When and Why Node.js Is a Good Technical Solution for Your Project?

Node.Js from a developer’s perspective: Node.Js helped them increase their productivity by 68%, also it reduced the development cost by 58%.Node.Js improved the application performance by 50% and improved developer satisfaction by 65%. The extravagant benefits compelled developers to use Node.Js for web application development. To our surprise, Airbnb, LinkedIn, Walmart, Uber, and even NASA used Node.Js for application production. Developers across the world have left no stone unturned in reaping the benefits out of Node.Js development. However, many CTOs and Developers still have confusion on when and why to use Node.Js for web application projects. If you, too, have any doubts regarding this, then read this blog and find out the answers.

As Wikipedia defines,

“Node.js is an open-source, cross-platform, JavaScript runtime environment that executes JavaScript code outside of a web browser. Node.js lets developers use JavaScript to write command-line tools and for server-side scripting—running scripts server-side to produce dynamic web page content before the page is sent to the user’s web browser. Consequently, Node.js represents a “JavaScript everywhere” paradigm unifying web-application development around a single programming language, rather than different languages for server- and client-side scripts.

Many people believe that Node.JS is much-hyped about, but trust us, after reading this blog, you will find by yourself why it is an ideal choice for web development.

As mentioned in the Wikipedia definition, Node.Js is backed by Javascript, which comprehensively simplifies the development process. Javascript is a power pack of cool features, provides all tools and servers required for web app development.

Node.Js is a packaged compilation of Google’s V8 Javascript engine, which is used in building fast & scalable applications. Node.Js works cross-platform on OS X, Linux, and Microsoft Windows. The Node.Js features open a pool of opportunities for the developers.

In the next section, we have listed down some top considerations for “Why choose Node.js?”, and how it helps in developing dynamic content. Keep reading…

Speed:

Node.Js possess V8 engines supported by Google, which makes Javascript compilation into a native machine code very fast. Applications developed using Node.Js are capable of handling multiple parallel connections at a time. The best example of a web application which prospered after using Node.js is PayPal. The app was able to reduce the response time by 35% and was able to handle double the amount of request/second.

Ease of sharing files:

Node packages are a treasure trove of about 50,000 bundles that help developers and designers in several ways. Additionally, the developers are free to share, refresh, and reuse the code as and when required.

Real-time web applications:

Real-time applications require high processing volumes of messages and low latency. And this task is exceptionally simplified if you use Node.Js, especially for building gaming and messenger apps. Node.js is a good choice of event-based apps that need drawing/editing in real-time. The best example of such an app using Node.Js is Trello, DropBox Paper, or even your GoogleDocs. Also, for developing a VoIP app for video/voice conferencing, Node.js will assist in the best possible way.

In simple words: Node.js is highly efficient in building real-time applications because of its capacity to handle multiple requests, data sharing, and code reusability.

Single Codebase:

Node.js comes handy when it is about data synchronization between the server-side and the client-side. The code written in Javascript can easily be reused and shared for the front-end and back-end web development.

Easy Learning curve:

Every developer today knows how to code using Javascript, and Node.js is just backed with Javascript. So you can easily find a Node.js development company or hire a developer who can develop a web app using the same.

Data Streaming:

An application should be able to handle the input and the output effectively. Node.js is capable of handling the I/O process and allows users to transcode media files even when it is uploading.

Node.js for proxy server:

Imagine that with only 20 lines of code, you can use the Node.js server as a proxy server. Many such extraordinary features make Node.js capable of streaming information from multiple sources at a time.

SEO-friendly:

In today’s time, when Google changes its algorithm, almost every day, it is necessary to develop an app that is SEO friendly. Well, but the app developed using Node.js possesses every characteristic required to gain the top spot.

The growing community:

The app’s scalability, performance, and ease of development have attracted hundreds of thousands of web app developers towards Node.js. Node.js community is highly vibrant and engaging. Because it was developed by Facebook initially, the community has 1000+ independent contributors. Their contribution to the Node.Js community makes technology more mature every day and promptly solves every problem of a developer.

There are forums and live events which guide and help developers to solve every problem. The community extends its help in the best possible way.

