Node.js has transformed the way developers program servers. Before Node.js, servers were coded in languages such as PHP or Ruby, but now you can create server code using JavaScript, a programming language designed for usage in the front end. Developers now find it much simpler to create full-stack apps thanks to Node.js, which enables them to create servers with great speed.
The purpose of this article is to introduce you to Node.js and to lead you through the process of creating apps with it while also highlighting its benefits. One important thing to keep in mind is that Node.js is a terrific tool to have in your toolbox, and the possibilities are endless because of its large community.
The popularity of JavaScript apps has skyrocketed in recent years, with Node.js undoubtedly promoting this rise. Node.js is one of the most popular server-side technologies available today. It is a backend JavaScript runtime environment that is open-source and cross-platform. As Node packages outnumber Ruby packages in the ecosystem,
modulecounts.com 2022 confirmed it is also expanding more quickly than Python and Java.
It is used to create web apps that require a lot of I/O (Input/Output), such as video streaming websites, single-page programs, online chat applications, and other web apps. It is widely used by large, established corporations and popular tech players such as Netflix and PayPal, to mention a few.
This article will highlight the most critical Node.js features and the benefits of using Node.js for your next web development project to assist you in getting started and creating applications right away.
Node.js
Node presents itself as an event-driven, asynchronous framework built on top of Chrome's JavaScript engine and intended for building scalable network applications. It mostly consists of JavaScript, with a lot of C/C++ being used in the background for tasks like dealing with the filesystem, launching HTTP or TCP servers, and other things.
Node utilizes a concurrency mechanism based on an event loop and follows a single thread. Due to its non-blocking nature, it doesn't make the program wait; instead, it registers a callback and allows it to proceed. It can grow since it manages concurrent activities without utilizing many execution threads.
Features/Properties of Node.js
The following are some key features that make Node.js the top option among software architects.
- All Node.js library APIs are asynchronous or non-blocking, and they are also event-driven. This implies that a Node.js-based server never awaits data delivery from an API. After accessing an API, the server goes on to the next one, and a Node.js notification system called Events enables the server to get a response before moving on to the next API.
- Node.js is particularly quick in code execution since it is built on Google Chrome's V8 JavaScript Engine.
- Unlike conventional servers like Apache HTTP Server, Node.js uses a single-threaded application, allowing the same software to handle a far higher volume of requests.
- Applications built with Node.js never use buffers; instead, they send out data in part
Benefits of Using Node.js for your Project
There are several reasons for adopting Node.js for server-side programming, and with the experience, Fetchly labs (a software development company) has with using Nodejs, the benefits will be discussed in greater detail;
1. Node.js provides Simple Scalability.
One of the main reasons Fetchly Developers find it easy to use Node.js is that it allows them to scale apps in both horizontal and vertical orientations. Since the applications may be grown horizontally by adding more nodes to the current system, additionally, Node.js gives the developers a choice to add more resources to individual nodes while vertically scaling their applications. As a result, it offers more significant options than other JavaScript servers and is very scalable.
2. Node.js is utilized as a single programming language.
Developers have the option of building server-side JavaScript apps thanks to Node.js. As a result, this enables the developers at Fetchly to quickly create JavaScript runtime environments for both the front-end and back-end of web applications. With Node. js, there is no need to use any additional server-side programming languages. Since nearly all online browsers support JavaScript, it also simplifies web app deployment.
3. Node.js is Cost effective
Since JavaScript is among the most widely used programming languages, most front-end developers are proficient in it. They find it much easier to begin using Node.js on the backend. One Fetchly developer can create both the front-end and back-end of a web application using Node.js since it doesn’t take time to learn. Therefore, neither the front-end nor the back-end development needs to be outsourced.
How to get started with Node.js as a developer
Knowing how to start with Node.js is vital if you feel that understanding it will help you advance your career.
- Since Node is written in JavaScript, you can begin by studying the JavaScript language.
- You'll understand how Node operates after you realize why it is called Node. It's called Node because it's used to create basic single-process units called nodes. These nodes may be scaled up to create massively distributed applications and arranged using effective networking protocols for communicating with one another.
- You need to know how asynchronous I/O operations are carried out in Node with the lines of code following a non-blocking pattern.
- Learn how to utilize the libraries that come with node to perform a variety of tasks such as operating a streaming-capable web server with "HTTP," running a TCP server and programming sockets with "net," reading/writing files with "fs," and many others.
- Once you feel confident with Node, try handling as many scenarios as you can.
Final Thoughts
While Node.js is a broad topic that cannot be covered thoroughly in a single introductory tutorial, this article covers some main areas to help you get started. In summary, Node is a wonderful choice for applications requiring many concurrent connections and waiting on I/O (input/output).
The npm registry is expanding regularly, which means more modules are available for usage. Node.js is a terrific technology to be familiar with, and the opportunities are virtually limitless due to its large community.
*This is not the official Fetchly opinion but the opinion of the writer who is employed by Fetchly*