What is Node.js : A Comprehensive Guide.

utsavFebruary 14, 2023

0 15 5 minutes read

What is Node.js?

Node.js is an open-source, cross-platform JavaScript runtime environment and library that is use to run web applications outside of the client’s browser. Ryan Dahl designed it in 2009, and version 15.14 of it became accessible in April of 2021. Node.js is a server-side web application framework that programmers use to create data-intensive apps because it has an asynchronous, event-driven design.Let’s look into Node now that we are familiar with it and see why it is so popular in web development.If you want to do a course in nodejs, then you can visit our IT institute Simba, which provides the best training in nodejs course in surat.

Why Do We Use NodeJs?

For the server side of our application, we prefer to use NodeJs for a number of reasons, some of which are cover here.

The V8 engine from Google Chrome is use in the construction of NodeJs, which produces an extraordinarily quick execution time.
Developers can save a lot of time by instantly importing any of the more than 50,000 bundles in the Node Package Manager that correspond to the functionality they need.
Because NodeJs does not require waiting for an API to return data, it is extremely beneficial for creating real-time and data-intensive web apps. It is fully non-blocking because it is entirely asynchronous.
NodeJs reduces the time it takes for audio and video files to load by increasing code synchronisation between the client and server due to their shared code base.
For developers who are already familiar with JavaScript, starting projects using NodeJs is relatively simple because it is open-source and only a JavaScript framework.

Features of NodeJs

Let’s now talk about some of NodeJs’ features:

Asynchronous in nature and event-driven: Servers built using Node.js never have to wait for API responses. Without waiting for the previous API’s data, it moves right on to the next one. As a result, the full set of NodeJS APIs is non-blocking. To gather and maintain track of all the responses to prior API calls, it uses an event-driven methodology. We may infer that all NodeJs APIs are non-blocking because they all are.
Single Threaded Architecture: NodeJs is more scalable since it sticks to a single threaded architecture with event looping. They process requests using fewer threads than other servers do. For the event-driven approach, the NodeJS servers reply in a non-blocking or asynchronous manner, which increases NodeJS’s scalability. When compared to other traditional servers like Apache HTTP servers, NodeJs can be claim to be able to handle more queries. NodeJS runs a single threaded programme, allowing it to handle several requests at once.
Scalable: Most companies now desire scalable software. NodeJs addresses scalability, one of the most crucial problems in software development. Concurrent requests can be manag fairly well with NodeJs. To provide load balancing across all of the active CPU cores, NodeJs uses a cluster module. NodeJs’s ability to partition programmes horizontally, which is primarily made feasible by the use of child processes, is by far its most enticing feature. This feature allows for customization so that several app versions can be suppli to the various target markets, catering to their preferences.
The V8 JavaScript runtime motor, also utilised by Google Chrome and NodeJs, allows code to be perform quickly. The hub offers a JavaScript wrapper that accelerates the NodeJs runtime motor and, as a result, speeds up the initial processing of requests.
Cross-platform compatibility: NodeJs is interoperable with many different operating systems and mobile devices, including Windows, UNIX, LINUX, MacOS, and others. Any acceptable package can be integrat with it to provide a self-sufficient execution.
Employs JavaScript: It is essential from an engineering standpoint that this framework utilise JavaScript for NodeJs. Most developers are already familiar with JavaScript, thus learning NodeJs is considerably easier for them.
Fast Data Streaming: Data that has been transferred to numerous streams must be processed slowly. The data is processed fast and in a short amount of time with NodeJs, on the other hand. NodeJs saves a lot of time because it simultaneously processes and uploads the files. As a result, NodeJs increases the overall speed of data and video streaming.
No Buffering: Applications using NodeJs never buffer data.

Node.js Express Framework

Express is a powerful Node.js web application framework that provides a wide range of features for building both web and mobile applications. This layer, built on top of Node.js, helps with server and route management.

Now consider a few of the Express framework’s essential components:

used to build hybrid, single-page, and multi-page web applications, allows middleware to be installed to handle HTTP requests, and describes a routing table that is used to do different tasks depending on the HTTP mode and URL.
permits the use of template parameters to render HTML pages dynamically.

Check out a simple “Hello World” programme made with the Express framework to get a better understanding of the technology.

The var express variable is used to import the Express framework into our Node.js application. get(): Callback function with the request’s target and “request” and “response” parameters With properties for the query string, HTTP headers, parameters, and the content, it serves as a representation of the HTTP request.
What causes a reaction is: An HTTP request is represent by the HTTP response that the application returns when it is receiv by an Express app.
The application will listen on the specifi port, in this example “8081,” which is held by the variables “host” and “port,” respectively.
console.log: The address and port will be show in the terminal or command prompt after doing this.

Let’s move on to the use cases of Node.js now that we’ve learned about the Express framework.

Who Uses NodeJs?

As of 2022, more than 15 well-known companies are using NodeJs.

NASA, Trello, Netflix, PayPal, LinkedIn, Walmart, Uber, Twitter, Yahoo, eBay, GoDaddy, and other organisations use NodeJs.

When Can We Use NodeJS?

when the CPU time spent by the server side code is quite low. We make sure that non-blocking processes don’t contain any CPU-demanding operations or algorithms.

If we have experience developing client-side JavaScript and feel comfortable writing single threaded code.

Tell us now when using NodeJs is not a good idea:

NodeJS is a relatively CPU-hungry application, making it a poor choice for intensive computing. Other better alternatives to NodeJs exist for CPU-intensive applications.

The fact that NodeJS uses an event-base, non-blocking I/O architecture and only uses one CPU will actually cause the incoming request to be stopped by the high CPU processing activity.

When using NodeJs with straightforward HTML applications or scripts, there is no need to have high expectations. NodeJs will make the application more scalable, but there is no reason to expect a traffic surge solely because of that. Because the server is providing the data directly in this case, using NodeJs is not necessary, especially because a distinct API is not requir.
NodeJs is by no means a wise solution for tasks requiring relational database access. The relational database tools provided by NodeJs are not as robust, trustworthy, or user-friendly as those provided by competing frameworks.

Let’s now walk through the NodeJs installation process.

As a result, installing NodeJs requires us to follow a relatively straightforward process. This may be done using the NodeJs installer package, which is available on the business website.