NodeJS: A Web Development Framework Of Tomorrow

Since its inception in 2009, NodeJS has gained an increasingly stronger footing in the global developer community. I happen to be the kind of JavaScript developer who is always on the lookout for improved ways of delivering effective solutions to my clients, and NodeJS is pretty much the epitome of efficiency. That is probably the reason why over 28,000 websites in the US alone use it.

NodeJS stands in a class apart when it comes to real-time web applications that employ push technology over WebSockets. For over 20 years, development efforts subsisted on stateless-web base on the stateless request-response paradigm. With NodeJS, we now have web applications with two-way real-time connections. Both the client and the server can now initiate communications allowing for a free exchange of data. This is very different from the typical web response paradigm in which it is the client who has to initiate communication.

With these advantages, Node.JS now plays an increasingly significant role in the tech stack of many of the world's enterprise giants. To get a better understanding of the offerings and capabilities of NodeJS, here a few stats that should help shed a little light on the framework.
•    NodeJS powers behemoths like Amazon, Netflix, eBay, Reddit, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and PayPal.
•    43% of Node JS developers use it to build enterprise applications.
•    85% use NodeJS development for web apps.
•    PayPal saw a 35% decrease in average response time with Node JS.
•    Node JS is capable of increasing application performance by 50%.
•    NodeJS development reduces costs by 58%.
•    Netflix and PayPal reduced their startup time from 40+ minutes to under a minute with Node JS.

NodeJS in Action
Being a JavaScript runtime environment, NodeJS development enables creation of web apps by using a single programming language instead of developers having to use a different language for server and client-side scripts. With non-blocking I/O (Input/Output), NodeJS can serve multiple simultaneous events in a single thread, making it fast, extensible, and efficient in handling data-heavy I/O workloads.
So, where do we get to see an example of NodeJS in action? Here's where-

Netflix
NodeJS sports a streaming API, making it an excellent choice for content streaming applications. NodeJS makes it possible to send parts of the app code to the user's local machine without closing either connections, temporary data, or even caching. This means that the user can easily download new components on demand.

Netflix used these capabilities of NodeJS to its advantage. Before deploying NodeJS, Netflix was using Java for its server-side and JavaScript for its client-side. This meant that the developers they deployed needed to know both languages and even code twice.

With NodeJS, Netflix streamlined its processes with NodeJS development and improved their app's performance. In terms of numbers, Netflix achieved a 70% decrease in load times, leading to a richer user experience and better engagements.

As an enterprise looking to implement NodeJS in the creation of a solution, you would like to know all of the benefits of the framework.

The benefits of NodeJS
Serverless and hardware free
One of the most apparent benefits of NodeJS is that it eliminates the factors of server maintenance and hardware from performance assessments. NodeJS saves on expenses. It is also much less time-intensive, thus speeding up development and amplifying developer efficiency and productivity.

Scalability
When it comes to scaling, a significant advantage that NodeJS presents is that only affected code requires changes instead of changing the entire code structure of the application. NodeJS focuses on performance, and therefore minimal coding positively influences execution speed as well as scalability.

Real-time apps
Real-time applications like food delivery apps or collaborative tools like Google Docs demand robust backends since high processing capabilities are required. NodeJS stands out as a great solution in such situations as it can fulfill the needs mentioned above for WebSockets protocols.

Microservices
Microservices by NodeJS offer fantastic support for the serverless method and also prove vastly useful when deployed on larger app/web development projects.

Other mentionable benefits of NodeJS are-
•    NodeJs is open-source
•    It is very lightweight, containing bare minimum modules
•    It is asynchronous, making it faster than other frameworks
•    It is a cross-platform framework and can run seamlessly on Windows, Mac, or Linux

Now that we have gone through the benefits of NodeJS, it's time to touch on the kinds of projects that NodeJS is most suitable for. Software project types that NodeJS works best for
IoT
NodeJS is the optimal solution for supporting the multiple connections and small messages that IoT devices demand.

Communication and collaboration tools
It is hard to match NodeJS development speeds, efficiency, scalability, and functional complexity offered by the vast number of simultaneous connections and message distribution required for WebRTC.

A/V processing
An asynchronous I/O NodeJS is the perfect tool to upload audio or video content to the server, which will process it and make it available to the user in minimal time.

