Node.js is an open-source, cross-platform, JavaScript runtime environment that is used for developing server-side and networking applications. It allows you to run JavaScript code outside a web browser. You can build highly scalable JavaScript applications by using this platform. Node.js runs on the v8 JavaScript runtime engine. You can convert your JavaScript code into a faster machine code with the help of this engine.
Furthermore, Node.js provides a vast library set of JavaScript modules, which makes the development process easy. You can build different types of applications like command-line applications, web applications, real-time chat applications, etc., with the help of Node.js.
In this article, we are going to discuss important topics related to Node.js, such as its history, its features, usage of Node.js, its architecture, its applications, and many more. Let’s begin.
History of Node.js
Node.js was written in 2009 by Ryan Dahl. At that time, popular web servers like the Apache HTTP server were unable to handle the excessive concurrent connections. Moreover, the first server-side JavaScript environment, Netscape’s LiveWire, was also not proved successful in creating dynamic pages with server-side JavaScript. All these reasons led to the idea of developing Node.js, and Dahl presented it in November 2009.
In January 2010, the first package manager for the Node.js environment called npm was introduced. The package manager simplifies the process of installation, updating, and uninstallation of packages. Further, it also enables the programmers to share the source code of Node.js packages. In the same year, the Node.js web development framework, Express.js was launched.
Now almost every year, a new framework of Node.js is being released with added new features. Some of these frameworks are Connect, Sails.js, Koa.js, Express.js, Feathers.js, and many more. Its support for many open-source libraries makes it very popular among developers. There is also a vast community that supports Node.js through many developer events like Node.js Interactive, Node.js Summit, and many more.
Features of Node.js
After discussing the history of Node.js, now is the time to discuss the key features of this runtime environment, which allows you to create real-time-based, highly scalable applications. Let’s start.
1. Asynchronous
This is the main feature of Node.js. By asynchronous, we mean that Node.js is non-blocking in nature. If the server receives a request from a client, then only a single thread handles that request. It is also checked by the thread if there is any database interaction made in the request. After that request is processed, the response is sent back to the client by the server. Then the server moves to the subsequent request.
2. Event-driven
Node.js follows the event-driven approach. An event handler function is called when the code in an event is triggered. This feature helps us to implement event-driven programming. The notification mechanism of Events of Node.js helps the server to receive and track the responses of previous API calls.
3. Single-threaded
Node.js is based on the single-threaded event loop model. All the non-blocking operations in Node.js are performed by the event loop. This event loop is executed by a single-threaded program, and the same program can handle large amounts of input-output work.
4. Cross-platform Compatibility
Node.js is compatible with multiple platforms like Windows, Unix, Linux, etc. If developed with the correct structure, you can incorporate it with different packages to generate a self-reliant executable.
5. Performance
Node.js is a lightweight tool that allows us to develop applications in a much faster way. You can implement the code easier and quicker in Node.js because it is built on the v8 JavaScript engine. The concepts like asynchronous programming and the use of events also make the performance high and fast. Furthermore, the Node.js library is also very fast in code execution.
6. Scalable
Node.js applications are highly scalable, which is the need of most businesses nowadays. All the requests are handled by a single thread in Node.js, which takes care of all the concurrent requests quickly. By using Node.js, you can split the software with the help of child processes which helps the businesses to develop different application versions for different types of audiences.
Where Can We Use Node.js?
Node.js is widely used in many applications such as real-time applications, web streaming applications, chat rooms, high-speed applications, browser games, and many more. You can also add, delete, and modify data in the databases with the help of Node.js. Here is a list of some popular uses of Node.js.
1. Real-time Applications
For developing real-time applications, Node.js is the best choice. Real-time messaging and chatting can be done with the help of Node.js efficiently because of its high speed and performance. Heavy traffic of short messages can be easily handled by Node.js.
2. Streaming Applications
Node.js is perfectly suitable for streaming applications. Video and audio media files are processed at a very high speed while being uploaded by using applications of Node.js. Built-in modules of Node.js allow you to create both readable and writable data streams.
3. IoT Application Development
Node.js is also used for developing public and private IoT solution systems. Because of its fast and powerful ability to process several concurrent requests, Node.js is capable of handling large data flows of IoT networks.
4. Chat Rooms
You can easily create chat rooms with the help of Node.js. Exclusive advanced functionalities provided by Node.js helps to create chat rooms effectively. You can also create chat rooms not only for social media platforms but also for online games with the help of Node.js.
5. The Back-end for Social Media Networking
You can also use Node.js to create the back-end for social media networking sites. The V8 engine of Node.js provides fast routing scalability with secure authentication in these platforms.
Architecture of Node.js
After discussing the uses of Node.js, it’s time to discuss its architecture. Node.js is a popular JavaScript runtime platform that is built on Google Chrome’s v8 engine. Node.js uses “Single Threaded Event Loop” architecture to handle several concurrent clients.
