A lens view on using Node.js for the backend development, with reason, and use cases!
Node.js is an open-source JavaScript run-time environment that supports the creation of dynamic web applications, making use of a single thread to process tasks quickly. It has one of the largest ecosystems composed of the largest set of open-source libraries in the world. Node.js applications allow both clients and servers to interact in real-time (state-full request-response requests) with free data exchange.
Node.js makes use of readily pluggable modules, reducing the overall development time. It is chosen as a server-side web development platform, allowing usage of the same tools and paradigms for both server-side and client-side software. Node.js web development focuses on Node.js 14, Express 4.x, ECMAScript.
What problems does it solve?
While the purpose of every runtime environment, framework, or programming language is to curate an application that is specific to the user’s needs. Node.js is a cross-platform runtime environment that runs on JavaScript. Node.js code is scalable. It is good for creating (1) API’s, (2) microservices, (3) real-time apps. This makes Node.js a trustworthy framework, implemented for building customer specific software solutions, ensuring scalability, stability, flexibility, reliability.
Where is it used?
Using Node.js for backend, frontend in web development offers scalability, speed, flexibility, leading to increased developer productivity, a large library ecosystem, and efficient handling of concurrent requests, particularly for applications requiring real-time functionality like chat or streaming services.
Why is Node.js preferred?
Buoyed up by the demand to have one programming language that is usable across server and client sides of the application, Node.js developers are ever more in demand. It has the ability to handle a large volume of concurrent requests efficiently using its non-blocking, event-driven architecture, making it ideal for building scalable real-time applications, while also allowing developers to use JavaScript on both the front-end and back-end, which simplifies development and promotes collaboration across teams; additionally, its lightweight nature and fast performance based on the V8 JavaScript engine contribute to its popularity.
Node.js is cost-effective, reliable, and a quick fix for web application development like React and Flutter. It features (1) ASYNC hook, (2) NPM, (3) Node_report, (4) the single-threaded model, and (5) Node_option.
Building server-side web apps with Node.js involves deploying the app to real web servers, including a cloud hosting platform built on AWS EC2 using Terraform and Docker Swarm, while integrating other tools such as Redis and NGINX. Deploying test infrastructure includes unit and functional testing using Docker. Also hardening Node.js app security by encrypting HTTPS service, and implementing several forms of app security with the help of expert practices.
Frameworks are used for rapid prototyping, robust backend development, or managing complex front-end interactions. They excel at building REST APIs, real-time applications, complex data processing, or full-stack development. Express, Koa, Sails, Meteor, and Hapi are a few examples.
Preferred, because?
Node.js has open-source libraries that simplify the development. It uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model to handle multiple requests simultaneously without blocking the main thread, ideal for applications with high concurrency. Powered by Google’s V8 JavaScript engine, Node.js provides decent execution speed, which makes applications responsive.
Node.js is ideal for microservice development, due to its event-driven, asynchronous I/O model which allows it to handle multiple requests concurrently without blocking the main thread.
In Node.js, an event-driven architecture (with event loop, non-blocking I/O, and eventemitter class) means a system design where applications respond to events (like user actions, data changes, or network requests) by triggering specific functions or callbacks, allowing for efficient handling of multiple concurrent operations without blocking the main thread, making it ideal for building real-time applications like chat systems, websockets, and live updates due to its asynchronous, non-blocking I/O nature and ability to handle numerous connections simultaneously.
Node.js lets you create solid server-side applications. Be considerate to avoid common mistakes and use proven patterns to create production-grade Node.js applications.
Nodejs has asynchronous event-driven architecture, which lets you create asynchronous control flow patterns with callbacks, promises, and async/await.
Nodejs streams let you create data-driven asynchronous processing pipelines, implement well-known software design patterns to create production-grade applications, share code between Node.js and the browser and take advantage of full-stack JavaScript.
Node.js also builds and scales microservices and distributed systems. In conjunction with assistive technologies like – LevelDB, Redis, RabbitMQ, ZeroMQ,
Node.js resurfaces productivity, design quality, and scalability.
How to use Node.js as a backend development?
(Ordered list)
- Select Node.js frameworks like Express.js, NestJS, or Koa provide a structured way to build web applications by handling routing, middleware, and error handling.
- Use the http module in Node.js to create a basic web server that listens for incoming requests on a specific port.
- Define routes using your chosen framework to handle different HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) and send appropriate responses back to the client.
- Connect your Node.js backend to a database (like MongoDB, PostgreSQL, etc.) to store and retrieve data.
Why is it preferred?
A Node.js web development company excels in creating single-page applications and developing real-time applications, APIs, data streaming services, microservices, chatbots, and complex web applications. Its event-driven architecture and JavaScript foundation allow developers to handle asynchronous requests quickly and efficiently. The non-blocking I/O model efficiently manages I/O-bound tasks, enabling seamless data transfer between the server and client. Using JavaScript on both the frontend and backend streamlines the development process and promotes code reuse. Additionally, the large community and extensive ecosystem of libraries and frameworks empower developers to achieve rapid development and ensure scalability.
When to use Node.js?
- Real-time applications like chat systems, online games, and live streaming
- APIs with high concurrency
- Data-intensive applications that require fast response times
- Microservices architecture
When not to use Node.js as a backend development?
If your application needs to perform heavy computational tasks like complex image processing or large data crunching, avoid using Node.js because its single-threaded design can lead to significant performance bottlenecks when handling intensive CPU-bound operations.
But while using Node.js for heavy computational tasks, consider that Node.js uses a single thread to handle all incoming requests, which means if one task requires a lot of CPU power, it can block other requests from being processed, causing latency spikes.
While Node.js excels at managing I/O-bound tasks (like database queries or network requests) where waiting for data is involved, it struggles with CPU-bound tasks where the CPU is actively calculating for extended periods. But besides Node.js, you may also choose to use Java, C++, Golang (Go), or Python (with NumPy, and SciPy), which have dedicated libraries for heavy computation depending on your specific requirements and project needs.
Main Findings
Node.js was created to fulfill a certain purpose – to devise a system for building websites with real-time push capability. This is exactly the case of the Gmail mail-server application. For this very reason, the event-driven paradigm became the heart of Node.js. platforms like PayPal, Netflix, Uber, eBay, LinkedIn, Groupon, Walmart, Twitter, Medium, Trello, Yahoo, Mozilla, GoDaddy, and Airbnb are considered prominent examples of applications developed using Node.js; include NASA and Medium as well in this list. The future looks promising for Node.js development services, offering numerous career prospects across various areas, including back-end development, front-end development, UX/UI design, server management, and full-stack development. The demand for professionals who can code both server and client sides using a single programming language is on the rise.
