Node.js is a JavaScript runtime, hence the “.js” ending. This time, the environment is open source, that is, open source, cross-platform, and runs on the server side.
JavaScript developers created this framework to take the programming language one step further. Before the creation of Node.js in 2009, the JavaScript programming language could only run in the browser or on the client side.
Because JavaScript could only be used within tags, developers had to use different languages and tools for both front-end and back-end.
Node.js has everything you need to run JavaScript code on the server side. Something that makes the job of developers much easier and is the reason why it is currently one of the most used working tools in web development. A lot of people are looking for really good specialists who could help with the development. To do this, you can contact the node.js developer.
Node.JS architecture
It is precise because of its architecture that it is one of the most used tools in the world of web development.
Asynchronous programming
One of the strengths of Node.js is the event loop, which is a model that allows you to manage a large number of events asynchronously since they run independently and don’t interfere with each other.
To do this, Node.js changed the way it connects to the server. Instead of creating a thread for each client, which is very inefficient due to the high memory consumption of multiple connections, it uses a model in which it generates an event for each request, which is processed independently and without blocking.
This ability to respond to many more requests at the same time makes Node.js a very stable and high-performance environment, especially for large projects.
Google V8 engine
Node.js is based on the Google V8 engine, one of the programming language interpreters. This engine is responsible for compiling JavaScript code into native code, lower-level code that doesn’t need to be interpreted by the browser.
Benefits of Node.js
Node.js’s asynchronous, event-based architecture and the use of the Google V8 engine make Node.js one of the fastest-growing and preferred runtimes for developing web or desktop applications. And there are many advantages:
- Scalability: With the ability to handle multiple connections simultaneously, Node.js is an ideal environment for building scalable network applications with high-performance levels.
- Performance and efficiency. Running processes without blocking and using fewer resources makes Node.js a fast and highly efficient environment.
- Simplicity: Node.js is a framework that uses JavaScript, a very well-structured language and relatively easy to learn.
- Open Source: This is free source software, which means that the code is open source, and no license is required to use it.
- Community and Support: The use and growth of Node.js, and the adoption of platforms such as GitHub, have fueled the growth and activity of the Node.js community to maintain and improve this environment, as well as the availability of documentation for this runtime.
This runtime can also have some disadvantages, namely:
- Learning curve: Node.js is far from other systems and requires more lines of code, which can be much more tedious if you are used to working with other systems or programming languages like PHP.
- Compatibility: Not all web hosting plans are compatible with Node.js, so you’ll need a dedicated Node.js host to use it.
- Modules in Development: Although Node.js has a system of modules or dependencies called NPM, they can be few when compared to other systems.
- Documentation: Even though this is an environment that never stops growing, most of the documentation is still untranslated, but this is only temporary.
For these reasons, Node.js is so popular among developers. Therefore, if you need to develop web applications and dynamic web pages, then we strongly recommend using Node.js as your main assistant.