The next big thing in Node.js

Nowadays, the technology has evolved in a particular manner, and one such thing which is increasing with it is Node.js JS stands for Javascript

Has this thought ever ticked in your mind that how did node.js gain such popularity in this era where continuously switching technologies?

The answer to this is quite simple and lies right here in this blog.

Where all your myths and vague understandings will come to an end because here we will be diving deep into the principles of node.js along with its detailed information.

To begin with,

Did you know, that using JavaScript is the simplest and the most popular way to develop apps in the browser?

Of course, you can do it with other programming languages too, but it isn’t that easy.

Did you also know that Node.js community is open and friendly?

It is ready to share any packages of code. Node ethics allows and welcomes this approach, making it simple to do so. Any author can publish code or create modules in a public repository.

Services like PayPal, running 267 million user accounts (as of December 2018), Uber, Netflix or eBay are the real-life proof of Node’s efficiency.

And for that reason, we’d like to share with you our thoughts about Node.js development.

For example,  some are already mentioned above but here’s a shortlist:

• Online payment system. Paypal. Paypal was co-founded by very well-known entrepreneur Elon Musk.
• Social platform. LinkedIn – Professional networking.
• Streaming service. Netflix – Video on Demand.
• E-Commerce platform. eBay.
• Online publishing platform. Medium.
• E-learning platform. Quizlet.
• Project management. Trello
• And so much more…

WHAT IS BEHIND THE WORD NODE.JS?

Before we dilate this, we should be aware of the central idea of what node.js is? Many people have worked on technologies like PHP which is one of the alternatives for node.js but with highly scalable services provided by node.js, it is crystal clear that why people are more involved in node.js rather than working with other techs.

“Node.js is an open-source, cross-platform JavaScript run-time environment for executing JavaScript code server-side. Historically, JavaScript was used primarily for client-side scripting, in which scripts written in JavaScript are embedded in a web page’s HTML, to be run client-side by a JavaScript engine in the user’s web browser.” -wiki

Ryan Dahl, the founder of this technology in the year 2009, states that being inspired by Gmail, his goal was to devise a system for building websites with real-time push capability.

“You can never understand everything. But you should push yourself to understand the system” – Ryan Dahl

The latest working model of node.js is v0.10.36. Basically, it is a runtime environment for executing JavaScript outside the browser.
Node.js requires a dedicated HTTP server – just one server. It is used to develop backend services for instance API which stands for application program interface for the client’s application such as mobile or web services.

The versatility of node.js tends to work on various platforms like Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X etc. It’s an open source server environment which uses JavaScript on the server.

WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHERS?

NodeJS is a platform that enables developers to write server-side high performance and networked applications. And that too using good old Javascript. But wait! Isn’t Javascript meant to be used for forms and stuff on internet pages?

Well, that was 10 years ago. The world has gone from ‘Oops! You’ve not filled up the form properly!’ days to today’s trendy web apps and social media sites that trust heavily on Javascript. Google Apps, Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and LinkedIn, being a handful of examples of this movement. And to assume that this leap would not have been possible without Javascript isn’t an exaggeration.

Today, when you socialize with your friends on Facebook or use your Gmail inbox, you are running thousands of lines of code written in Javascript, in your browser.

With Node JS, you can take this information back on the server, where sometimes you’d expect to see the likes of PHP, Ruby, ASP dot net etc. But that is only a small portion of the explanation of why NodeJS is so cool.

The fact that you can write full-blown networked applications (think chat servers, real-time data visualization apps) with just a couple of lines of code is more than reason enough to not only look at NodeJS, however deep dive into it! If you want to learn more about Node.js and ful-blown app i can higly recommend this course at Udemy

• https://www.udemy.com/all-about-nodejs/

And for the starters, learning something new never hurts!

Even Codecademy las inserted Node.js in their awesome learning program.

Programmers prefer node.js to be their first choice for the following reasons:

• Asynchronous programming: When we talk about the APIs in other cases we will find that it behaves synchronously but all the APIs in the node.js library are asynchronous, that is, non-blocking. It essentially means a Node.js based server never waits for an API to return data. The server continues to move to the next API after calling it and the series of notification from the event helps the server to get a response from the previous API call.
• Fast in nature: As we all know that it was built on Google Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine, therefore its library provides us with very fast execution of code.
• Single Threaded but Highly Scalable: It uses a single threaded model where events are optimized in a loop. The main advantage of event mechanism helps the server to respond in a non-blocking way and makes the server highly scalable as opposed to traditional servers which create limited threads to handle requests. Code built on the Node platform does not follow the model of receive, process, send, wait, receive.  As it uses a single thread program and the same program can provide service to a large number of requests than traditional servers HHTP server.
• Buffering is exempted: The applications produced with node.js never buffer any of its data instead of which it simply outputs the data in chunks.

