Introduction to NodeJS -  Learn everything about NodeJS

NodeJS is a cross platform JavaScript runtime environment that is also open source. As a tool, it is used in nearly any type of project you can imagine.

Originally developed by Ryan Dahl in 2009 NodeJS is an open source serverside JavaScript runtime built on the V8 JavaScript engine which forms the backbone of the Google Chrome browser. This makes NodeJS very fast.

A NodeJS app doesn’t create a new thread for every request but works in one process. In standard libraries there are a set of asynchronous I/O primitives that do not allow javascript code to block and rather, most of the libraries in NodeJS are written using a non-blocking paradigm and blocking is the exception.

When NodeJS reads from the network, asks a question in a DB or FS…, instead of halting the thread and spending CPU cycles waiting for the response to come, NodeJS will continue the operations later.

This is possible because NodeJS can handle tens of thousands of connections with one server and without the overhead of thread concurrency, which can be a source of many bugs.

NodeJS has a unique selling point in this regard because millions of front end developers who write JavaScript for the browser are now able to write the serverside code alongside the clientside code without having to learn a totally different language.

In NodeJS, we can use the new features of the new ECMAScript standards without problems as you do not have to care which of your users would have upgraded their browser to be able to use them - It is up to you to decide in what NodeJS version to compile your application and can enable certain experimental flags when running NodeJS.

Install Nodejs on Windows

Step 1: Download NodeJS Installer

• To access the NodeJS official site, follow the link How to Install NodeJS Up to the Latest Version Launch the site to proceed with the process.

• Click and save the Windows Installer or.msi file of the LTS version.

  

   

Step 2: Run the Installer

• Locate the downloaded file with .msi extension and right click on it – run it to start the installation process.

• Press the enter key and indicate ‘yes’ to this and accept all the default selection on the interface.
• The option to install npm should be checked that comes with NodeJS.


 

Step 3: Verify Installation

• With the access terminal of your choice, you may open either Command Prompt or PowerShell here.

• To verify the kind of NodeJS that has been installed, simply key in node -v on the terminal and press enter.

• Now, let’s see the installed version of npm by typing npm -v and pressing enter.

  

   

Step 4: Update NPM (if needed)

• If needed, first upgrade the Internet application, npm, by using the command.

• To download the latest version of npm you can type “npm install npm@latest -g” in the command prompt or PowerShell.

Installing NodeJS on Linux

Currently we are Installing NodeJS using Apt from the Default Repositories

Ubuntu 20.04, for example, has a specific release of NodeJS in the repository that helps to maintain homogeneity between various machines. This article was written when the utilized version in the repositories was 10.19. This will not be the latest version but it should be stable enough that allows for fast testing of the language.

Ubuntu 20.04 has a NodeJS in its default channels that can easily be installed to have a conical environment across several systems. At the time of writing the version that is in the repositories is 10.19. This will not be the most current, though it should be the most stable enough to allow for a few tests on the language.

Then install NodeJS: sudo apt install nodejs

1. Check that the installation was successful by querying the node for its version number: node -v 
2. If the package in the repositories is what you need, then this is all that you need to do to install NodeJS. It is also recommended that you use npm, which stands for NodeJS package manager. You can do this by installing the npm package with apt:
3. This means that you can install modules and packages to be used with NodeJS.

So far, you should have NodeJS and npm installed through apt and the standard Ubuntu software repositories. The next section will demonstrate a better repository for installing variant NodeJS versions.

NodeJS itself has built-in architecture, which is based on callback or invented in most cases and is lightweight and efficient on handling a large number of connections at the same time. Below is an overview of its key architectural components:

1. Single-Threaded event loop

• Core Concept: NodeJS runs only one thread and it uses the event loop. Despite the fact that this design is single-threaded, it uses asynchronous I/O operations, so it is very efficient for I/O bound processes.

• Asynchronous Nature: The event loop helps NodeJS to read many requests at once without interrupting the principal thread. I/O bound operations are offloaded to the background thread and as soon as the operation is completed it calls the callback in the UI thread.

2. Non-Blocking I/O

• I/O Model: NodeJS has nonblocking I/O which suggests that while the other I/O operation is performed, for example when reading a file or querying a database, NodeJS is free to handle other requests.

• Callbacks/Promises: I/O operations use callbacks or promises; when an I/O operation is performed, NodeJS calls the callback or, in the case of promises, resolves the promise to handle the returning result.

3. Event-Driven architecture

• Event Emitters: Events are basic to NodeJS. The natural parallel to this kind of architecture is based on event emitters that notify the completion of an operation (a task or even a set of tasks like I/O) through the subsequent callback.

• Event Queue: Everything that comes from the outside or every operation is put through an event loop and the callbacks are set to an event as the events go through processing in asynchronously.

4. The modules and the CommonJS module system

• Modular design: NodeJS incorporates only the CommonJS modules wherein all the modules are separate files that can be identified by filenames and instantiated with the help of the require() function. One can use it as a way of splitting the code into modularity so that you can reuse the segments in the future.

• Built-in modules: The node includes several numbers of modules like fs (for file system), http, path, and crypto that are helpful for doing basic tasks and with the help of different third party libraries we can do various tasks.

5. Libuv (Underlying C Library)

• Libuv: Libuv is the library used by NodeJS to manage its asynchronous I/O operations, although the library does also have additional functionality. Libuv provides OS abstraction for files and networks, which makes the library easy to run on different platforms for NodeJS.

