developers to develop their Web applications with ease. It uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model, more efficient and perfect for data-intensive real-time applications running across devices.
Before moving ahead we have two amazing facts that we should know:
- Node.js isn't a programming language or a framework but it is an environment for them.
- Contrary to the opinion that Node.js is only used for building servers, it can also be used on the front and back ends of both sides.
Node.js architecture
Node.js is an epitome of exceptionally scalable and customized tech which helps developers to proceed with ease. The service uses an I/O model which is non-blocking and event-based. This makes the adaption of JavaScript easier to machine the language and quick execution of code.
Firstly, let us understand the terms and the key features of how Node.js works and what makes it so popular.
Non-blocking thread execution-- Every API (Application Programming Interface) of the Node.js library is non-blocking. The next flavor in the stack is continuously executed while waiting for a response from something outside the execution chain.
The event drive -- A server built with Node.js uses the notification mechanism which is referred to as ' Events' to receive and track responses of the previous API requests.
Cross-platform compatibility - Node.js is compatible with various platforms like Linux, Android, Mac OS X., And many mobile platforms.
- Node.js runs on Google & V8 Javascript engine, where the web applications are event-based and in a very asynchronous manner, it has been designed. It uses a " single-threaded event loop"
- "Mukti-threaded request-response" architecture is also an event loop that is much slower and not able to handle multiple concurrent threads at a time.
Traditional vs node.js server thread
As per Node.js developers, it has been said that a specific library called Libuv, provides a mechanism known as an event loop. This model is majorly based on the JavaScript event-based model along with the callback mechanism.
Not like the traditional Web serving technique, where each request creates a new thread cramping up the system, whereas here in Node.js it operates on a single thread.
Benefits of node.js
There are various advantages that we can count on Node.js and here we have detailed them for you, let's get in.
1. Scalability:
Node.js applications are very scalable in both vertical and horizontal manner. While horizontal scaling enables you to add new nodes quicker and vertically, it will let you add more resources to the current nodes.
Furthermore, Node.js applications work along with a set of microservices and modules. It is simple, easy, and perfectly suitable for small startups that are growing.
2. High performance:
V8 JS engine complies with JavaScript code directly into the machine code, so it makes resources efficient as well as accelerates the framework's speed. To add to this, Google itself invests heavily in its search engine to improve its performance consistently.
3. Large community support:
Node.js Foundation is an impressive group of founders from very leading groups such as IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Fidelity. Many developers and Node.js fans are constantly contributing to this community to support fellow developers. Node.js is supported on Github which helps them to get support and an easy framework.
4. Boosts development speed:
Node.js allows developers to accelerate the web applications development process with its varied tools. The Npm (Node Package Manager) registry offers numerous solutions, modules, and libraries to create web apps by acquiring more value. It helps you to reduce bugs and decrease the size of your web application.
5. Freedom to develop apps:
Developers working with Node.js get the freedom to develop apps cross-platform. With frameworks like Electron and other things, you can create cross-platform web apps with Node.js since it's compatible with mobile, and desktop.
6. Single programming language:
Node.js offers a variety of languages on front-end and back-end Javascript which is more flexible and accessible. It makes the entire process robust and seamless for developers and enterprises. It saves your time, energy, and resources to get the work done effectively and makes man-hours investment more profitable and productive. It makes more preferred tech in the market rather than just web app development.
7. Easy to learn:
Node.js is relatively easy to grasp and once you get how to do and master JavaScript and Object-Oriented Programming basics it is good to go with the start. There are varieties of courses available and with the help of tutorials and examples on Github that can make your learning a pleasant experience.
Therefore, we can come to a point where we can see that there are numerous benefits of Node.js such as they contribute to full-stack attack and mean stack as well as a rich ecosystem to give advantage to developers and the one who is using them.
Where node.js should be used?
Node.js is a business-based solution that will give you an edge over your competitors to fight back. Here are the uses of Node.js :
- Backend for social media networking
- Single-page application
- Chat application
- Data streaming
- IoT application
Let's see what best uses are done by industries and of Node.js positioning.
- Backend for social media networking
LinkedIn, Medium, and many other renowned platforms are rebuilding on Node.js. An essential combination of nodes is required to build a backend for social media networking sites. It provides fast routing with its V8 engine along with secure authentication. One of the most important factors which enrich a social media network is Scalability.
- Single-page application (SPA) development
Like single-page websites, Node.js can also build a single-page app, where the look and feel are similar to a desktop application.
Node.js is a good fit for building social media networking platforms, mailing solutions, and dynamic websites because it has versatile options. The asynchronous data flow quality on the backend in Node.js makes the best bet for SPA development.
- Chatbots
For real-time chat and chat applications, Node.js offers exclusive and advanced functionalities. They have key features like multi-user applications, intensive data, and heavy traffic across all the devices that are very popular in chatbots. Node.js hits the sweet spot for different devices and covers all paradigms in chat and chat applications. In addition to that, Node.js makes it easy to execute the push notifications and server-side event loops popular in IMS and real applications.
- Data streaming
Giant companies like Netflix have welcomed Node.js to serve 190 countries and 100+million hours of streaming across 120 million users and the count goes on. Node.js has a super fast speed and fester-light encloses and uploads. This has been encased upon various online fashion e-stores and applications with massive data streaming videos.
- IoT application development
IoT has become popular in recent decades, since then Node.js has been one of the preferred solutions for businesses who are looking to build a public and private IoT solution system. The very core advantage of Node.js is its brilliant ability to process concurrent requests and not only that but with thousands of events released by billions of devices in its network.
Where should it not be?
We have looked at many popular Node.js benefits but there are few cases where we shouldn’t consider it. While analyzing the technology to get the job done, you can encounter many other tech options too. Although every tech has its benefits and pitfalls too.
With Node.js and express.js, you can create a web application on the server-side. In case, these web applications have a heavy CPU-intensive computation, it will block Node.js responses. Node.js tool called relational DB is still underdeveloped and it will pick up other environments to perform relational operations.
- Node.js is probably not the best choice for heavy server-side computation due to its event-driven and non-blocking I/O node models.
- It is single-threaded and chances are there that it might not work for your web application because of its CPU-intensive computations.
- There have been reports of bugs, poor quality with incomplete modules, and lack of documentation because it impacts the imperfection in tools.
Examples of popular companies which are using Node.js are
- Netflix: Their 130 million subscribers and one billion hours of weekly data streaming, they have got scalable. Solutions that enable. Them to handle multiple requests.
- LinkedIn: has 63 million members, out of which 59% interacted with their mobile app, which has enabled it to boost its performance by 20x times in some cases. They have also been able to reduce servers from 30 to 3 and that has made their focus on application development intended for troubleshooting.
- Uber: Uber was the one who divided the first 3 companies into Node.js in the full production stage. It required a high-speed and scalable application and a cross-platform tech solution to manage all tee requests.
Conclusion
Node.js is lightweight, fast, and scalable and has been used regularly by 98% of fortune 500+companies. This seems to say that it is very helpful for developers to work effectively and efficiently.