Asynchronous models and non-blocking input-output operations are the other main features of its architecture. These features enhance the scalability and performance of applications. Let’s discuss the parts of Node.js architecture.
1. Requests
First, clients send requests to the web server. These requests can be blocking (complex) or non-blocking (simple) depending on the tasks that the user wants to perform.
2. Node.js Server
Node.js web server is a server-side platform that maintains a limited thread pool to handle all requests. It takes requests from clients, processes them, and then returns the responses to the clients.
3. Event Queue
Node.js server places all the requests into a queue. This queue is known as the event queue. All these requests are then sent one-by-one to the event loop.
4. Thread Pool
All the threads that are required to perform operations to process requests are put in the thread pool. Node.js picks up one thread from the thread pool and assigns this thread to client requests. Only one thread executes the code; that’s why it is called single-threaded architecture.
5. Event Loop
The event loop is the heart of the Node.js processing model. It uses a single thread only to perform tasks. The execution of callbacks is done by the event loop. The event loop receives requests from the event queue, processes them, and sends the responses to the clients.
6. External Resources
Some external resources are also used in Node.js architecture to tackle blocking client requests. Data storage, computation, or any other type can be used as external resources.
Node.js Syntax
As we know, Node.js is an open-source, cross-platform, JavaScript runtime environment. So all the JavaScript syntax is supported by Node.js. You can run, test, and debug JavaScript code outside a browser with the help of Node.js. There is no difference in the syntax of JavaScript and Node.js. Let’s discuss Node.js syntax in detail.
1. Primitive Types
Primitive types refer to the data types in the programming languages. Primitive types used in Node.js are String, Number, Boolean, Undefined, Null, and RegExp. All the other things are objects in Node.js.
2. Variables
Use var keyword to declare a variable of any type. You can print variables using the console.log() command. Example:
var a = “hello”;
console.log(a);
3. Comments
You can give a single-line comment in Node.js by using double slash (//). Double line comments are provided by using /*…*/.
4. Concatenation of Strings
You can concatenate the string variables by using the + operator. Example:
var a = “hello”;
var b = “world”;
console.log(a + b);
5. Buffer
An additional data type used in Node.js is buffer. If you are reading a file over the network, then to store binary data, the buffer data type is used.
6. Modules
Modules are the set of functions included in an application. Node.js has a rich collection of built-in modules. You can also include and create modules in Node.js. To include a module in the Node.js application, use the following command.
var ab = require(‘http’);
Here the ‘require’ function is used to include the module, and HTTP is the module that we have in the application.
You can also create your modules to include them in your application. Example:
exports.myDateTime = function()
{
return Date();
};
The above module will return the current date and time.
7. Events Module
To create-, fire-, and listen- to your events, the events module is used in Node.js. It is a built-in module in Node.js. Example:
var xyz = require(‘events’); // to include the event module
var abc = new xyz.EventEmitter(); // to access all properties and methods of event
8. URL Module
You can split a web address into readable parts by using the URL module in Node.js. Use the require() method to include this in your application and use the URL.parse() method to parse an address to it.
9. Upload Files
You can easily upload files in Node.js by using the Formidable module. You can download it and install this module using Node Package Manager (NPM). You can easily include it by using the require () method.
10. Functions
Functions in Node.js are similar to JavaScript. You can assign properties and attributes to functions. In Node.js, functions are treated as a class. Example:
function print(a)
{
console.log(a);
}
print(50);
11. Objects
You can also create objects in Node.js. The syntax of creating objects in Node.js is similar to JavaScript. Example:
var obj = { flowername: ‘Rose’ , colour: ‘Red’ }
10 Popular Applications that Use Node.js
Node.js is a popular choice among developers for developing fast and scalable Internet applications. Small to big organizations use Node.js for developing the back-end of their applications.
Furthermore, Node.js provides developers with a quick and modern way to develop projects. You can create almost all types of applications with Node.js, such as social media applications, online games, and real-time tracking apps. Some big companies that are using Node.js in their applications are:
1. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the most prominent social networking platform for business and employment. LinkedIn uses Node.js on the server-side of their mobile applications. LinkedIn wanted to optimize their mobile apps, so they switched from Ruby on Rails to Node.js. New mobile applications built using Node.js are giving better performance and consume lower memory. Moreover, they are more efficient and scalable than their previous versions made in Ruby on Rails.
2. Netflix
Netflix is another big name using Node.js in its applications. Netflix is a video streaming platform for TV shows and movies. They have millions of subscribers and have to handle a large number of requests daily. So they decided to choose Node.js for their whole user interface to reduce the start-up time of their applications. Node.js speeds up the development process and also enables user customization in their applications.