These features can easily differentiate Node.js from the mainstream and traditional models. These pedestrian models are large and complex to handle the processes and only to make them slower, they concurrently run several threads while each thread waiting for the completion of another before moving on.

NPM: The Node Package Manager, A feather in the cap!

The star point that definitely should not be omitted is its inbuilt support for NPM. Although it’s a tool that comes by default with its installation, its main purpose essentially adds a set of publicly available and reusable components which can be easily available on a repository. The module is user-friendly and open to all the people.

For instance, Hapi, MongoDB and Mongojs, Redis, Socket.io and Sockjs, are some of the examples which add on to this list.

By the way, a simple Google query learns you how popular node is these days. When I googled Support NODE NPM it got over  9.430.000 results.

 

WHY TO OPT FOR NODE.JS?

It is very important to choose the right programming language, to make the right kind of product for the right purpose! And thus always make an informed decision before beginning to work with just any language.

Speaking of Node.JS, why is it so great?

With the increasing popularity of programming languages especially when we talk about the websites and different applications that work on different platforms, one cannot blindside the fact that node.js has proved to be a cherry on the cake.

It’s a development tool that builds a wide variety of applications which can easily work on cross platforms. Therefore, in this section we will be discussing the advantages of Node.JS :

• Highly extensible: Most of us like to work in a particular environment and this does the same by providing us with the full-fledged customization and further extending it as per our requirements. It is also facilitated to develop servers.
• Support for commonly used tools: The developers can easily get extended support for multiple tools.
• Immunity to develop APPS: This offers the freedom to develop the apps and software which gives us the flexibility to mend the features according to our needs.
• The Advantage of Caching: The open-source runtime environment of the Node.js also provides the facility of caching single modules. Whenever there is any request for the first module, it gets cached in the application memory. The developers don’t have to re-execute the codes as caching allows applications to load the web pages faster and responds more swiftly to the user.
• The Benefit of Fullstack JS: It has been regarded as a full-stack JavaScript for equally serving the client and the developer that is the server side applications. Hence, we do not need to hire the separate developers for backend along with the front end development which in turn saves our money and time.
• Easy to Practice: It is the most regarded language where enthusiastic developers can easily have a grasp over it in no time.

SOME LOOPHOLES WHICH MIGHT MAKE IT HARD TO WORK IN NODE.JS:

Jack-of-all-trades will rarely be a master in any, which means it is not necessary that node.js is perfect in all territory.

Contrary, to all the benefits we receive from node.js we may have some cons which need to be stated and they are as follows:

• Instability of API: One of the key problems which appear in the path of developers is the frequent switching of intervals of API which makes it unstable. This forces the developers to make changes in the accessible code bases to match its compatibility with its latest working version.
• Weak library support system: Its library is not well equipped and robust enough as compared to other programming languages. Thus, users are left with the only option of taking support from other common libraries for executing tasks. This makes it cumbersome for users to implement tasks.
• Asynchronous Programming Model: Sometimes developers find this asynchronous model to be difficult with the analogy of linear blocking I/O programming. This makes the code clumsy and here the programmers have to depend on the nested calls which are time-consuming.

DOMAINS WHERE NODE.JS WOULD SHINE:

Node.js makes it quite simple to employ real-time applications in JavaScript. There are a plethora of applications under this sort of technique and we are eager to observe many more in the upcoming years. Some of the areas where it is used are given below:

1. Browser-based games: It’s most exciting use can be observed as browser-based games. Gone are the days where users would have to open up a Flash, Java, or Shockwave applet in order to play games in their browsers. But node.js has made it possible in reality where we can also play multiplayer games.
2. Chat rooms: Developing this was not a huge task by node.js in the time of smartphones. Although, it might not be so popular while playing online games it plays an essential role in that.
3. Data collection: The collection of monolithic data can be more competitive with its use. It follows a systematic procedure to flow in a sync way through the streams.
4. Streaming: All the audios and videos which we upload on YouTube have to be processed by node.js so that viewers find no difficulty and enjoy its authenticity within less time and is accessible at a faster rate.

 

CLOSING NOTATIONS FOR NODE.JS:

Node.js is a platform that fills a particular need. It has proved to be the right choice in the grounds of the web, mobile and back end development. What’s more important is the fact that it has extended the area of JavaScript application and can be evidently used for both frontend and backend servers.

This language will set its best foot forward in various areas with more emerging prospects like in business and so on.

So, NodeJS sounds pretty interesting so far, but what really hit me in the face when I was learning all about Node was the fact that, with any new platform, framework or technology, you need to take baby steps, all the way through, to making real-world examples, if you have to get to the grips of it.

In this blog, we have tried to put our fingers on almost every significant point which is necessary to know before getting started with Node.js. With the help of this blog, we have tried to pioneer you.

“Programming is a skill best acquired by practice and solving real-world problems rather than just reading”-Alan Turing

So Practice! Practice! Practice!

We are here as your back if you get stuck or need any help. Just leave by a comment 🙂