Technology has been driving large-scale transformation in the past couple of decades. Humanity has come a long way since the advent of the first computer program to make highly advanced programs we take for granted today. However, none of that would have ever been possible if it weren’t for a performant and scalable runtime environment like Node.js.
But despite its competence and potential, many people still remain wary about using Node.js for their business. This should not be the case considering the nuanced offerings of Node.js and the things it can do for a business. That said, let’s learn more about Node.js and determine if you should consider using it in your business.
But First, What Exactly Is Node.js?
Node.js is one of the best-known open-source runtime environments that has been around since 2009. Microsoft, PayPal, and IBM are among some of the earliest users of the Node.js runtime environment. In addition, people use Node.js to write JavaScript on the client and server sides, making Node.js developers well-versed experts from both sides.
The framework is built on the V8 JavaScript engine from Google allowing developers to leverage performance enhancements, support libraries, and debugging tools from the V8 engine.
But the best part is that using Node.js saves you from the trouble of resolving issues prevalent with other programming languages. Besides that, Node.js is optimally designed for beginners since JavaScript is one of the most used programming languages.
Why Should Businesses Use Node.js?
Businesses operating in this highly digitized business environment must deal with extensive competition, which only seems to be increasing daily. As a result, businesses need to make necessary efforts to stand out with their offerings.
The Node.js framework has many such offerings that can help businesses drive better results with their solutions. Some of these reasons include:
Speed Has Always Been a Strong Suit For Node.js
Speed is one of the defining characteristics of the Node.js framework, all thanks to the V8 engine from Google. This unique engine will combine JavaScript into native machine code to run programs at unmatched speeds.
Furthermore, Node.js does not make things complicated by jumbling or creating multiple threads. Instead, the runtime environment uses a single thread responsible for all the asynchronous I/O operations.
Hence using Node.js means efficient execution of prevalent tasks on web applications such as writing or reading to databases, file systems, or networks. This makes Node.js ideal for building scalable and efficient network applications that manage concurrent connections with higher throughput.
Unmatched Control Over Scaling And Memory Use Capabilities
The next feather on the hat of the Node.js framework comes in the form of its scaling and memory use capabilities. The framework does not use a virtual machine allowing Node.js applications and frameworks to run at near-native speeds.
Besides that, using Node.js also means you need not worry about using up memory for processing data. This, in turn, allows developers to leverage all the resources from the system without sweating over consuming RAM.
This gives developers far better control over the allocation of resources since the framework does not allocate resources by itself.
Creating Real-Time Web Applications Couldn’t Get Any Simpler With Node.js
Node.js helps developers build comet-driven real-time web applications, so developers need not sweat over low-level sockets and protocols. But the best part here is that Node.js allows developers to realize their goals as efficiently as possible compared to other alternatives in the market.
Node.js is undoubtedly one of the best frameworks for creating multi-user real-time web applications such as chatting or gaming applications. The multi-user necessity is well taken care of with the event loop through the web socket protocol. This protocol runs on TCP, helping developers avoid HTTP overhead for web development.
Node.js Can Handle High-Traffic Websites
People spend a lot of time and effort driving more website traffic. However, there have been many cases where websites tend to crash after attracting a lot of traffic. But this won’t be the case with your website if you can use the Node.js framework for development.
Using Node.js for your high-traffic website means you need not compromise on the accuracy or performance of the website to manage the increased traffic flow. This is much different from other alternatives to Node.js, such as Apache. In addition, Node.js has the potential to adapt to high-traffic situations much more efficiently by spawning additional threads, also known as event loops.
Each of these threads runs in parallel on its own CPU core, which allows the framework to make the most of available CPU cores. This eliminates the framework’s need to rely on a few yet powerful cores, as with most other programs.
Node.js Helps Enhance Productivity
Another important characteristic of the Node.js framework is that it is created using JavaScript. This means silos between the backend and frontend developers are broken down further, helping boost the efficiency of the web development process at different organizations.
This allows organizations to merge front and backend developers into a single unit, promoting better collaboration and efficiency. But more importantly, this eliminates the need for relying on inter-silo dependencies among both teams.
One great example of this unique phenomenon is PayPal using Node.js to boost the overall productivity of developers. The company used the framework to deliver more applications using much fewer people and even delivering all the solutions with far better efficiency. This helped them drive better efficiency and help their developers’ teams become more productive with minimal hassle.
Bottom Line
Node.js has become one of the most popular programming languages over the last decade. Many evident factors are furling this popularity, such as the framework’s scalability, usability, and speed. Besides that, the framework is optimally suited for both novice and expert developers.
These characteristics make Node.js the ideal fit for businesses of all scales and natures. So feel free to hire Node.js developers for your business and see the wonders it can do for you.
