This might give a small shock to many that JavaScript has long been used for the development of the backend of web applications.

Yes, this is absolutely correct, and NodeJS — the JavaScript runtime environment is a popular framework used for frontend as well as backend development of the mobile and web apps. It is an open-source, cross-platform development framework built on top of Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine.

After the release of the NodeJS platform, it has proved one thing, which is that small packages come with big surprises. Its event-driven architecture approach and asynchronous I/O impressed the development community. Furthermore, such capabilities make it perfect to develop dynamic and scalable web applications.

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This helped NodeJS gain immense popularity within a short period of time. The framework has been used by some of the renowned brands like Netflix, Walmart, Medium, PayPal, IBM, etc. NodeJS has become a robust & viable option for a back-end development platform. Let’s see why:

Features Offered by NodeJS

Thanks to its sharp and straight features, NodeJS has become a primary tool for many backend developers to build web apps. Such features will enable development teams to create user-friendly & functional applications. Here are some features of it:

1. Simple Profiling

NodeJS has a built-in profiler, which uses the Chrome V8’s built-in profiler that helps sample stack during program execution. Further, this profiler records the results too.

2. Extensive Library

Thanks to the node package manager (npm), NodeJS has a proliferated ecosystem. Currently, NodeJS holds over 10,00,000 npm open-source packages. Thus, developers can benefit from them immensely.

3. Node’s Event Loop

It provides Node with high scalability. The event loop feature is also responsible for performing I/O operations. Such operations in NodeJS are asynchronous and non-blocking in nature.

4. Ability to Work with Different Filesystems

Since different file systems work in different ways, it can mess with your coding. However, NodeJS has a smart & technical way to bypass and work with different filesystems. This enables developers to keep the code neat & simple while following all the best coding practices for NodeJS.

Apart from these, other NodeJS features to take note of are massive community support, rich & clean documentation & debugging tools. Here are a few types of web applications developers prefer Node for creation.

• Streaming apps & complicated applications.
• Real-time chat applications.
• JSON API based apps
• Microservices-architecture-based applications.

Advantages of NodeJS for Web App Development

Leveraging NodeJS has many clear benefits and advantages that make many developers prefer this framework over other programming languages. Let’s see what these are:

1. Easy to Master

Since developers are already familiar with JavaScript and use it for frontend development, they don’t have to put extra effort into learning a new language or framework for backend development. They can easily master NodeJS, which is also based on JavaScript.

This is beneficial, especially for developers who can effectively handle the frontend and backend of web applications.

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2. Clean Consistent Coding

Coding with NodeJS is clean and consistent. Since Node uses a single codebase, it becomes easy for developers to synchronize data across the frontend and backend of the application.

Programmers can use the same tools and naming conventions that can drastically decrease the coding time and make source codes more cleaner and consistent.

3. Good for Microservices Development

NodeJS has a lightweight yet scalable structure, which makes it easy to employ Node for developing and maintaining microservice architecture-based applications. This is particularly beneficial for developers to test, handle, and operate apps independently.

Further, it helps not only for mitigating risks but also lowers the development costs and time.

4. Great Corporate Support

Many renowned names have been associated with the NodeJS and use this resourceful runtime environment. However, the corporate support received by Node is massive. In 2015, companies like Microsoft, SAP, IBM, etc. established a NodeJS foundation to facilitate node development by building and upgrading advanced core tools.

Over the years, companies coming forward to support node development have increased drastically.

Tips to Fasten Development of NodeJS Apps

Developers sometimes come across several challenges when developing NodeJS apps. There will always be some technical flaws no matter how trivial they are, which can be handled with some help and tweaks.

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Here are some tips that will help you fasten your NodeJS app development process.

1. Using Cluster Modules

NodeJS is by default wired to work on a single core of the processor and does not use the different cores that might be available on the system. But by using the core cluster modules will enable Node apps to run on more than one processor.

Moreover, the cluster has additional capabilities to handle large volumes of data & requests.

2. Use of Caching Mechanism

Through caching implementation, you can save the server from executing the same functions repeatedly. If your apps have static data that does not change much over time, then using caching can quicken the pace of the development. Further, it improves the performance of the apps by decreasing the response time.

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3. Automation Tests

Test automation can save a lot of time and makes running tests easier whenever a new element is added or a part is altered. They widen the testing scope as they run on algorithms and are less prone to errors. Further, they increase the time-to-market of an application.

4. Query Optimization

The reason NodeJS thrives is its gigantic database. And one single bad bug or query can slow down the data-fetching process. So, developers should focus more on query optimization as it can help minimize the issues such as frequent app crashes.

Wrapping Up

With apt skills, experience, and an appropriate combination of technologies can help maximize the use of this optimized JavaScript runtime environment. Features and tips listed in this article will help you maximize and get the most out of your NodeJS development project.