Node.js And Fortune 500 Companies: Fewer Efforts, More Rewards

61,000+ stars on GitHub

2,450 contributors

7.49K votes on StackShare

Introduced 10 years ago

More than one billion downloads

Fastest-growing open-source project

85% of respondents advocating using Node Web Development Services

One of the successful, widely-used, and popular open-source projects on this earth

Thousands of users including NASA, IBM, Microsoft, PayPal, Walmart, Uber, LinkedIn, Netflix, and so on

What else do you want to decide the next framework for your project?

Maybe, in-depth understanding of what Node.js is? Or how it has gained recognition from all over the world? Or why these tech giants have chosen Node.js development?

Before we go exploring the reason behind its popularity, we are starting with basics.

So, What Is Node.js?

If we answer this in one sentence then, Node.js open-source JavaScript run-time environment.

Node.js is much more than a run-time environment because,

It lets developers leverage JavaScript for server-side scripting (This is opposite to the generic characteristic of JavaScript as JavaScript is majorly used for client-side scripting)

It is also a command-line tool that can work as a regular server and lets you run JavaScript

It uses the V8 JavaScript Engine (used by Chrome Browser)

It is based on event-based architecture (a software architecture where events react and change their states to streamline message-passing in a distributed environment)

It performs asynchronous I/O (A form of input/output processing that allows processing in continuous mode before I/O gets completed.

It allows developers to communicate with databases easily

It is very suitable to develop real-time, scalable, enterprise-level applications

Node.js is majorly used for backend and paired nicely with front-end JavaScript frameworks like Express, Angular, ReactJs, Vue, and many more. What’s more important is, Node.js promotes ‘JavaScript everywhere’ paradigm which is a key attraction for developers.

Who Invented Node.js? How It Has Gained In Popularity?

The history of Node.js is interesting.

Node.js was created by Ryan Dahi in 2009.

At that time, Apache HTTP Server was a popular web server but was unable to handle concurrent requests. To overcome the problem of scalability and parallel execution of code, Ryan Dahi created Node.js which is thought to be addressed these problems.

In Node.js’s User Survey 2018 Report, 85% of respondents said that they’re using Node.js for web apps.

The integration of Node.js with Google’s V8 JavaScript engine was the significant move and a contributing factor to the popularity of Node.js as V8 is the JavaScript execution engine.

In 2010, a package manager for Node.js environment launched to make installation, upgrade, and sharing code easier for programmers. Node.js quickly became popular after a few years of its release due to the ease of development.

Here Are Some Of The Reasons Why Node.Js Is Popular:

• Easy Learning Curve

This is a prime benefit for developers.

For most of the web developers, JavaScript skill is mandatory. Majority of the developers are aware of JavaScript and that makes it easier to learn Node.js in a few weeks.

Unlike other Java or .Net frameworks with a steep learning curve, Node.js offers easy learning curve by utilizing JavaScript for frontend and backend. Additionally, it does not require a specific resource to maintain the server, making development faster and cost-effective.

Node.js also provides various modules to handle file operations, networking, cryptographic functions, and other important functions to simplify server applications.

Npm – Node Package Manager, a default package manager for Node.js is widely used by over 11,000,000 JavaScript developers over the world. Npm is the world’s largest software registry to share, run, download, update, and manage packages.

• Suitable for Modern Web Development

From static to dynamic to microservices, we have been witnessing the change in code, architecture, tool, and storage mechanism.

At present, the rise of microservices architecture has already modernized web development. Web development has become faster, easier, more appealing, and cost-effective over time.

Node.js is one of the most in-demand software skills for the upcoming years.

Node.js supports microservices architecture which is powerful, highly-beneficial, and suitable for the organization of any size. The combination of Microservices and Node.js is used by tech giants like PayPal, Netflix, GoDaddy, and so on.

If you don’t know what Microservices is, here is the definition in simplest terms,

According to Nic Grange, CTO at Retriever Communications

“Microservices is an approach to designing software systems that are made up of small independent services that each has a specific purpose.”

Node.js supports this modern software development architecture and developers love this advancement of Node.js.

• Scalability and Performance

Node.js follows a single-threaded and event-driven model which allow it to handle simultaneous requests making it very useful for the enterprises having a large user base.