Integration with C++
NodeJS sports the fastest bridging. i.e., the transmission of data between the application code and C++. NodeJS is a C++ server engine at the core that can execute JavaScript code, making integration with libraries extremely easy.

To make things simpler, the official NodeJS repository mentions a list of use cases perfect for NodeJS

NodeJS use cases
•    Backend API services
•    Small scripts
•    Agents and Data Collectors
•    Web Developer Tooling
•    SPA applications with bidirectional communication over WebSockets and HTTP/2
•    Generating/serving dynamic web page content
•    Service-oriented architectures
•    Microservice-based applications

However, on the flip side, there are cases where NodeJS should not be used to avoid complexity and errors. Software project types that NodeJS should not be used for

Apps with a monolithic architecture
Being a single-threaded platform, when something is being executed in NodeJS, the remainder has to wait. Monolith apps contain multiple functionalities, and therefore servers are used in sub-optimal ways making execution ineffective and time-intensive.

Complex CPU calculations
Highly loaded threads that require CPU computations are not ideal for NodeJS deployment. In cases where A/V processing is written on the backend instead of on external processing tools, NodeJS is not exceptionally performant.

Fintech
The 'floating decimal' point in the financial sphere can lead to a massive accumulation of finance variables' errors, making NodeJS unacceptable. Some tools enable the building of logic for high-precision calculations; however, they too have drawbacks.

NodeJS development by top software developers has full-stack capabilities making it one of the more popular JavaScript libraries available. It continues to play a significant role in shaping specific JavaScript frameworks that are very likely to be substantial entrees on the development scene.

List of the hottest NodeJS frameworks

Express.JS
Express has arisen as the main Node.js framework, which accompanies an MVC architecture and guarantees relentless and adaptable NodeJS development. Accompanied by a robust and completely configurable API, the framework makes development simpler.

Meteor.JS
Meteor is another driving full-stack node.js framework known for offering incredible simplicity in building web and mobile applications over numerous platforms. It permits developers to create multiple app versions with the same language. It gives a great deal of adaptability, straightforwardness, speed, and cost benefits.

Koa.JS
Koa.js is another NodeJs development framework that has been created by the same specialists who made Express. It is known to utilize ES2017 async functions; if you search for a minute footprint and a more expressive NodeJS framework with an incredible foundation, Koa.JS is the perfect option.

Sails.JS
Sails.js is a NodeJS based ongoing web development framework that utilizes MVC architecture. The framework is ideal for a cutting edge, information-driven web application, and API development needs. 

Nest.JS
Nest.js is another node.js framework that is, for the most part, utilized for building profoundly dependable server-side applications through rest API. It is anything but difficult to learn and a lightweight framework that can be used over all unique undertakings. Assembled utilizing the TypeScript language, it offers all standard Javascript highlights, for example, OOP, FP, and FRP.

NodeJS has many advantages, making it the framework of choice for startups and big global businesses alike. Here are a few trends gaining traction in the coming years and can help your enterprise gain a competitive advantage.

Upcoming NodeJS trends to watch for

MEAN & MERN Stack
MEAN, which consists of -MongoDB, Express, Angular, Node.JS, and MERN, which consists of -MongoDB, Express, React, Node.JS are two fastest-growing open-source development stacks.

GraphQL
GraphQL is an emerging trend that has grown with astonishing speed. It streamlines workflows and can be integrated with React.

Microservices
Microservices is a growing trend. It is an architectural approach based on building an app as a collection of small services allowing for ease of maintainability of code.

Cloud-Native apps
Node.JS is an excellent fit for cloud applications, given that it offers reduced hardware dependency. App development company helps build cloud-native apps from scratch and can also be deployed in scaling existing cloud apps.

In summation
Now that we have taken a reasonably close look at the offerings, sweet spots, and pitfalls of NodeJS, it is clear that the framework is a pretty big deal. It has excellent community support and is an extraordinary tech asset in its own right.

From statistics to use-cases, all indicators point to the fact that both developers and enterprises appreciate the capabilities of NodeJS, many proclaiming it a sure shot recipe for success. If you have decide in the NodeJS framework and are now looking for a NodeJS development company for your online ventures, let me assure you that you have chosen wisely and are on the right track.