NodeJs - Pros and Cons

Everyone's familiar with JavaScript the most popular programming language used as a client-side development tool in 95% of websites, but what about server-side programming? 

Well, with the introduction of NodeJs, JavaScript has become an all-purpose full-stack development language So, let's discuss what NodeJs is and then explore its advantages and disadvantages.

NodeJs is an open-source runtime environment for JavaScript. It is based on the Chrome v8 Engine. Node.JS allows your programs written in JavaScript to be executed on the server. It was first written in 2009 to create dynamic web pages before they're sent to a browser, It soon became one of the most used tools in back-end web development.

Node is a part of popular MEAN and MERN JavaScript centered technology stacks that cover the entire web development pipeline. There are many frameworks built for Node including such popular ones like ExpressJS, Meteor, and others. To source modules and ready-made packages, you can use NPM, an extensive package base that helps build with MEAN and MERN stacks. So, there are multiple reasons why NodeJS became a standard for enterprise companies like Netflix, Uber, and eBay.

To determine whether Node.JS fits your needs, let's look first at its pros, and then we'll consider the cons. 

We'll begin with the strengths.

Node.JS has opened the doors to JavaScript full-stack development, inheriting the merits of JavaScript programming as well as allowing engineers to use its libraries and features. JavaScript achieves high performance with fewer lines of code when compared to Java or C. Also, the frontend and backend are easier to keep in sync, because of a single language used on both sides of the application.

Developer-wise, it also became possible to share and reuse code. With the help of node modules, which are basically independent chunks of code, developers can use prebuilt modules or reuse their own modules.

Node.JS is highly scalable and lightweight, That's why it's a heavy favorite for microservice architectures. In a nutshell, microservice architecture means breaking down the application into isolated and independent services. It makes it easier to update and maintain the architecture as your services are decoupled and you can add new or fix existing architecture without dealing with other parts of the application. Node.JS fits well for designing such architectures with the help of node modules which represent building blocks of Node.JS functions.

Node.JS is considered fast, thanks mostly to Chrome's v8 engine. It is used to compile JavaScript into machine code instead of using an interpreter. JavaScript community notes constant improvements in the engine, as Google continues to invest heavily in it. 

While its event-based nature makes NodeJs highly efficient for real-time applications that require constant data updates, the non-blocking input-output model solves performance issues. The performance is enhanced by concurrent request processing which uses a single thread event loop. A non-blocking Input-output model allows for processing several requests at a time This makes Node.JS highly efficient for processing multiple requests with less CPU usage.

 In 2015, a number of companies including IBM, Microsoft, PayPal, Fidelity, and SAP organized a NodeJs Foundation. It's an independent community aimed at facilitating the development of NodeJs core tools. Regardless of active corporate involvement, NodeJs is an open-source project that gathered a vast community of developers providing ready-made solutions and guides for each issue on Github. With a growing community, you'll always have pathways to the solutions of your specific problems 

Thousands of libraries and tools for JavaScript development are gathered on npm, a default NodeJs package manager, and marketplace. With the constant support of the NodeJs community, NPM focuses on encouraging users to add new packages So, you have countless, ready-made solutions for specific issues. 

Since Node.JS inherits many JavaScript features, including its libraries, Front-end developers will likely learn it pretty quick. Also, considering the community support and the overall popularity, Javascript has a fast learning curve for beginner developers. But all that said, Node.JS is not a silver bullet. It also has drawbacks that you want to keep in mind.

 As we mentioned, NodeJs uses a non-blocking input-output model for processing requests, so it's considered single-threaded by nature. NodeJs is capable of processing several simple tasks, for instance, read database query without blocking the main thread. Whenever there is a heavy-computation request, Node.JS would set up a block on other requests on the thread, causing an overall delay and that's considered a major drawback.

In the latest updates, threading was introduced as an experimental feature designed to process heavy computations. Using a worker thread module, developers are now able to spawn additional threads for parallel processing to carry requests that block the event loop. Considering this, NodeJs may become suitable for processing CPU-bound tasks and used for Machine Learning based calculations in the near future. 

NPM registry seems to be quantity, not quality-driven, while core products prove to be stable and well-tested, the rest of the NPM registry is poorly structured and badly documented. Of course, that's not uncommon for open source projects. The last point worth mentioning is the lack of experienced JavaScript developers that work with backend.

Wrapping up, NodeJs is a powerful and lightweight tool for full-stack web development. Most likely you would use it when building microservice architectures or even cross-platform desktop programs with an electron framework. Enterprise giants are investing in its development So when choosing a backend tool and comparing such options as Python-based Django, PHP, or Ruby on Rails, also consider Node.js. 

I hope you liked reading the blog. Make sure to share your thoughts in the comment section.

Thank you!