Why you should learn Node.js
JavaScript is the most widely used programming language and software development tool. Originally developed as a frontend tool for web development, it has evolved into a prominent cross-platform mobile development tool that serves as a foundation for a variety of platforms, including PhoneGap/Apache Cordova, NativeScript, React Native, and Appcelerator Titanium.
However, JavaScript’s applications are not just limited here. The side of JavaScript as a server programmer has recently gotten a lot of attention. Node.js was the guiding light that led this revolution of web development.
So to answer the main question: What exactly is Node.js?
The interesting fact is that Node.js’s runtime environment (RTE) is grounded on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine, rather than on a library or framework. Ryan Dahl originally demonstrated the technique at European JS Conference in 2009, and it was quickly written down as, “the most fascinating, one of a kind software in the era of JavaScript”.
Joyent supported Node.js as an open-source initiative which itself is a cloud computing and hosting solution provider. Recently server-side JavaScript with Node.js became widely adopted by almost all major tech businesses. According to Google Trends, a peak in the use of this technology was seen in 2017 and it seems to go up further with the passage of time. In short, it is more than awe-inspiring.
Why you should learn Node.js
Node.js stands out in its league due to the following reasons:
- Vigorous technology stack
Among the most recognized programming languages, JavaScript has proven to be undisputedly the most popular, which is a lot to achieve. As a result, Node.js has established itself as a revolutionized brand name in the business. According to the 2019 numbers report on Node.js with 368,985,999 downloads and 880 new contributors it has seemed to make a huge landmark. This is how quickly it has spread its roots. When you use node.js for your backend, you receive all of these benefits of a full-stack Javascript development
- Improved developer efficiency and productivity
- A large range of free tools for code sharing and reuse
- High performance and speed
- Knowledge exchange within a team is simple
- It is far more adaptable
- It is time-saving as the development is easy
- It is fast and reliable.
You only need minimal effort for JavaScript to begin programming the server-side. The same code can be used on the front and back-end if you wrap it up in modules and illustrate levels of abstractions with the same language on both sides.
2. Fast-processing
It is not an illusion that Node.js is very fast. If you need evidence then check out toptal.com’s performance tests to see how GO, PHP, Java, and node.js have handled co-occurring queries and how fast they all were answered. Node.js came first among them and these are the reasons why:
- V8 engine: The engine that was designed for the Chrome browser is the one that is integrated with Node.js. Chrome’s V8, which is developed in C++, is used to quickly compile JavaScript functions into machine code. With each passing year, V8 displays innovative changes in its performance, and Node.js tends to extract every benefit it can from it.
- Non-blocking Input/Output and asynchronous request handling: Node.js can handle requests quickly and process them as well due to this feature. The requests are handled without being blocked because of the Asynchronous processors. As a result, it can send a callback when a request is processed and continue delivering requests. This allows Node.js to take advantage of a single thread which leads to fast response times and parallel processing.
- Event-based model: Synchronization is quick when both the client and server use the same language, it is fruitful for event-based and real-time systems. node.js is a popular choice for online video games, chats, games conferences, and for all such applications that continuously require updating data, because of non-blocking asynchronous and single-threaded nature.
3. Scalable technology for microservices
Instead of creating one giant inflexible core, you can improve flexibility and lay out the groundwork for future growth by dividing the application functionality into smaller modules i.e microservices. This makes the integration of the new modules to the already present ones very simple and fast. This also leads to the smooth integration of new fundamentals of functionality to the applications. According to the report by the Node.js User Survey 2019, Node.js is the solution for delivering a microservices ecosystem and building new features to the already present technology.
4. Rich ecosystem
Node Package Manager (NPM) presents itself as an open-source JavaScript utility, which is very critical to the technology’s revolution. The Node.js ecosystem is very extensive in itself, with over 837,000 libraries present in the NPM archive and 10,000 new uploads every single week. According to the same statistics, NPM modules adds up to 97% of innovative web applications. And this is evidence of its undeniable developer appeal.
5. Strong corporate support
Joyent contributed to the development of Node.js. Its foundation was laid in 2015. IBM, Microsoft, PayPal, Fidelity, and SAP were the founding fathers of Node.js. The number of companies utilizing Node.js in their applications is steadily increasing. PayPal, Medium, Trello, Uber, and Zendesk are among the nearly 300 recognized companies on the list. There are a number of open source applications that have ever made it this far to the top and have received significant backing from the world’s most powerful corporations. And this indicates that Node.js has yet a lot to achieve.
Node.js has recently seen a lot of use in industrial software. Many significant businesses and multinational organizations, such as Capital One and NASA, have already implemented Node.js, despite the fact that there is still much debate about it. With products like IBM API Connect, Joyent’s Triton, NodeSources, Red Hat OpenShift, and RisingStack’s Trace, the enterprise Node.js roots continue to expand.
So far we have covered all the aspects that you need to know about Node.js and we have also covered grounds on why you should consider learning it. When compared to competitors like ASP.NET, Node.js has a lot of advantages. Work with Narsun Studios and give Node.js a try in your next project now that you know all it has to offer.