• Thread pool: Though NodeJS runs on a single thread, it has an event loop such as libuv and uses a thread pool (default size is 4) for expensive operations including file system and DNS.

6. V8 Engine

• JavaScript engine: NodeJS is developed on the basis of the V8 JavaScript virtual machine, in demand as the basis for creating the Google Chrome browser. Unlike the V8 engine, v8 compiles this JavaScript code into machine code hence quick execution of JavaScript codes.

• Just-in-Time (JIT) compilation: The effectiveness of V8 is also observed as it uses JIT compilation to execute the JavaScript by converting the symbol into an optimal machine code.

7. Concurrent through Asynchronous callback and promises

• Callbacks: Concurrency in NodeJS: callbacks which are called when an I/O operation has been done. This has been the conventional way of doing things in NodeJS before the introduction of async/await style syntax.

• Promises/async-await: Note that since NodeJS version 7 the Promises are supported and since version 8 async/await is supported the syntax for the asynchronous operations is much cleaner now.

8. HTTP Module and Server

• Built-in HTTP server: HTTP is one of the core modules in NodeJS and a very foundational area of the language and it is used to build web servers. This makes it possible to manage HTTP requests and responses at a basic level without the need for further libraries.

• Server architecture: NodeJS works on the client side and server side. It can request (server) and request (client) via modules: http, https or any third-party library such as Axios.

9. Streams and buffers

• Streams: In general, NodeJS uses streams for I/O operations such as reading a file, responding with an HTTP message, or even with a WebSocket message. This means that streams offer a good way of working with data since data can sometimes be large especially when it is growing exponentially.

Types of streams:

• Readable: For example, reading data – fs reads.

• Writable: For writing data, for example for writing to file systemsWritable etc.

• Duplex: As for reading and writing, (for example, sockets).

• Transform: Used for converting data as it is retrieved or stored, such as compressing the data.

• Buffers: Buffer objects are used in NodeJS to model raw binary data, and to handle it in the most effective way possible. It is important for operations, such as file reading or working with streams.

10. Middleware and Frameworks

• Middleware pattern: In some frameworks such as Express.js used in the NodeJS environment, we use middleware functions to manage requests in a sectional way. In fact, every middleware function has only responsibility for specific functions like parsing of the request, authentications or even logging.

• Popular Frameworks:

• Express.js: A lightweight approach for constructing web applications.

• NestJS: NODEJS: A framework developed for creating easily extensible and sustainable web applications utilizing TypeScript on the server side.

• Koa.js: The new application architecture with the focus on building web applications based on NodeJS as well as the body weight compared to Express, but more modular.

11. Cluster and child processes

• Clustering: NodeJS has a cluster module that allows us to create multiple processes that run on the same server port. This assists in availing the utilization of multi-core systems.

• Child Processes: NodeJS can also create the child process for some operations to complete computationally intensive operations on the other thread.

Concurrency or asynchronous programming is one of the core concepts you’ll encounter in NodeJS, it enables your applications to do many things at once without hanging around, waiting for a single process to complete before starting the next one. Suppose you are eating in a restaurant where the waiter brings and takes your order, cooks your food and attends to others ordering at the same time. NodeJS has the best way of handling multiple requests making your application to be fast and responsive.

Here are important key points to understand:

Event driven architecture:

Asynchronism means the event loop handled by NodeJS. When a specific event happens (for example, a file is downloading is completed) NodeJS can not wait to execute its next process without stopping other running processes.

Non-Blocking I/O:

I/O procedures (for example access to a file or a network connection) do not impede other procedures. The deferred form of this means that your app can perform other jobs while waiting for I/O operations to occur.

Callbacks: 

Such are functions that execute when an asynchronous operation is complete. Despite this power, use can lead to a situation where you get nested code known as “callback hell.”

Promises: 

It’s great that the Promises offer a cleaner approach to managing asynchronous operations. It enables you to link operations and manage exceptions better than callbacks are allowed to do.

Async/Await: 

Asynchronous coding syntax allows the use of code that appears and runs as though it is synchronous, which is often neater. It is developed based on Promises and is a popular technology in the new versions of NodeJS.

This is because the understanding of asynchronous programming helps you to create applications that are optimized and scalable in NodeJS. It makes sure your app doesn’t allow for concurrent processes, which could make the experience better for users.

Think about being able to construct highly efficient and rapidly growing network applications without having to master a new programming language. That is exactly what NodeJS offers, on a platter. In the following headings let’s discover some of the notable benefits that make NodeJS popular among developers.

• Fast and efficient

NodeJS is able to perform a number of functions simultaneously but does not lag at all. This makes your apps fast, and all the users who open these apps simultaneously are going to get a smooth experience.

• Powered by Google's V8 engine

It uses the same engine as Google Chrome, which makes your JavaScript code run very quickly. Your applications perform better, especially when dealing with a lot of data.

• Easy to scale up

As your app grows, NodeJS grows with it. You can add multiple servers to handle more users. This makes it great for apps that need to serve many people.

• JavaScript on both sides

With NodeJS, you write JavaScript for the front end/what users see on the page, as well as the serverside/backend of the website. This helps in the development because one does not have to learn two different languages to be able to develop web applications.

• Huge library of free tools (NPM)

NPM is included with NodeJS and includes access to thousands of free libraries and tools. These assist you in quickly implementing new features into your app without having to build the app from scratch.

