Introduction to Node.js
I am pretty sure you have heard about Node.js and basically everyone is taking about it, right . In some cases you also have used it without knowing exactly what it is. Well today I am here to give you brief introduction about what exactly is Node.js, why is it so popular and where can you learn it.
What exactly is Node.js :
You must be knowing what JavaScript is and probably also have used it in many of your projects. You even have tinkered it with using your favourite browser’s developer tools. But is that all to JS that it can only be ran in the browser. Well here comes Node.js, Node.js is a server-side platform built on Google Chrome’s JavaScript Engine (V8 Engine) which let’s you run JS even in other environments from the browser like your terminal and mobile. To install Node.js you can click here on Windows, Mac or Linux respectively. It also includes npm which is the package manager for JavaScript and the world’s largest software registry.
Why is it so popular :
- Same old JavaScript : Before introduction of Node.js back-end application and servers were made in different languages like Java and Python and so a full-stack developer needed to take care of different languages at the same time and also the leaning curve which was involved into learning them. With Node we can create all kinds of back-end applications and servers just using pure JS.
- It is Fast : When it comes to Node.js it is blazingly fast both in development of an application and also in execution of the code. It has the ability to compile and execute JS at lightning fast speed, mainly because it compiles JavaScript into a native machine code.
- It is Lightweight : Node.js uses an event-driven architecture which means that every single call and operation, is a chain of asynchronous callbacks. This allows Node.js to run on a single thread, different to other web technologies, which spawn a new thread per-client request. This is the very foundation of the non-blocking I/O nature you may have heard that is Node.js’ main feature.
- Build-in support for Database : Most of the developers out there prefer to use object database such as MongoDB with a Node.js application. Contrary to traditional SQL databases, MongoDB uses a document-based model instead of a relational model, this means that instead of tables, it uses objects resembling JSON and stored the data in form of BSON.
- Can be hosted almost anywhere : With the every increasing popularity of Node.js and also most of the application on the web today use Node.js as the back-end, there are several cloud-based hosting providers and web servers that support web applications built on Node out-of-the-box. This includes Google, Amazon AWS, Heroku, Microsoft IIS, Microsoft Azure, and many others.
Where to Learn :
- Introduction to Node.js on edX (Free)
- TutorialsPoint (Free)
- Node JS Tutorial for Beginners by Net Ninja on YouTube (Free)
- Learn and understand NodeJS on Udemy (Paid)
So that’s it you for now. Give claps if you liked this articles as it would encourage me to write more and will make me happy :D. To connect with me click here on LinkedIn, Github, Facebook and Instagram respectively or send me an email at jatin11gidwani@gmail.com.
