What is Node.js?
Node.js is a cross-platform and open-source JavaScript runtime environment. The tool is very popular for just about any kind of project. The V8 JavaScript engine, the core of Google Chrome, runs outside the browser on Node.js. This allows Node.js to be very fast. Node.js applications are written in JavaScript and can run on OS X, Microsoft Windows, or Linux running the Node.js runtime. Node.js also includes a rich library of JavaScript modules which significantly simplifies the development of web applications using Node.js.
Node.js apps run in a single thread without creating new threads for every request. To prevent JavaScript code from blocking, Node.js provides a set of asynchronous I/O primitives in its standard library; as a result, blocking behaviour is the exception rather than the rule.
Node.js can handle thousands of concurrent connections with a single server without the need to manage thread concurrency, which could be a significant source of bugs.
Node.js has a unique advantage because millions of front-end developers who write JavaScript for the browser can now write server-side code along with client-side code without having to learn a completely different language.
History
Node.js was originally written by Ryan Dahl in 2009, about thirteen years after the introduction of Netscape’s LiveWire Pro Web, the first server-side JavaScript environment. The initial release supported only Linux and Mac OS X. Development and maintenance were led by Dahl and later sponsored by Joyent.
Despite being built at the right time and place, luck wasn’t the sole reason for Node.js’ popularity today. Several of its innovative ideas and approaches for JavaScript server-side development have already proven helpful to many developers.
Features of Node.js
Here are some of the features that make Node.js the first choice of software architects.
JavaScript: Node.js supports the JavaScript programming language
Open Source: Node.js is an open-source project with contributors around the world that actively maintain it
Everywhere: Node.js has been adapted to work in a wide variety of situations
Very Fast: Node.js library is very fast in code execution as it is built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript Engine.
Node.js uses asynchronous programming: Node.js APIs are all asynchronous (non-blocking), so a Node.js-based server does not wait for the API to return data. The server calls the API, and if no data is returned, it moves on to the next API. Node.js enables the server to receive a response to a previous API call through the Events module. This also speeds up Node.js.
Scalable: It is capable of scalability on a vast scale. Node.js is capable of handling countless simultaneous connections with high throughput since it is single-threaded.
No Buffering: Data is never buffered in Node.js applications. These programs simply output chunks of data.
Single-threaded: Node.js utilizes a single-threaded model and event looping. Therefore, it can handle a much larger number of requests than traditional servers such as Apache HTTP Server.
Where to Use Node.js?
The following are the areas where Node.js is proving to be a valuable technology partner.
- I/O bound Applications
- Data Streaming Applications
- Data-Intensive Real-time Applications (DIRT)
- JSON APIs based Applications
- Single Page Applications
- Browser Games
Advantages of Learning Node.js
Easy to Learn: The Node application is written in JavaScript. JavaScript is one of the most popular programming languages, and nearly every developer knows how to use it.
The Benefit of Fullstack JS: Node.js is a full-stack JavaScript that can serve both client and server applications.
Freedom in Building Apps: Node.js allows much more freedom in building applications than Ruby on Rails, which imposes guidelines. A fresh installation of Node simply provides us with the bare minimum, allowing you to create everything from scratch.
Node.js is Highly Extensible: We can easily customize and further extend Node.js as per our requirements since Node.js is highly extensible.
Additionally, JSON can be used to exchange data between the web server and the client. Several APIs are built-in to enable developers to build HTTP, TCP, DNS, etc. servers.
Career
The Node.js platform is more popular than other web development technologies. There has been a continuous increase in the demand for Node.js. Starting with Node.js makes more sense than any other for people looking to start their careers in web development. Many people choose to write blogs, teach online or in a classroom, and/or write books. As Node.js professionals, we can also choose to pursue careers in product development, game development, or app development.
Conclusion
For those who want to get into the tech industry, learning Node.js and getting relevant certifications can be a great way to launch their careers.