• Works on all platforms

It is possible to write code that is deployable on all major platforms such as Windows, macOS and Linux without any alterations. This will of course be beneficial for the development and distribution of your app on multiple systems.

• Great for realtime apps

NodeJS is perfect for apps that need instant updates, like chat apps or online games. It allows quick communication between users and the server.

• Supports microservices

You can build your app in small, independent parts called microservices. This makes your app easier to manage, update, and scale over time.

• Strong community and support

It is widely popular among developers and popular organizations such as Netflix and PayPal take advantage of it. This means that whenever you are stuck, you can easily get resources and help from an active technical person.

• Handles data smoothly

NodeJS works great with JSON data, which is common in web apps. It also processes data streams efficiently so the app can handle files smoothly while they're uploading.

There are few disadvantages that we need to understand before choosing for our dream project.

• Code can get messy with many callbacks

Managing all those tasks at once can make your code pretty sprawling. This is usually referred to as the callback hell and makes your code really unreadable & non-maintainable.

• Some tools are not fully developed

NodeJS has many modules that can be used. However, not all these scripts are properly documented and tested. This can cause a lot of unexpected issues and bugs in your app.

• Doesn't easily use multiple cores

NodeJS will by default  not take advantage of multi-core processors. Using several cores requires you to include additional modules, which in return can make your application more complicated.

• Updates can cause problems

NodeJS is updated frequently and sometimes new versions don't work with the older code. it means you might need to rewrite the code again when you update NodeJS.

• Security risks with packages

A lot of third party packages are developed for NodeJS and many of them have security loopholes. Always keep your packages updated and be cautious with the usage of the right ones for your application. Always try to use popular and good rated packages.

• Asynchronous code can be hard to manage

Writing code that handles many things at once (asynchronous code) can be challenging. Even with helpful tools like Promises and async/await, it takes careful planning to ensure everything works smoothly.

1. Express.js

Express.js is a simple and flexible framework for building websites and mobile apps. It has many features that help you develop applications quickly.

Good Things:

• Easy to Start: Quick to set up and begin building your app.
• Big Community: Lots of tutorials and help available online.
• Flexible: Can be used for different types of projects.

Not So Good:

• Loose Structure: Doesn’t enforce a specific way to organize your project, which can lead to messy code in large projects.
• Fewer Built-In Features: You might need to add extra tools for some functions.

Learn More: Express.js Official Website 

2. Koa.js

Koa.js was created by the team behind Express.js. It aims to be smaller, more expressive, and more reliable for building web apps and APIs.

Good Things:

• Modern Features: Uses async/await, which makes handling tasks easier.
• Lightweight: Simple design makes it fast and efficient.
• Modular: You can add only the parts you need.

Not So Good:

• Smaller Community: Fewer resources and tutorials compared to Express.js.
• Less Compatible: Not all Express.js tools work with Koa.js.

Learn More: Koa.js Official Website 

3. Hapi.js

Hapi.js is a strong framework for building applications and services. It focuses on using configurations over writing lots of code, making it easier to create solid APIs.

Good Things:

• Configuration-Driven: Easy to set up complex applications using settings.
• Built-In Tools: Comes with features like input validation, caching, and authentication.
• Scalable: Great for building large and growing applications.

Not So Good:

• Harder to Learn: More complex to understand compared to simpler frameworks like Express.js.
• Less Flexible: Heavy use of configurations can limit some project needs.

Learn More: Hapi.js Official Website 

4. Nest.js

Nest.js is a latest framework for building efficient and scalable server-side APIs. It uses TypeScript and combines different programming styles to help you build strong applications.

Good Things:

• TypeScript Support: Adds type safety and better development tools.
• Organized Structure: Easy to manage and organize your code.
• Built-In Features: Includes things like authentication and validation right away.

Not So Good:

• Learning Curve: You need to know TypeScript and some design patterns to use it well.
• Too Complex for Small Projects: Might be more than you need for simple apps.

Learn More: Nest.js Official Website 

5. Sails.js

What It Is: Sails.js is a framework inspired by Ruby on Rails. It is designed for building custom, large-scale NodeJS applications.

Good Things:

• Auto-Generated APIs: Quickly create APIs without much effort.
• Real-Time Features: WebSockets integration that is useful when dealing with updates.
• Database Support: Compatible with numerous databases including MySQL, MongoDB, as well as PostgreSQL.

Not So Good:

• Heavyweight: Uses more resources compared to lighter frameworks like Express.js.
• Smaller Community: Fewer tutorials and less support than the top frameworks.

Learn More: Sails.js Official Website 

6. Fastify

Fastify is a progressive, fast, and lightweight HTTP framework for building NodeJS applications. That is because it is designed to be fast and friendly to developers making it suitable for the creation of scalable applications.

Good Things:

• Very Fast: One of the quickest NodeJS frameworks available. Schema-Based Validation: Uses JSON schemas to check requests, making your app more reliable and faster.
• Extensible: Supports many plugins to add features easily.
• Developer Friendly: Clear instructions and focuses on making development easy.

Not So Good:

• Smaller Community: Not as big as Express.js, so there are fewer third-party resources and plugins.
• Learning Curve: Focusing on performance and schema validation might take some time to get used to for beginners.

Learn More:  Fastify Official Website 

1. Lodash

It helps in working with arrays, strings, objects, numbers etc. It provides us with various inbuilt functions and uses a functional programming approach which makes coding in JavaScript easier to understand because instead of writing repetitive functions, tasks can be accomplished with a single line of code.

