JavaScript Revolution: Node.js in Back-End Development

Picking the right backend technology is one of the most crucial decisions that every business owner has to make as it can make or break the business. This decision is so important because it determines how quickly a product can be deployed in the market and made available for users. Additionally, the right back-end technology also determines the level of maintenance and the budget required during the development and post-deployment stages. 

With so many factors, CTOs and CEOs always take time to do a proper analysis, decide on the budget, and then pick the right back-end technology. Well, this is where the JavaScript Revolution and the use of Node.js comes into the picture. 

In this blog post, we will delve deeper into the biggest JavaScript revolution; Node js web development, and fathom how it is being used in back-end development. Keep reading to stay illuminated. 

JavaScript and the rise of Node js development services

JavaScript is currently the most popular programming language and front-end web development tool. It has enticed droves of developers from all around the world and it powers millions of websites that you see in the digital realm. If you are a fresher in the world of programming, JavaScript is the best programming language you can have in your arsenal. 

For the first two decades, JavaScript was used for only client-side scripting. JavaScript was confined within the <script> tag and therefore, developers had to manage different frameworks and languages between the back-end and front-end components. JavaScript never offered a backend platform that could outfox its competitors. 

But in the past couple of years, JavaScript has begun gaining traction on different platforms and different applications like Native Script, React Native, PhoneGap, and Node js web development. Developers looking to unify the programming languages found their answer in Node.js as it was the first viable alternative. 

Node.js is a type of run-time environment and is completely different from all other JavaScript frameworks. The best thing about Node.js was it came with everything developers needed to execute a program within JavaScript and it supports JavaScript on both server-side and client-side. 

All About Node.js 

Node.js is an open-source, cross-platform, single-thread runtime environment that is used for crafting scalable and quick networking and server-side applications. The engine that is used to run Node.js is V8 JavaScript and it utilizes non-blocking, event-driven I/O architecture which makes it an ideal choice for every type of real-time application built by developers. 

According to Wikipedia, Node.js is “a packaged compilation of Google’s V8 JavaScript engine, the libuv platform abstraction layer, and a core library, which is itself primarily written in JavaScript”.Node.js is written in JavaScript and C++.

The Dawn of Node.js

Node.js was built by Ryan Dhal back in 2009. Ryan Dahl was on a hunt to find a way to use JavaScript on the server side as it was earlier confined to the client side only. While using JavaScrip, Ryan Dahl understood the power of the language on the server side and by taking inspiration from Gmail, he decided to build Node.js. 

After its release in 2009, Node.js has become quite popular among developers and there are many reasons for Node.js gaining traction in the web development realm. 

What makes Node.js different from JavaScript?

There is no such big difference between JavaScript used in Node.js and JavaScript used in a specific web browser. But the one thing that sets apart Node.js from JavaScript is that Node.js uses different sets of APIs. While using JavaScript in a browser you will have different Web/DOM APIs exposed and they will aid you in interacting with the UI but at the same time, it confines the use of hardware. 

But in the case of Node.js, all the APIs used by the framework fit in a glove for any kind of backend development, including support for HTTP requests, file systems, child processes, and streams. This gives you enhanced access, better functionality, and boosted speed. It’s true that even browsers offer support for a few file systems or HTTPS requests but those are confined to only security concerns. 

Advantages of using Node.js 

1. Cross-functional teams

There was a survey done in 2018 to fathom the popularity of Node.js and it was found in the survey that Node.js is the most used programming language for frontend developers. Node.js was able to jump to the 6th position in the developer survey of 2021 conducted by Stack Overflow. 

Almost all frontend developers are familiar with Node.js and that’s why it can be considered a universal language for frontend developers. This makes it easy for the front-end developers to use Node.js at the back-end development as well. 

Such type of popularity and usage of Node js web development company in India ensures that leaders have to put less effort and time into re-training and training, and even junior or new JavaScript programmers can easily pick Node.js. It just takes a week or two for new JavaScript programmers to pick Node.js and use it as they have trained for it. 

In such a type of cross-functional team, you will always have a long list of experts who can collaborate without any hassle and every member of this cross-functional team will have to share the responsibility of writing the initial codes, testing it, and then finally deploying it. 

2. Scalability 

One of the most talked-about benefits of Node js web development is it allows the developers to work in a highly scalable environment. Right from the beginning, the system is always quick and lightweight and this gives the room for developers to add new modules at the later stage of application development. 

With the help of Nod.js, developers can craft an application that grows with the business and all this has been made possible because of the simple single-thread event loop and its capability to manage a wide array of concurrent connections. 

