How to Benefit From Using Node.js for Your Project

It is hard not to encounter Node.js when building an app or a website with JavaScript. Node.js is the best runtime environment that uses JavaScript as the main language and runs it on a standalone machine rather than a browser. For many developers, there is no alternative in mobile app development to Node.js. Let’s find out why.

What Is Node.js?

Node.js is a free backend runtime environment that runs on one of the most popular programming languages in 2021 – JavaScript. It is suited for a server-side or client-side mobile app and is based on Chrome V8.

Node.js divides tasks into smaller nodes, allowing programmes to be executed on a server directly. It provides different types of frameworks to cut out much of the work.

Some of them are among the most used ones. An example would be Express web framework, Meteor.js, Nest.js, Total.js, Adonis.js, and Koa.js.

Reasons to Use Node.js and How to Benefit from It

There are a couple of reasons you might want to introduce Node.js into your next project. One of them is fast speed execution. The performance is the number one reason developers choose Node.js over similar platforms. As it is one of the speediest environments available.

Node.js is highly efficient for real-time app (RTA) development. It allows programmers to use non-blocking IO functionality. Several requests can be processed at a time with less CPU involved.

Let’s be honest, a platform needs to be easy to use right away. Since Node.js has inherited most JavaScript features, developers who are already familiar with JavaScript, prefer Node.js more than any other environment for servers and applications.

Node.js makes the life of every developer easier by allowing them to write client-side and server-side code with one language only. It is a benefit for a company as well.

You can look for a professional JavaScript developer without bothering about how much time it is going to take for him/her to figure out how Node.js works. In this case, you spend less time on software company roles and responsibilities distribution in a team.

Though Node.js seems to be a great choice, it is not as flawless as it seems to be. There are some drawbacks you should know if you want to benefit from using it as well.

The major disadvantage is its single-threaded nature that eliminates the ability to process several tasks simultaneously (even the simplest ones) without blocking the thread. All of the executions in Node.js are carried out by one processing thread only. In other words, there is only one application thread available.

One more thing to keep in mind, Node.js has quite an unstable API because of the changes applied. Sometimes, it can be a problem for developers.

When to Use Node.js and When Not to Use Node.js?

When is it not a good idea to use Node.js? This question comes up in a lot of tech discussions, where Node.js is a discourse topic. You might have some problems when building a web application in Node.js if you have data calculations and blocking operations.

Node.js is great for event-driven and data-intensive apps with a lot of data saving and retrieving processes. Certain types of apps benefit from using Node.js more than others:

• Web servers;
• Real-time servers;
• Command-line utilities.

In a nutshell, despite some downsides of Node.js, most developers enjoy using it. Netflix, Uber, eBay, PayPal, and LinkedIn are just a few examples of successful Node.js web app and mobile app projects.

It might be a solution for your business as well. Especially, if you are working on a single-page, real-time, e-commerce, or social media application. These apps are the best ones to use Node.js for. 

The only problem you can face is an experienced developer who has worked with this particular platform for more than three or four years. Even though the market of developers, especially in JavaScript, is wide, the number of those who have a profound experience in Node.js is not that impressive.

In this case, applying to outsource Node.js development services might be a solution for both a startup and an established business.

Companies like QArea deliver professional outsourced services by assigning Middle and Senior level experts and help set the right priorities when it comes to quality assurance, product’s design, and development.