You can get more information from Lodash Official Website : Learn More 

2. Axios

Axios is used to make HTTP request calls. It helps to get data from APIs and handle responses easily. You can use it in frontend and backend programming.

You can get more information from Axios Official Website : Learn More 

3. Moment.js

Moment.js helps you work with dates and times. It makes it simple to parse, validate, manipulate, and format dates in your projects.

You can get more information from Moment.js Official Website : Learn More 

4. Winston

Winston Logger is one of the most popular logging libraries for NodeJS. It is designed to be a simple and universal logging library supporting multiple modes of transport. A transport is essentially a storage device for storing logs.

You can get more information from Winston Official Website : Learn More 

5. Jest

Jest is a unit testing framework. It helps you to write and run tests for your code to make sure your applications work correctly before making it to the production.

You can get more information from Jest Official Website : Learn More 

6. Async

Async NPM package helps you manage tasks that run at the same time (asynchronous operations) in NodeJS. It provides tools to run functions in the series or parallel.

You can get more information from Async on NPM Official Website : Learn More 

7. Joi

Joi is a popular package for validating data. It helps you make sure the data your app receives is correct and follows the rules you set.

You can get more information from Joi Official Website : Learn More 

8. Bcrypt

Bcrypt NPM package is used to hash passwords. It helps you store user passwords securely by converting them into a format that is hard to reverse. Bcrypt is very helpful to increase the security level of your application.

You can get more information from Bcrypt on NPM Official Website : Learn More 

9. ESLint

ESLint is used to find and fix problems in your JavaScript code. It helps with writing cleaner and more consistent code by following rules and best practices.

You can get more information from ESLint Official Website : Learn More 

10. PM2

PM2 is a process manager for NodeJS applications. It helps keep your application running smoothly by managing processes, handling restarts and monitoring performance.

You can get more information from PM2 on NPM : Learn More 

11. Bluebird

Bluebird is a popular package for working with promises in JavaScript. It makes handling asynchronous code easier by providing more features and better performance.

You can get more information from Bluebird on NPM : Learn More 

12. Socket.io

Socket.io is used to send and receive real-time data between client and server. It’s great for building real time chat applications, live updates and online games.

You can get more information from Socket.io Official Website : Learn More 

• Netflix

Netflix is the world’s largest streaming service with over 232.5 million active users, transitioned to NodeJS for faster interface loading to enhance user experience. Through NodeJS, Netflix was able to address the challenges of a monolithic application design and improve scalability. As a result, the startup time was reduced significantly due to the transition to NodeJS asynchronous codebase. This in turn allowed the application to be more efficient and let developers communicate more easily from the front-end to the back-end. Since transitioning to NodeJS, Netflix has continued expanding its use of this technology across different layers of its technology stack.

• NASA Aeronautics pioneer NASA turned to NodeJS for database access optimization related to EVA Spacesuits. With data scattered all around the location but with slow access times, NASA needed a quick solution regarding consolidating database awareness and making their databases appropriate for research usage. In connection with implementing NodeJS, NASA delivered about 300% enhancement in database access time, allowing scientists to gain the required database gains within the shortest time possible. Due to the microservices architecture delivered by NodeJS simultaneously, they could also properly migrate the legacy 30 year databases into the cloud, thus enhancing data availability at any place or venue.

• Trello

Trello, a popular project management tool based on Javascript, uses NodeJS to cater to instant updates and real-time connectivity. Trello’s frontend code required a server that matched its Javascript structure but could simultaneously talk to different frontend components easily. Through such development as that provided by NodeJS, Trello was able to experience quick prototyping and lightweight single-page application creation apart from maintaining zero latency server interactions owing to it. NodeJS enabled PayPal to develop new projects quicker, better, and with unexpected results. The fact of enhancing their way of working is nothing short of astonishing.

• PayPal

This is one of the popular websites built with NodeJS. PayPal is mounted to undergo development and performance enhancements involved in its JAVA based application. PayPal encountered issues concerning synchronization and efficiency where they had separated between backend development designed in Java and frontend development faced therein. PayPal has developed an approach leveraging NodeJS whereby unexpected results have been experienced beyond accomplished expansion. As well as reduced developers’ work time, size of codes and handling/speed of page loading.NodeJS enables PayPal to handle more requests per second thus improving overall application performance.

• LinkedIn

LinkedIn is considered the largest professional network in the world, with over 930 million users. The company turned to NodeJS to improve the performance of its app because its Ruby App used synchronous code and heavily loaded the page. Resource usage improved, resulting from fewer machines necessary for hosting the application. Using NodeJS made client-server interactions more manageable and simplified code structure. The transition to NodeJS allowed LinkedIn to build a more modular, reusable, and efficient codebase.

• Walmart

This is also one of the companies using Node JS backend. Walmart became one of the first leading supermarket giants trying to reduce e-commerce website costs by adopting NodeJS optimization. The retailer hosts almost 80 million users who browse through the Website or download mobile applications to access their products. Walmart realized it needed a robust and scalable system to handle the load. By using monolithic Java web applications and focusing on mobile eCommerce requirements, Walmart’s performance increased, but it was still challenging to work with distributed yet close teams. Most of the time, Walmart had to rely on manual development which created delays during updates and maintenance of the systems. Web development using Node JS helped automate the process.