While other architecture creates another thread upon new request, Node.js handles everything within a single thread with the help of asynchronous I/O and event-driven architecture.

According to Stackshare.io, 4006 companies use Node.js in their tech stacks.

Node.js is capable of handling thousands of requests at a time and that’s the key reason why giants like Netflix, LinkedIn, and Walmart with the highest number of concurrent users prefer Node.js as their runtime environment.

• Cross-Platform, Mobile-Friendly, And Developer-Friendly Platform

We have observed a dramatic rise in cross-platform app development over recent years. Writing one code base and using it for different platforms with little or no modification made it popular among cost-savvy business owners.

Node.js is itself cross-platform runtime environment enabling developers to utilize JavaScript to build stellar cross-platform apps for web and mobile.

It is suitable for almost all type of projects.

Here Are Types Of Applications You Can Develop With Node.Js:

• Social media platform (LinkedIn uses Node.js)
• Streaming services (Best example: Netflix)
• Online payment system (PayPal uses Node.js)
• Real-time project collaboration and management tool (Trello)
• Ecommerce platform (Walmart)
• Single-page applications with complex functionality
• Real-time applications
• IoT applications
• Applications using a microservices architecture

Node.js has transformed web development and made it scalable, faster, and simpler yet loaded with modern features.

We have seen the reasons, now is a time for strengths (advantages) of Node.js over others.

What Are The Advantages of Using Node.js?

• It is a light-weight, open-source, and cross-platform runtime environment
• JavaScript for the server-side coding is cherry on the top
• It is suitable for dynamic web app development
• All types of apps you can build with Node.js including enterprise and SPAs
• You can use several amazing JavaScript frontend frameworks with Node.js
• Efficient, faster, and scale-when-needed web app development
• A number of modules and tools are available to use
• Faster code execution than any other due to robust architecture
• Strong community support and constant improvement
• Easy to find developers and easy learning curve
• Requires no overhead to maintain frontend and backend separately
• Cost-effective and allows you to build apps with faster time-to-market

Fewer Disadvantages of Using Node.js:

Frequent changes and updates in Node.js API considered as one of the key disadvantages as developers need to reflect those changes in existing code and make it compatible to match the latest version of APIs.

Also, many modules and third-party tools are not properly documented or are immature.

Comparison of Node.js With Other Environments:

• Node.js vs. PHP

When we talk about web development in today’s world, Node.js and PHP are popular environments and often being compared based on various factors. PHP is a server-side scripting language and used worldwide to build a strong web presence. These two back-end technologies, Node.js and PHP have their own sets of advantages and disadvantages and one can choose based on the requirement, budget, timeline, and performance.

• Node.js vs. Python

Python is a dynamic, multi-purpose, and object-oriented programming language while Node.js open-source, JavaScript runtime environment. Node.js is suitable for real-time web applications and Python is an ideal platform to build machine learning and network-intensive applications.

• Node.js vs. Ruby On Rails

After PHP, Ruby On Rails is a prominent and popular framework for web development. RoR allows integration with JavaScript frontends that makes it one of the popular runtime environments. It is used by renowned organizations like Airbnb, Bloomberg, CrunchBase, Dribble, Yellow Pages, Fiverr, and so on.

• Node.js vs. Golang

Designed by Google, Go programming language, also known as Golang, is syntactically similar to C language. It is widely used at Google and many other open-source projects to build high-performing backbends.

In terms of popularity and easy learning curve, Node.js is a winner because Go requires learning a new language unlike JavaScript in Node.js.

From small enterprises to Fortune 100 companies, every enterprise is reaping the benefits of ease of development and flexibility of Node.js. Considering modern web development structure, Node.js fits all the scenarios.

Let Us Start Thinking Towards Scalable, Superior, And Secure Web App Development:

Node.js is used by Fortune 500 companies and at present, they already know that Node.js offers unbeatable performance. Using JavaScript, Node.js is winning every battle of web development by offering the highest advantages.

Performance, security, coding efficiency, open-source, and faster performance – we believe, this is all you need for extraordinary web presence and NodeJS application development  provides the same.

Convinced to use Node.js for your next web app development?

Do you need more reasons?