JavaScript is undoubtedly one of the most important front-end development technologies that are widely used in web development. It is so popular in web development that many JavaScript-based frameworks and libraries have been devised to simplify, expedite, and scale up web development projects. Being a core web development technology, JavaScript is essential to create varied websites and web applications. NodeJS is a popular JavaScript-based platform to develop web apps with extensive functionalities. NodeJS development framework is becoming a prominent choice for writing JavaScript and creating out-of-the-box web applications.
What is NodeJS and where is it used?
NodeJS is a very powerful JavaScript-based web development platform that is used to develop a wide range of web applications like online chat apps, single-page apps, video streaming sites, and other kinds of web apps. The platform is built on Google Chrome’s JavaScript-based V8 engine and is used by large enterprises including many well-established entities. It is a free and open-source platform with a lot of excellent benefits. We can also define NodeJS as a cross-platform and open-source JavaScript environment and library.
The main use of NodeJS is to create server-side web applications and it is a good choice for data-intensive web apps because it utilizes an event-driven and asynchronous model. The following are some rational reasons why NodeJS is a premier choice for many developers to create varied web solutions.
- Offer fast speed
NodeJS is fast. Because this platform is built on Google Chrome’s V8 engine, the code execution speed is very fast for its library. Thus NodeJS runs pretty fast to compile JavaScript code into machine code. Enterprises looking to hire web developers can expect to create fast and flexible network-based applications that are capable of handling several connections simultaneously.
- Easy to get functionalities
NodeJS offers Node Package Manager or NPM that makes it quite easy to fetch new packages to get additional functionalities for NodeJS projects. NPM offers above 50,000 bundles, so whichever functionality is required for a web app can be obtained by importing through NPM. It enables developers to refresh, share, and reuse code effectively. You can actually check out some IT experts for a help if you are not an expert on this field.
- Use asynchronous programming
In the NodeJS library, every API is asynchronous or non-blocking which means a NodeJS server need not wait for the API to return any data. The API is called by the server and if no data is returned then it is moved to the next API; the service gets a response from the past API call with the help of the Events module of NodeJS. It also increases the speed of the platform.
- Buffering is eliminated
Processing time for uploading video or audio files is reduced dramatically with NodeJS. Apps built with NodeJS don’t buffer data and these apps simply output data in chunks. It offers a great data streaming speed that makes apps faster. NodeJS is good at handling I/O processes enabling users to transcode media files at the same time when they are being uploaded.
- Single-threaded platform
NodeJS utilizes a single-threaded model in conjunction with event looping. Consequently, it offers service to lots of requests as compared to the legacy servers like Apache HTTP Server. Thus NodeJS can handle the heavy load easily. It is useful in developing real-time applications that are required to manage multiple concurrent connections without compromising the speed. NodeJS comes with all the necessary tools to create performance-driven web apps in less time.
- Very scalable
The NodeJS platform responds in a non-blocking way that makes it very scalable as compared to traditional servers. It handles requests with limited threads. One can utilize this web app platform to create scalable and feature-rich web apps.
Types of web app solutions you can create with NodeJS
NodeJS is a superb tool to create diverse web apps and other solutions that can give an edge to your business in the market. The following are some types of web solutions that can be built using NodeJS.
Single-Page Applications
You can take advantage of NodeJS to build high-end single-page applications that offer better response time due to the ability to share data easily between the server and the client. The platform offers excellent capabilities to develop single-page applications as per clients’ requirements.
Run classic web apps
As NodeJS can carry HTML data very quickly, loading and running the classic web apps on the server becomes easy. It can be beneficial by creating SEO-friendly content. Hence, the platform is a convenient choice to run class web apps on a server that is not possible otherwise.
Good for chats or RTAs
NodeJS is a robust tool for creating real-time applications or chat apps with extensive functionality. You can take advantage of this top-notch platform to develop many high-end real-time chat apps and other messaging interfaces. Hence you choose the NodeJS development framework to build excellent real-time chat apps.
Develop APIs
Developers can take advantage of the web services interface of databases with the help of JSON/REST. This helps in removing all hurdles related to the conversion among multiple platforms. So, you can develop robust APIs using the NodeJS platform.
Proxy deployment
When needed Node can be deployed as a proxy which is helpful in handling connections without any blockades. It is a helpful strategy in the case when you want to create a web app that relies on other external services for importing and exporting a huge chunk of data. Thus NodeJS is a feasible platform if you wish to develop such kind of web solutions.
Build dashboards
Adding a custom dashboard with elegant functionality allows an entrepreneur to engage the audience in his/her web app. To provide this functionality along with the monitoring of the web app, NodeJS can be a boon. It offers a blend of excellent features and the capability to track user actions. It allows apps to visualize user interactions in real-time then provide the desired response based on the actions of the users.
What is the good use of NodeJS?
It is an ideal solution for creating websites and web apps that require synchronous and real-time interactions. Chat applications or websites are good examples of these kinds of solutions because they often have heavy IO operations. Besides this, Node is also useful to develop the front-end for web APIs through REST. The platform is optimized for event-driven IO.
Let’s wrap up!
NodeJS is a premier JavaScript-based library and server-side development platform that is widely used for the creation of a myriad of web solutions. It is one of the underlying technologies in MEAN and MERN stacks that are used for developing different types of web apps and other solutions. You can choose the right NodeJS development company to create an out-of-box web app for your business. It offers lots of benefits and functionality that are quite useful in the development of web applications.
Though in this blog we just covered a small fraction of what NodeJS is, what it can do, and what benefits you can get by using it, there is still a lot to discuss. It has many attractive features like NPM which allows it to manage and obtain different packages for your web application and add extensive functionalities to your web app easily.
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Author Bio
Ethan is a well-experienced NodeJS developer working at CSSChopper. He holds great experience in working with varied NodeJS projects and eager to work on challenging projects. He also has an interest in writing and composes informative and quality blogs and articles in his free time. He wants to spread knowledge through his content.
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