• Uber

NodeJS was the backend solution powering Uber, a ride-hailing platform processing millions of concurrent requests. With an acrid architecture based on distributed principles and a host of modules linked to each other via connections, Uber needed a backend that could manage a large number of clicks and would effectively integrate route services. NodeJS proved appropriate, allowing for a reliable and self-healing environment for web and mobile applications in its back end. It also imparted a useful asynchronous and event-driven characteristic to NodeJS, allowing trip execution and API connectivity efficiency and reliability.

• Twitter

Due to its core focus on social networking and popularity amongst Internet users, Twitter turned to NodeJS to finetune its differentiating factors encircling mobile friendliness and patchy ad loadings. With about one-fifth of its user base accessing Twitter at any time via their mobiles, Twitter required NodeJS to boost click rates and optimize the user experience serving ads on the site. Coded in JavaScript, NodeJS made possible efficient developers and deployments fostering iterations speeding up the development process and arresting throttles.

• Yahoo

Yahoo, a platform heavy in content with many services, used NodeJS to reduce resource utilization and improve website performance. The Yahoo-powered website required a reliable server-side processor to handle numerous requests through minimum latency. The usage of NodeJS offered performance improvements to the usage of Yahoo’s application across its products. It provided faster loading speed support and facilitated the creation of new modules for third-party applications. Additionally, it allowed Yahoo to shift its backend and frontend code from a more costly platform to a more JavaScript-friendly one, thereby increasing the development speed and delivering features quickly.

• eBay

The second largest marketplace in the world, eBay turned to NodeJS to decrease resource utilization and improve website performance. The type of legacy application that eBay uses has long startup times and consequently affects the website's performance on a large scale. In reality, at eBay, NodeJS aided them in attaining a veritable technological accomplishment: realizing rea-time endeavors while utilizing both frameworks of Java, they attained reductions in traffic using NodeJS. Moreover, this would give them considerable time advantages over overseas competition and give the organization an edge over main contenders.

• GoDaddy

GoDaddy is one of the world's largest hosting and domain name providers. Switching to NodeJS significantly elevated their end-user performance. When designing their recently revamped website, GoDaddy reverted to NodeJS, which helped them facilitate a faster deployment process and enhance the site’s performance. NodeJS had lightweight runtime features, allowing GoDaddy to build up a 4x gain in end-user performance compared to the technology stack they were using before switching over to NodeJS. The backend infrastructure seamlessly incorporated NodeJS providing more efficiency through processes and cost savings.

• Medium

Medium, a platform that publishes content and blog posts, utilized web application development using Node JS to simplify tasks like their articles’ processing speed. With a web text editor with millions of posts on its server, Medium needed a backbone to efficiently handle huge amounts of data. A way faster than the other options is needed as this one requires speedy processing and efficient image routing through NodeJS. By utilizing NodeJS in Medium the loading time becomes faster, along with improved performance regarding the speed of the implementation and deployed services.

1. REST APIs

• REST APIs are commonly used by developers for making web requests to create, update, read and delete operations.

• REST APIs are friendly and adaptable for any developers. They communicate easily with the websites and use standardized web methods that include DELETE, POST, GET, PUT and  PATCH.

• We can write REST API in any programming language.

  Real use case: 

  Creating a service where users can sign up, log in and manage their accounts.

2. GraphQL APIs

• GraphQL is a data representation language of APIs that allows you to request only the data you want from the API.

• GraphQL is highly efficient for bandwidth and complex data handling as it only sends the data you request. It’s perfect for apps that need data from multiple sources. This method improves the speed of the application.

  Real use case: 

  A mobile app that needs to get user profiles, posts, and comments all at once.

3. WebSocket APIs

• WebSocket APIs allow for realtime and two-way communication between the browser and server.

• WebSockets are excellent for applications that require real time information updates such as real time chatting, live sports scores and playing online games.

  Real use case: 

  A real time live chat app where messages appear instantly without refreshing the page.

4. SOAP APIs

• SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) APIs use XML to send data between frontend and backend applications. They follow strict rules and standards.

• SOAP APIs are very secure and reliable, making them good for businesses that need strong data protection.This protocol is also widely used in the enterprise application.

  Real use case: 

  Banking systems where secure and reliable data exchange is very important.

5. gRPC APIs

• gRPC is a fast framework made by Google. It uses Protocol Buffers, a type of data format to send data quickly and efficiently.

• gRPC is great for connecting microservices and handling large applications that need faster communication.

  Real use case: 

  An online store where different microservices like payment, inventory, and shipping need to talk with each other quickly.

1. Nginx

NGINX is open source web server software used for load balancing, reverse proxy and caching. It provides HTTPS server capabilities and is mainly designed for maximum performance and stability of the web application.

Why Use It:

• Fast and Efficient: Handles a lot of requests quickly.
• Reliable: Effective when there is a large volume of traffic.
• Versatile: Offer static files to NodeJS applications.

Example Use:

Hosting your NodeJS application for users to access while optimizing for access under high traffic and quickening your site.

2. Apache

Apache is one of the oldest, trusted web servers and widely accepted by programmers. It is known for its flexibility and many features.

Why Use It:

• Highly Customizable: Lots of modules and settings to adjust based on your business requirement.
• Wide Support: Works well with many technologies and platforms.
• Secure: Strong security features to protect your apps.

Example Use:

Having several application based NodeJS alongside other websites on the same host.

3. IIS - Internet Information Services.

It is a web server specifically designed for Windows OS owned by Microsoft, though we can host NodeJS applications with an IIS web server. It is more compatible with the products from Microsoft.

