Node.js is a cross-platform and mobile-friendly scripting language that is used to develop a wide range of applications. With the ability to manage multiple requests simultaneously, it is well known for fast code execution, making it the most sought-after among developers.
Node.js has a strong community and bug-tracking team, having its own modules and tools that are easily available on Node Package Manager (NPM).
Here’s an elaboration of 8 benefits of Node.js.
Let us look at the above points one by one:
Node.js is popular for using JavaScript as its primary language to build web applications. Node.js web development can only be possible with the JavaScript language.
Since JavaScript is a language that most developers know or have used at some point, the transition from another web technology to Node.js is a cakewalk. This makes it a preferred choice among web developers.
Node.js is primarily a JavaScript runtime powered by V8 and developed by Google in Chrome. V8 can compile and execute JavaScript at lightning-fast speed because of compiled into a native machine code. Node.js has a magical event loop, a single thread asynchronously performing all I/O operations.
In Node.js, when an application has to perform an I/O operation, it sends asynchronous tasks and callback actions to the event loop and then continues to perform the rest of the program. On completion of the sync operation, the event loop automatically returns to the task to execute the callback. This traditional looping consumes much memory and is difficult to execute.
Thus, reading/writing to file systems, network connections and the database is executed quickly in Node.js. It allows Node.js developers to build agile and highly scalable network applications capable of handling bulk amounts of simultaneous connections having high throughput.
Most Useful Node.js Packages for Beginners
Node.js is a series of asynchronous callbacks that uses a basic event-driven architecture which means everything executed on it (every single operation and call). This enables Node.js to run on a single thread, unlike other web technologies where a new thread is spawned for every client request. It reduces the lines of code and forms the foundation of Node’s non-blocking I/O feature.
Node.js has gained popularity among users in recent years. Several cloud-based hosting providers and web servers that support web applications built on Node out-of-the-box, including Google, Amazon AWS, Heroku, Microsoft IIS, Microsoft Azure and more.
Traditionally built applications become less adaptive and rigid over time. Eventually, they start creaking under the stress they were not built for. With Node.js, many small applications can be built that allow you to make changes or add new functionality without making any changes inside the code-base.
Node.js is designed with scalable network applications in mind to handle many concurrent requests. Because of this reason, it quickly became popular among developers and large companies. It can handle multiple requests simultaneously without straining the server. A callback is fired only after a request, but if there are no more jobs to be done, Node.js will go to sleep. Node.js is only online when needed to avoid unnecessary usage of your RAM.
The ability to build flexible apps that run smoothly on any platform – Linux, Windows or Mac OS – gives Node.js a big thumbs up. There has been a rise in cross-platform app development in the last few years.
Node.js web development may not provide everything you need. Instead, you can customise or add what you need over time to prevent having unnecessary libraries. Npm - Node package manager is the default package manager in Node.js.
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