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Aniruddh Agarwal for Extern Labs Inc.

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5 Uses of Node.js that every Web Developer must know

What is Nodejs used for?

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment that can be used to create web applications. Node.js is a robust framework that allows for real-time web applications, and it has been steadily gaining in popularity since its introduction in 2009. This blog post will cover five of Node.js’ most commonly used features, Node.js, so you can start using Node today.

Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient, perfect for data-intensive real-time applications across distributed devices. It's also surprisingly simple to learn and use with little to no knowledge of how JavaScript works!

Node.js is JavaScript

One of the things that make Node.js so powerful is its use of JavaScript. Node.js is a framework designed for building scalable network applications, and it's written in JavaScript with a C++ engine to handle the more CPU-intensive operations.

JavaScript is a programming language commonly used on web pages to provide interactive content or control animated graphics. However, unlike other languages like PHP or Ruby, JavaScript was designed to be used on the client-side of an application—meaning that users need not know how to program to use it. Regardless of your level of JavaScript knowledge, you should be able to learn how to use Node.js with ease.

Common Features of Node.js

Node.js provides a rich set of features that can be used to create a variety of web applications. The following are five of the most commonly used features of Node.js:

  • The event-driven, non-blocking I/O model allows for efficient, real-time applications.

  • It's straightforward to learn and use with little to no knowledge of JavaScript.

  • Node.js also supports multiple programming languages, including ES6 JavaScript, C++, Java, and Python.

  • Node.js contains a built-in package manager that allows you to find and install modules from npm’s registry, the public package repository for Node modules. These modules will enable you to add functionality like file system access or data persistence without writing any code yourself!

  • Node.js has a wide variety of open source packages available for download on npm (https://www.npmjs.com). These packages can be easily installed in your application by adding them to your package dependencies in the package file!

Why Node.js?

Node.js is a robust framework with plenty of features that allow for the creation of real-time web applications.

So why use Node.js?

The answer to this question largely depends on what you are trying to accomplish with your application. If most of your application is spent waiting for external resources, Node.js is perfect for you! It is capable of performing at the same speed as the speed of the server and other operations while using far fewer system resources than traditional servers. Additionally, Node.js can be used in place of an Apache server, so it's a good option if you want to avoid buying additional software licenses and hardware upgrades.

If you want to avoid complicated coding and optimize performance while still creating a server-side JavaScript environment, then Node.js might be your best bet!

Challenges With Node.js

Node.js is an excellent environment for developing web applications, but it can also be challenging to implement in specific environments. For example, one of the biggest challenges with Node.js is that it uses JavaScript as its default language, which can cause problems for developers who don't have experience coding in JavaScript.

Another challenge with Node.js is that major operating systems or browsers do not support it. This means that if you're using Node and want to access your application from a browser on a mobile device, for example, then you'll need to do an extra step to install an app that runs Node on the mobile device and the desktop browser at the same time.

Ultimately, these challenges just come down to more knowledge about how Node.js works and how to use it properly, so they don't inhibit you from using this robust framework!

Conclusion

Node.js is a JavaScript-based open-source programming language and runtime environment. Node.js is often used in a server-side environment, but it can also be used in a variety of other environments. Node.js is great for people who want to work with JavaScript in a server-side environment, and it has the potential to change the way developers build applications.

When building apps with Node.js, there are several features that you should consider, including asynchronous event-driven I/O, a single-threaded non-blocking I/O model, and a JavaScript runtime environment. Node.js also has a built-in module system, making sharing code between different program parts accessible.

Node.js is an excellent choice if you need to create an application with high throughput, low latency, and low maintenance requirements. However, if you need to create an application that is heavily I/O bound, then Node.js may not be the best choice as it suffers from I/O latency and thread contention issues.

Top comments (2)

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hyperloop profile image
Hyperloop007

"5 Uses of Node.js That Every Web Developer Must Know."
I guess keeping the statement above as title of the post will work more for you..
Just a suggestion!!

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jpchreim profile image
Jean Pierre Chreim

Thanks for the information buddy!