Why Use It:

• Windows Integration: Is interdisciplinary football compatible with windows and excel applications and programs?
• User-Friendly: If an app is to be used more often than once a day then simply easy to manage having a graphical interface.
• Security: Built-in security is to protect your apps more securely.

Example Use:

Deploying NodeJS apps on a Windows server, if you want to host NodeJS applications along with Microsoft solutions.

Popular Caching Solutions for NodeJS

The right caching method sometimes determines speed and efficiency in NodeJS applications. Here are Some popularly adopted caching solutions by NodeJS developers for augmented speed handling more users and keeping an application running smoothly are as follows:

1. Redis

Redis stores data in your computer's memory and is an open-source, very fast tool that can handle all sorts of data: text, numbers, lists etc. This makes Redis very suitable for many caching requirements.

Use cases:

• Session Management: Organising user sessions should not be a problem that is hard to solve.

• Real-Time Analytics: Accomplish input, output processing and analysis.

• Pub/Sub Messaging: Communicate with other short bits of information from one segment of the application to another.

• Caching Frequently Accessed Data: Data whose required frequency is high within your app should be cached in order to minimize the time taken to fetch it from the database.

2. Memcached

Memcached is another quick and easy tool to use for caching data in the memory. It is intended for storing and retrieving small bursts of data in its basic format.

Use cases:

• Caching Database Query Results: Use database questions for reverting results for performing subsequent requests quickly.

• Storing API Responses: Keep responses from other services so you don't have to ask for them again.

• Managing Transient Data: Handle temporary data that doesn't need to be saved permanently, like short-lived tokens or flags.

3. Node-Cache

Node-Cache is a simple library made just for NodeJS. Unlike other databases that require additional services to run, it stores data in your application’s memory thereby making it easily usable.

Use cases:

• Serve Small to Medium-Sized Data Sets in Caches: Useful data that can easily be stored in the application’s memory cache.

• Temporary Storage of Results of Computation: Save values obtained at great computation expense so that they hence do not have to be calculated all over.

• Preventing work duplication: Don't do the same work several times; store the output.

4. NestJS Cache-Manager

NestJS Cache-Manager is a caching tool built specifically for applications using the NestJS framework. It uses the cache-manager package to make caching easy and flexible within NestJS projects.

Use cases:

• Caching HTTP Responses in NestJS Applications: Make your web responses faster by storing them temporarily.
• Storing Frequently Accessed Data in Microservices: Keep data that your microservices use often to improve their speed.
• Enhancing Performance of Resource-Intensive Endpoints: Reduce the load on parts of your app that do a lot of work by caching their results.
• Distributed Caching in Scalable NestJS Architectures: Use caching across multiple servers to support larger and more reliable applications.

Hosting Approaches for  NodeJS Application

Deciding on the right host to host your NodeJS application is crucial to its availability and scalability.

Here is a list of the best hosting choices.

1. Cloud Service Providers: Amazon Web Services (AWS)

There are many ways to host NodeJS applications on AWS that are flexible and either scale up/down right away. Availability provides fast configuration services within no time. Examples are AWS Elastic Beanstalk and Heroku. It is also useful for applications that require fast scaling and work well with other AWS services like Databases and Storage.

Good for applications that need the flexibility of rapid growth while integrating with other AWS services such as databases and stores.

Similar Platforms:

• Google Cloud Platform (GCP): Provides services such as Google App Engine for Hosting.

• Microsoft Azure: Offers Azure App Service for both Web Hosting and Kubernetes based hosting requirements.

2. Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS): Heroku

Heroku is a very easy to use deployment application that gets apps deployed in the shortest time possible.  You can use Git to deploy and benefit from many add-ons while not worrying about servers.

It is perfect for developers who wish to develop their applications and launch them to the market soon without worrying about server administration, appropriate for start-ups and small-scale projects.

Similar Platforms:

• Free SSL and background workers for Easy deployments.

• Google App Engine: It supports several programming languages for scalability of the applications.

3. Virtual Private Servers (VPS): DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean provides VPS instances known as Droplets. You are given total control over your server and can set it up however you want.

The best for developers who want more control over their server settings, such as picking their operating system or installing specific software.

Similar Platforms:

• Linode: High-performance VPS with flexible pricing.

• Vultr: Many server locations and fast SSD VPS.

4. Container-Based Hosting: Docker with Kubernetes

Kubernetes has you use Docker in that it enables you to deploy your applications in containers. It is controlled by Kubernetes where it is very convenient to scale up as well as to run an application smoothly.

Suitable for large applications that require a lot of scalability and that involves managing lots of containers automatically, something like big enterprise services.

Similar Platforms:

• Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS): Provided a desirable level of orchestration to the deployed containerized applications and was integrated with AWS.

• Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE): This service is the actual managed Kubernetes as part of GCP services.

5. Serverless hosting: AWS Lambda

AWS Lambda executes code with no consideration for servers as a necessary means.  It even includes scaling for you and you only pay for the time that your code is executing.

Especially good as support for the apps that are servicing events and which need to be scaled without your interference at the server level e.g., microservices.

Similar Platforms:

• Google Cloud Functions: Efficientized serverless akin to functions with Google services.

• Azure Functions: Azure has surprisingly variable and dynamic serverless features.

6. Managed NodeJS Hosting: NodeChef

NodeChef offers hosting only for NodeJS applications and as a service which means that the company is involved in managing the servers. They help you manage your server environment by installing, maintaining and even upgrading it for your application.