3. Uber
Uber, the transportation network company, was one of the first companies that used the framework of Node.js in full production. Fast processing speed, ease of error-checking, and better data processing capabilities of Node.js make the Uber applications fast and reliable. Asynchronous input-output and single-threaded event loop features of Node.js enable Uber to handle several requests and notifications easily.
4. PayPal
PayPal, the most popular online payment service, is also using Node.js in its applications. The main reason behind this is PayPal wanted a single language for both the browser and server. So they switched from Java to JavaScript and Node.js in 2013. The application development time increases twice with fewer lines of code by using Node.js. Now Uber can also handle double the number of requests per second.
5. eBay
Another big name using Node.js in their application is eBay, an online shopping website. eBay is using Node.js for its tech stack. Millions of users buy products from eBay via online transactions. To maintain live connections to servers to handle these requests, eBay switched to Node.js. The use of Node.js helps eBay to increase the speed, simplicity, and scalability of its applications.
6. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is a famous domain registrar and web hosting company. GoDaddy uses Node.js in its back-end infrastructure. To handle multiple domains efficiently, GoDaddy switched to Node.js from Apache. With the use of Node.js, the quality of the applications is maintained, and integration tests are also done quickly. So the applications of GoDaddy can now handle the same load with less hardware usage.
7. NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) built their own end-to-end data system with the help of Node.js. They created a microservice architecture with separate APIs. With the use of Node.js, they moved everything to the cloud, and now users can query that one database for everything. Further, it reduces the data access time.
8. Mozilla
Mozilla, the prevalent open-source software community, also uses Node.js for its web applications. Many web applications of Mozilla, such as Mozilla Persona Mozilla Firefox, use Node.js as their primary language because of its ease of use and memory capacity features.
9. Groupon
Groupon, the popular e-commerce company, also uses Node.js in its applications. Because of the complications in maintaining the applications, they migrated from Ruby on Rails to Node.js stack. Now with the use of Node.js, applications of Groupon can handle much higher traffic with fast speed and less hardware usage.
10. Medium
Online publishing platform, Medium uses Node.js in its web servers. Now with the use of Node.js, they can speed up the deployment time and can share code between the server-side and client-side. These features provide ease to developers.
Where Not to Use Node.js?
After discussing the applications that we can develop using Node.js and the famous companies that are using Node.js in their projects, now is the time to discuss applications where we can not use Node.js. Here is the list.
1. Heavy Computation Tasks
If you are making an application that includes heavy computational tasks, then Node.js is not the best choice for developing. As we know, Node.js includes single-threaded and event-loop features, so the heavy computation can block the single-thread running on the application and can also stop the progress of the event loop.
All the other requests have to wait for their turn for the processing, which further leads to slow processing. That’s why Node.js is not suitable for applications where heavy computations are required.
2. Back-ends with Relational Databases
Relational database tools of Node.js are not reliable, efficient, and robust if we compare them to other languages. So, it is not a good choice to use Node.js for developing the back-ends of relational databases.
Matured data mapper and out-of-the-box data access setup tools of other frameworks are available to make the development process easy for these applications. That’s why it is good to use other frameworks instead of Node.js for this type of development.
3. Simple HTML Application
In a simple HTML application, there is no need to use Node.js, because, in these types of applications, data is provided directly by the server. Use of a highly scalable framework like Node.js is not required for these applications. There are other frameworks available that are best suitable for the development of these applications.
Future of Node.js
Node.js is one of the most popular frameworks in the world. The asynchronous processing model of Node.js makes it the developer’s first choice to build large-scale applications. For the development of real-time web applications, Node.js is the best option among other programming languages. There are many other reasons to ensure that Node.js will remain popular in the future also.
The very first reason for its bright future is that many popular companies like PayPal, Netflix, LinkedIn, eBay, and many more are using Node.js to develop their web applications. Furthermore, in almost all areas like embedded, data science, artificial learning, and machine learning, Node.js is being used. The fast speed of Node.js to exchange data between the client and server makes it suitable for developing real-time applications also.
In today’s time, the fast development of applications is a much-needed feature. With the help of Node.js, developers can make applications faster because Node.js is based on Google’s v8 JavaScript engine, which is well known for its development and execution speed. In short, we can say that with quick execution, optimum utilization of memory, flexibility, high-level security features, and huge community support, Node.js will remain popular among developers.
Conclusion
Now at the end of this article, you know why Node.js is the best option for back-end and real-time development programs. Its high performance, easy scalability, and highly extensible features make it popular among big enterprises. Moreover, its event-driven, single-threaded, and asynchronous features make it a highly scalable platform for developing applications.
In addition, Node.js is convenient to work with because by using it, programmers can use the same coding language for front-end and back-end development. In this article, we have covered all the topics to highlight Node.js features, usage, applications, and many more. We hope this article helps you in understanding Node.js in a better way.