Servers, Node.JS and API’s

Servers are computers or devices that dedicated to managing data and resources for a network.

There are many different kinds of servers that are used to perform specific tasks. File servers, for example, allows any user on the network to store files while print servers manage one or more printers. A network server manages network traffic while database server processes database queries.

Node.js is a Chrome platform, written in JavaScript, designed for building network applications. It uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it ideal for handling data-intensive applications that run in real-time and across a variety of devices.

Node.JS is fast and efficient while excelling in Asynchronous and Event Driven operations that enable client to server side communication. One important aspect of this platform is that it uses a single threaded, non buffering model with event looping which helps servers to respond in a non-blocking way making the much more reliable than traditional servers like Apache HTTP.

An API (application-programming interface) is a set methods used for accessing data via Web-based software applications and/or Web tools. Companies design and release API’s so other software developers can design software and products that are powered by its service. It more or less enables multiple applications to communicate and share data.

API’s are designed to make some of a program’s internal functions available to the users. One prime example of this is with Google maps. By way of AJAX requests or forking code, users can extract a variety of data such coordinates and combine them with other applications like say Instagram or Yelp and develop software that will display images or information corresponding to the data that is being utilized from the Google maps API database.

API’s are an extremely vital resource for the technological age because by providing users with multiple ways to share code it will ultimately pave the way for further innovation down the road.