Best for developers who wish to host their applications with the added functionalities of databases, and application scaling that occurs automatically for applications experiencing growth.

Similar Platforms:

• Render: Self-hosted with frequent auto deployment, integrated free SSL implementation.

• A2 Hosting: Self-serviced nodes, specifically NodeJS hosting, that do not require any upgrade and have adequate customer service.

7. Shared Hosting: A2 Hosting

A2 hosting recommended good shared hosting for NodeJS applications. It is easy to install and has good customer support. It is suited for beginners and small projects.

Suitable for those simple applications, user websites’ during minor projects where you do not need much NodeJS functions.

Similar Platforms:

• Hostinger: Cheap webpage holding with NodeJS compatibility.

• Bluehost: Several NodeJS friendly shared hosting plans, including the generic shared host plans.

8. Self-Hosting

Self-hosting means that the NodeJS application is going to be hosted on either the user’s own hardware or on a rented server. It puts the full control in your hands as for the server and the options you want to set.

Ideal for such developers who require root access to their server, desire full flexibility of environments, or possibly intend to cheaply host applications with a heavy frequency of use.

Similar Platforms:

• Bare Metal Servers: As for a completely customized solution, there are options to rent a dedicated server in OVHcloud and Hetzner.

• Colocation Services: Leasing your racks in a data center as your servers, they provide you control with proper infrastructure.

There is a long list of databases that are supported by NodeJS which includes SQL based and NoSQL based systems. Here's a breakdown of the most common databases that are well-supported in the NodeJS ecosystem:

1. Relational Databases (SQL):

These databases utilize the structured query language (SQLs) and the common implementation includes tables.

• MySQL/MariaDB:

  MySQL is one of the most popular DBMS with the relational model, integrated into the idea of the original author Michael Widenius, while MariaDB is a fork, based on MySQL.

  Often used for web applications because it is easy to understand and implement as well as fast.

  Popular libraries for NodeJS:

  mysql2: The most widely used NodeJS MySQL client.

  Some of the ORM that supports MySQL are Sequelize, TypeORM, and Bookshelf.js.

• SQLite:

  The intuitive and lightweight DBMS based on the file system and relational model. Ideal for control applications with small to medium sized flow rates.

  It is preferred in the test or for small projects due to its transportability.

  Popular libraries for NodeJS:

  sqlite3: A fast and simple SQLite database library.

  Also used by most ORMs including Sequelize and TypeORM.

• Microsoft SQL Server:

  A version of the RDBMS developed by Microsoft.

  Primarily used for the enterprise since it can be deployed in Windows based systems.

  Popular libraries for NodeJS:

  mssql: A friendly SQL Server client for NodeJS.

  With the help of ORMs: TypeORM, Sequelize.

2. Non-Relational Databases (NoSQL): Unlike the Table databases, these databases store data in documents, key-value pairs or in graph structures.

• MongoDB:

  MongoDB is one of the most used NoSQL database systems that uses Binary JSON (BSON) for storing the data.

  Popular for web applications since it supports loose data efforts.

  Popular libraries for NodeJS:

  mongoose: An API to create, manage, query and extract custom collections in the MongoDB NoSQL database using an ODM (Object Data Modeling) library.

  mongodb: The MongoDB driver for NodeJS which is completely maintained by MongoDB.

• Redis:

  An efficient high-performance lightweight data structure for caching, and messaging with key-value services.

  Most suitable for applications such as real time, session and caching.

  Popular libraries for NodeJS:

  ioredis and redis: Redis NodeJS clients that are widely used commonly.

• Cassandra:

  A new generation database or an umbrella name for data storage systems designed to spread across many servers, and scale horizontally in large volumes.

  Well known for high availability and vertical scalability.

  Popular libraries for NodeJS:

  cassandra-driver: A robust library for Cassandra, built for and targeting NodeJS.

• CouchDB:

  A merchant is an example of a NoSQL database and uses JSON to store data and HTTP as an API.

  Being eminent for the simplicity of duplication and synchronizing between two databases.

  Popular libraries for NodeJS:

  nano: A CouchDB client for NodeJS.

3. Graph Databases:

These databases manage data in the form of nodes, edges and properties and are designed for graph-like data.

• Neo4j:

  A common graph database used for traversal of connected data.

  Most suitable for social networking services, fraud detection and identification, recommendation systems.

  Popular libraries for NodeJS:

  neo4j-driver: The rippling of Neo4j’s official driver.

• ArangoDB:

  A new generation open-source database that uses graph, document, and key-value modes.

  That is one of the reasons why it is loved so much; it is very flexible when it comes to the nature of data sets.

  Popular libraries for NodeJS:

  arangojs: A client for using ArangoDB in the NodeJs environment.

4. Time Series Databases:

The real-time databases are categorized into applications such as monitoring, analytics and Internet of Things.

• InfluxDB:

  A special form of DB designed to work on time-stamped data, with high data throughput capability.Popular for cases like monitoring, IoT, real-time processing and analysis.

  Popular libraries for NodeJS:

  influx: A collection of InfluxDB with the convenience of providing clients.

• TimescaleDB:

A time series extension of PostgreSQL database.Provides PostgreSQL features, and time series. Can be accessed using libraries that include the pg library in the NodeJS environment.

5. Other Specialized Databases:

• ElasticSearch:

A distributed search and discovery tool mainly operating for full textual search and analysis functionalities.

