Golang vs. Node.js — Comparison and Why Developers prefer Node.js

Golang and Node.js, both are the growing technologies used for back-end programming. While Golang is an open-source programming language, Node.js is an open-source server framework.

Both Golang and Node.js are gaining more and more popularity among the developers for various reasons. They are the two next-generation backend development platforms in a revolutionary movement to switch from the traditional server-side languages like PHP and Java.

Golang or Google Go

As described on the official documentation of the Go Programming Language:

“Go is expressive, concise, clean, and efficient. Its concurrency mechanisms make it easy to write programs that get the most out of multicourse and networked machines, while its novel type system enables flexible and modular program construction. Go compiles quickly to machine code yet has the convenience of garbage collection and the power of run-time reflection. It’s a fast, statically typed, compiled language that feels like a dynamically typed, interpreted language.”

The Golang or Go (as it is commonly known) was created as an experiment in 2007 by Google. It was meant to be powerful and practical following the basic principles of compiled language safety and development working speed.

In the 2 years from its initial release it was made available to the public as an open-source language. As it is a product of C and C++ languages, Golang makes the coding for robust networked apps much easier and efficient, bringing evolution in the field of web development.

Node.js

The official document defines Node.js as,

“A platform built on Chrome’s JavaScript runtime for easily building fast and scalable network applications. Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient, perfect for data-intensive real-time applications that run across distributed devices.”

Since its inception in 2009, Node.js has become a popular platform to create scalable, networked application. It is an open source server framework which is supportable on various platforms like Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Unix.

Node.js is equipped with a rich library of various JavaScript modules which facilitate smooth web development.

Let’s compare both of them on the basis of some factors that influence the performance of a programming language.

1. Maturity

Golang and Node.js both came into existence in year 2009.

Golang is comparatively quite stable and mature whereas the maturity level of Node.js is highly tentative as the APIs are under constant changes.

2. Performance

As Node.js is an interpreted language based on JavaScript, it is a bit slower than other compiled languages.

Whereas Golang is light-weighted and faster than Node.js as it is based on the characteristics of C & C++.

So we can say that in terms of raw performance of CPU and memory bound tasks, Golang is a better option. However, both the technologies display equal performance in real life tasks.

3. Error Handling

Golang demands explicit error checking, making it difficult to find the causes of error. However, the end result of error handling on Golang is consistent and flawless.

Node.js implements throw and catch handling approach which is already quite popular among the developers, although it displays some consistency issues at the end.

4. Learning Curve

Golang is a complete language. A Web and Mobile app developer has to learn it from the start and be familiarized with its specific processes, rules, interfaces, pointers and other programming concepts.

JavaScript, on the other hand, is one of the most widely-used coding languages. Hence, it is easy to learn and switch to Node.js if the developer is familiar with JavaScript. And if not, there are thousands of educational materials provided by the giant JavaScript community.

Thus, Node.js learning curve is much simpler than Golang.

So now the question arise that which platform to choose? Node.js or Golang

Well, it all depends on the size of the project and type of its development.

It cannot be ignored that Node.js offers a variety of packages which are hard to implement in Golang. Also, Node.js has broader community so it provides better support and solutions if a developer stuck somewhere while writing the code.

You must know that 98% of the Fortune 500 companies along with some global organizations like NASA, PayPal, LinkedIn, Netflix and Walmart use Node.js on a regular.

What makes Node.js so preferred?

In the words of Jeff Harrell, Director of Engineering and Chief Architect at PayPal, “Node.js based app need 33% fewer lines of code, handle double the number of requests per second, and shorten response time by 35% compared to the Java version.”

What makes Node.js more advantageous?

Node.js stands out among the wonderful range of backend development technologies like Zend, Symfony, Python and Lumen.

It is not just a JavaScript framework, but complete environment equipped with all the necessary tools required by a developer.

Node.js facilitates the use of non-blocking and event-driven I/O which makes it light and fast for real-time applications.

Node.js is a client-side framework which enables the two-way connection between the client and server at real time, where anyone can initiate the communication so that data can be exchanged freely.

Major Advantages of Node.js

1. Easy Installation: A framework, no matter how feature-rich it is, must not take much time and effort to install otherwise it will slow down the operations at the backend.
Node Package Manager (NPM), a default package management tool that comes with every Node.js installation makes it easier for the developer to perform the backend operations.

2. Core Library: The NPM tool of Node.js provides a repository with 550+ modules, which eradicates the need for writing the repetitive codes, ultimately freeing up a lot of time of the developers.

3. Hosting Requirements: The functioning of an application is determined by the choice of hosting.
A Node.js application doesn’t have face any such problem as it can be hosted almost anywhere and everywhere, even on the cloud-based hosting providers and web servers.

4. Relevance: Node.js is a highly advanced framework which provides enhanced security from hackers.
One of the key advantages of Node.js is that it is easy to modify and maintain and it facilitates quick finding and fixing of bugs.

5. Real-time Data Streaming: Node.js empowers real-time data streaming which reduces the overall processing time, giving extra time to the developers to work on additional features.

6. Universality: It doesn’t matter if you are developing a chat like real-time application or using programs that need either event-based servers or non-block servers or both, Node.js is the perfect choice for the backend framework.

7. Easy Sharing: The Node Package Manager of Node.js comes equipped with a core library of 50K packages which is useful in creating a variety of strong solutions which can be updated, shared, and reused by other developers as well.

8. Speed: Node.js is written in JavaScript and powered by the powerful Chrome V8 engine by Google, making it one of the fastest frameworks which perform tasks in the blink of an eye.

Conclusion

JavaScript remain to be the most preferred programming language by the developers. However, there is no perfect language or framework which suits all projects.

Hence, it is important to choose a skilled offshore web development company which know what language, framework and tools to use which comply with the need and requirements of a given project.