When the entire process becomes challenging and complicated, developers can scale the model both horizontally and vertically. Moreover, the cluster models can aid you in keeping the load on different CPUs on an even keel. 

3. Freedom in Crafting Apps

Ruby on Rails might be one of the most popular frameworks that comes along with specific rules and regulations for building an application, Node js web development comes with its own set of freedoms when it comes to building an application the way you want to build it. Node.js is entirely un-opinionated and that’s why you can begin from scratch and build applications that function seamlessly on Linux, macOS, and Windows without the need to build on every operating platform. 

Even if your developer doesn’t have many years of experience in additional programming languages, he can work on both desktop and web without any issues. Additionally, developers working on the back-end can unlock the power of useful tools like Google Chrome Developer Tools. 

In the case of an entirely fresh install, Node.js can deal with basic tasks, but when developers start from scratch, they are less confined and even the programming can stay streamlined and there are no issues of cluttering. 

4. Huge Professional Community 

The Node.js community is inundated with experienced and skilled professionals and the community is always active. Many exceptional developers in that community always contribute to unleashing the real power of Node.js and it makes it more useful for others. Members of the community are highly dedicated and they can go the extra mile to provide better solutions for other members as soon as possible. 

Thanks to the cooperation of all the JavaScript programmers in the Node.js community as their input in the community provides codes in Github, a ton of ready solutions. Because of such an active community, you delve deeper into the usage of Node.js and get expert reviews, suggestions, and solutions without waiting for months. 

Some popular and active Node.js community links are:

• Slack-based Node.js community 
• Website Development services 
• Quora threads
• Twitter Account
• Node.js website 

You can visit any of these sources, post your query, and understand. You can also search for similar questions asked by other community members in the past. 

5. Ideal for AI-powered and real-time applications 

When it comes to applications where a long list of low-duty requests is highly common, Nodejs development agency acts as a savior for developers. A perfect example of such an application is a real-time application used for collaborative editing of images or documents. Another example of such an app that deals with many low-duty requests is an AI-powered application. 

One of the best ways to deal with such type of application development in the back-end is to maintain the lowest possible latency. Node.js can prove to be the smartest framework in such a case as it allocates the available resources and shares them among different requests whenever needed. 

This type of resource allocation helps the developers to reuse the code pieces and it even offers a client-server data synchronization that is as quick as flash. Developers find it easy and efficient to use Node.js whenever they have to work on real-time or AI-powered applications. 

6. Node Package Manager

Just like Ruby Gems, Node.js comes with Node Package Manager(NPM) that offers developers with different sets of components that are publicly and readily available for use to deal with common issues or niche issues. The NPM offers the Node.js users with a better user experience. Till now, the third-party developers have built more than 1 Million modules in the NPM. 

The Node Package Manager CLI tool comes built-in with Node.js and this makes the huge repository easy to access for developers. Even if you have discovered a new solution to any of the issues you are facing on Node.js, you can share your custom module on NPM as well. 

For giant firms that are on the hunt for enhanced security, NPM has come up with the Enterprise version that can be run behind the company’s firewall. This gives the giant organization access to an entirely private registry that is equipped with bank-level security features. These security features can easily identify loopholes and vulnerabilities.  

7. Supports Microservice Architecture 

Among all the popular benefits of using Node.js for backend development, its support for microservice-based architecture is the most highlighted one. Since Nodejs development agency supports microservice architecture, it allows wrapping every feature of the application into different containers and they interact with each other through an API. 

When such an approach is used by the developers, it makes all the code pieces in different containers to stay fully independent of each other. 

• Even some major updates in the application will not affect the entire application since the updates will be confined to a single microservice. 
• Outsourcing the development of the microservices to different teams becomes easy and it won’t have any effect on the overall quality of the application. 
• You can disable, add, or remove a single or more than one container at any time without worrying about crashing any feature of the application.

Conclusion

For many developers, Nodejs web development might be easy in many ways but it has completely changed the way JavaScript was used. Also, Node.js is a promising and fast-developing environment that is all set to wipe out many of the development challenges faced by back-end developers. It is expected the real power of Node.js and its true popularity will springboard in the coming years. 

Many giant companies have trusted Node.js in the production of their application and they have witnessed positive outcomes. It is worth following their examples, especially if you want to embrace the long list of benefits offered by Node.js. Try to identify which of the problems you are currently facing can be solved with the incorporation of Node.js in your development. Afterall, there are so many solid reasons why Node.js has become a global leader among web development frameworks.