It’s not a type of DBS and not often considered as such but more often than not it is indeed used as a kind of DBS where great focus is given to the searching.

Popular libraries for NodeJS:

@elastic/elasticsearch: Persen Official ElasticSearch client.

• Firebase/Firestore

  Firebase is a NoSQL database hosted on a cloud of Google which is mainly used for mobile and web applications.

  Firestore is a real-time NoSQL database that is based on documents of the Firebase platform.

  Popular libraries for NodeJS:

  firebase-admin: Firebase Developer’s official: Firebase Admin SDK for NodeJS.

  Summary of Common NodeJS Database Libraries:

  Relational: pg, mysql2, sqlite3, mssql, and other ORMs such as Sequelize, TypeORM

  NoSQL: mongoose, ioredis/redis, cassandra-driverGraph: neo4j-driver

  Time-Series: influx pg (for TimescaleDB)

1. NodeJS vs PHP

1. NodeJS: A server-side JavaScript that uses Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine and can create highly capable, optimized, internet-scale applications through the use of event-driven I/O operations.
2. PHP: Originally a web development scripting language that has a large base of frameworks and extensive usage in traditional server-side rendered web applications (like WordPress).

Verdict:

However, NodeJS is more suitable for real-time applications, API programs, and event-driven applications than PHP that is suitable for operational web applications, particularly those that include hefty server-side rendering of content.

2. NodeJS vs .NET

1. NodeJS: JavaScript-based runtime environment for server-side and networking applications compatible across platforms and released under open-source license.
2. .NET (ASP.NET Core): An open source development of web applications, APIs and micro services primarily using C# or F# by Microsoft that supports multiple platforms.

Comparison:

Verdict:

NodeJS is excellent for real time/ event-driven systems, while.NET (ASP.NET Core) is more appropriate for large complex business applications, where CPU-intensive tasks and performance issues arise.

 3. NodeJS vs Java

1. NodeJS: JavaScript runtime that focuses on asynchronous event based programming paradigm.
2. Java: A fully developed third-generation object-oriented compiled language widely used in large-scale Commercial / Corporate applications.

Comparison:

Verdict:

NodeJS is more preferable for devices and applications where only simple and short tasks are run, and the Java platform has advantages in handling large-scale multitasking and highly efficient applications suitable for large enterprises and possessing high concurrency and state-of-the-art architecture.

4. NodeJS vs Python

NodeJS: Synchronous, event-driven structure with the help of the JavaScript language.

Python: It is a multipurpose language and easier to comprehend like a scripting language, data science, web applications.

Comparison:

Verdict:

For building applications with synchronous I/O requirements, NodeJS is effective than Python for building real time applications, data sciences, machine learning, automation scripts and for scripting.

 Python is a convenient and diverse language which allows for more development activity to be done quickly.

Summary:

• NodeJS vs PHP: NodeJS fits complex apps, particularly run via APIs, better than PHP that is more suitable for traditional server-side rendered sites and CMS systems.
• NodeJS vs .NET: NodeJS is best for building simple, scalable applications and.NET is best for building CPU intensive, enterprise applications.
• NodeJS vs Java: NodeJS is perfect for near real time event based applications and Java is designed for large scale highly transactional multithreaded systems.
• NodeJS vs Python: NodeJS is best suited to I/O bound real time apps whereas Python is best suited to data science, artificial intelligence and web development utilizing Python-based frameworks such as Django and Flask.

1. NodeJS Releases

It is practically impossible to use currently any version of NodeJS without updates for performance and security release. Finding updates frequently stabilizes applications and makes them long-lasting, especially when developed through NodeJS platform. The NodeJS team is very consistent with its releases, and there’s always an LTS version, which is dubbed for production. Those interested in strategies for the traditional NodeJS releases and features for each of them should consult the main webpage.

 Learn more about NodeJS releases 

2. NodeJS Community

This is largely due to the fact that the NodeJS community is vast, practical and international, composed of developers, contributors and fans of the platform. Meetup is a way to communicate with each other as well as developers can attend the conference where a full-fledged program for beginners is developed for its members to give them more opportunities. Communicating with others in the community is an excellent method of keeping up to date, and helping the NodeJS to develop.

 Join the NodeJS community 

3. Contribute to NodeJS

NodeJS contribution is a great chance for developers to define the further evolution of the platform. In fact, there is a whole plethora of activities where one can engage; writing code, writing documentation, providing support/mentorship among others. Donations are not only limited to writing code but interacting in the forums, issue reporting, and planning and/or hosting events.

 Learn how to contribute to NodeJS 

4. NodeJS Official Certification

The Linux Foundation’s certification program for NodeJS is meant to provide proof of your ability to develop robust applications using NodeJS as a language. Well suited for the developers who look forward to rising up the career ladder.

 Learn more about NodeJS Certifications 

NodeJS has proved to be one of the most promising platforms for creating high-demand applications with high availability. Since its asynchronous and event-based structure, it nicely fits tasks with a lot of Input/Output operations such as for real-time applications, APIs, microservices and more. NodeJS is popular in industries due to its robust community and tremendous libraries within the npm facility and uses modern javascript.

From the developer’s perspective, NodeJS is a great place to be for developing the skill, interacting within the community, or getting certified. Due to its use at every level of application, from start-ups to enterprise application solutions, it is highly recommended by NodeJS development companies. With the advancement in technology, NodeJS still ranks among the best technologies for server-side programming languages.

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