Easy Deployment:

It is easy to deploy Node.js at any stage of project development. The platform offers comparable solutions to running projects across different environments.

Few other advantages of Node.js development are:

1. It is a storehouse of unpolarized libraries that assists in building an out-of-the-box application;

2. Node.js developed projects are easy to maintain;

3. Since it is Javascript based, the same language can be used on the client-side and the server-side rendering. This makes the internal communication easy and the helps team in understanding the project well;

4. Node.js is a scalable technology that can be used for micro sieves. Since Node.js is a lightweight tool, it helps in breaking the application logic into small modules, micro sieves that can offer better flexibility for building SPA.

5. Node.js is open-source and offers extensive tools for building classic web applications.

You may wonder,

How is Node.js different from javascript then?

The thing that differentiates Node.js from Javascript is the set of APIs. There is no major difference between the two when it comes to language input, but only when it comes to web browsers. You are limited to use DOM/Web APIs that help in UI interactions in a browser. But on the other hand, Node.js possesses a variety of APIs that are required to set up the connection with the backend. It can handle HTTP requests, streams, extend support for file systems, and more. Browsers do extend their support to the above challenges but are limited due to security concerns.

So,

What is the project scope for using Node.js?

Node.js benefits developers in a number of ways, and because of the benefits, it becomes an optimal solution for the following projects.

Single Page Apps:

If you wish to go for the modern way of building web apps, that is developing a SPA, then Node.js is an ideal choice. It can easily handle the heavy processing of the client-side data and send a response within no time.

Internet of Things:

Node.js is capable of handling multiple connections in a go, and hence it is suitable for IoT devices development.

Chat apps/ Video/Audio processing applications:

Node.js is open-source and lightweight, which assists in building real-time applications. The asynchronous I/O handling capacity makes it possible to upload any content on the server and process it in real-time.

For creating a dashboard:

Dashboards offer a great platform for audience engagement. Since Node.Js is an event-based framework, it can quickly recognize the users’ actions, monitor them, and send a response accordingly.

For projects having queued inputs:

If your developed app is going to receive a very high amount of concurrent data, then handling the database can become a real issue. But as mentioned before, Node.js can easily handle the concurrent requests at a time.

When should you not use Node.js?

Even though Node.js offers innumerable advantages, it has its drawbacks. For the following scenario, you should not consider using Node.js for web app development.

Complex CPU jobs:

Node.js is event-driven and is based on a non-blocking I/O model. It uses a single CPU core, and heavy and complex CPU operations will just block the incoming requests, leaving Node.js of no use. Hence, if you are planning to build a CPU- heavy software, then you should not be considering Node.js development.

Applications with monolith architecture:

Monolith apps contain functionalities in abundance. But, Node.js is a single-threaded platform due to which the remainder has to wait during the project execution. Monolith application architecture is acceptable for Node.js development, only if there is no heavy load on the processor.

CRUD:

A CRUD/HTML based web apps directly handle the data coming from the server. It doesn’t need a separate API to handle the same. Node.js development is not suitable for applications of this type. You may not get the expected traffic, even though you have developed a scalable application.

Financial Software:

Financial software has to handle floating decimal points and specific workflows. If Node.js is used for such software development, then it can lead to errors in the variable. Well, any error in financial software is a complete NO-NO. Hence, you should not be using Node.js but stick to Ruby for high-precision and logic building apps.

So do you agree with us over the thought that,

Node.js is the solution you need for your projects?

Well, to conclude the thought, Node.js can be used for almost any type of business web apps with just a few exceptions. For developing full-fledged, customized, scalable, and real-time applications, Node.js will shine out.

Node.js empowers developers to create a magical app in no time using the available libraries, tools in the best possible way.

There are very less technologies that can actually compete with Node.js in terms of flexibility and ease. However, the choice of technology for your project development depends on the size of your project, its complexity, and the turnaround time. Feel free to contact us if you have any queries regarding the same. You can refer to our blog on Node.js app development, where we have tried to explain the process and its comparison with other popular frameworks. Thank you for reading this article.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jigar Shah

Java Developer