Why is it Important to Learn Node.js in Web Development?
With the development of web applications, many popular frameworks have been designed. Node.js is one of the most popular open-source frameworks that were first written in 2009 by Ryan Dahl. It refers to a JavaScript run-time environment and can run on multiple platforms like Windows, Linux, UNIX, Max, etc.
Node.js serves another purpose apart from the JavaScript framework. It is very useful in developing server-based web applications. A web server’s task is to open a file on the server and send back the content to the client. Node.js reduces the waiting time and returns to the next request. It helps in generating dynamic content of the page and can also alter the data in your database by adding, deleting or modifying them. This framework is extremely important to learn when it comes to advanced web development.
There are many significant factors that contribute to the importance of learning this JavaScript framework:
Say no to complex codes:
Node.js is highly lauded for its performance. It uses the V8 JavaScript engine and has an asynchronous architecture. The good performance is entirely credited to the fast processing of the V8 engine. It is popular in the implementations of many products of Google, like Gmail.
Besides this, it uses an asynchronous paradigm which also adds to its better performance by handling the data smoothly between the client and the server. Thus, the file reading process continues in the background without disturbing the other processes. Unlike Node.js, other server-based applications have to handle every request separately, which further adds to the complexity. With this framework, one doesn’t need any complex codes to be added to the JavaScript application.
Highly scalable:
Node.js is based on a single-threaded model and incorporates event looping. It doesn’t block input/output operations and works in a non-blocking way. Thus, it is highly scalable and uses many threads, unlike traditional servers which use very limited threads.
Though Node.js uses single thread programming, it can handle multiple requests at a time. Thus, it is best suited for event-driven applications that offer a non-blocking feature. Apart from this, you don’t need to learn any other programming languages to become a master of Node.js. If you have learnt JavaScript then you can easily get your hands on this framework.
Write on both client and server:
The biggest benefit of learning node.js for web development is that it can be used to write JavaScript on both server and client-side. Earlier it was specifically a language that was used to write on the client-side, backed by PHP and Java. Now tooling becomes more flexible and teamwork has become much more efficient which this framework.
Building microservices:
Node.js also offers the benefit of building microservices. The dominance of microservices in the software industry is highly popular because of its documented style and flexibility. You can easily package and publish the modules through Node Package Manager (NPM). Many top companies are also incorporating this technology into their products because of their high productivity. Some of them are LinkedIn, PayPal, Uber, Mozilla, GoDaddy, etc. It is also used to build applications for e-learning portals, streaming applications, collaboration tools, etc.
Career prospects:
Learning Node.js offers a plethora of career prospects for youth today. It takes a lot of effort in the development of applications and mastering the technologies and frameworks. With both the JavaScript and Node.js on client and server sides, it offers an abundance of job opportunities in full-stack development. Instead of hiring separate front end developers, companies look forward to hiring candidates who are well versed in open source server environment.
