Node.js Vs Spring Boot- Which Should You Choose?

Deciding on a server-side technology for your project is not a child’s play. You can not afford to make an ill-informed decision. The two frameworks that are in consideration are both popular and very reliable.

Their unique offerings are the reason they are used ubiquitously for business app development. Both NodeJS and Spring Boot are preferred as the best options for creating robust and scalable mobile and web applications.

This article will act as your guide as it offers relevant information on both contenders. Here, we discuss the basics of the frameworks, their pros and cons, and why you should choose them, particularly for your project. So, let’s get started.

NodeJS

Although NodeJS is based on JavaScript, it was also created with the help of other languages like C++ and CoffeeScript. This JavaScript run-time environment is event-driven and asynchronous. So, it can run JavaScript code outside a web browser. The framework is incredibly lightweight and efficient. Therefore, NodeJS can easily handle complex data.

NodeJS Pros

• Being a JavaScript runtime environment makes NodeJS fast and lightweight in comparison to other traditional frameworks. When other frameworks take their sweet time to load and process the given data, NodeJS is very quick at data processing.
• If your app needs I/O tasks then NodeJS can come in handy. It is very efficient at processing Input and Output tasks. If your app is getting frequent user inputs then NodeJS is a perfect fit for you.
• In comparison to the apps built upon traditional frameworks, NodeJS apps consume much less memory. This helps save memory on your device. What’s more? NodeJS apps can also run even in the time of memory shortages.
• One of the greatest advantages of using the NodeJS framework is that you get to use the Node Package Manager, or as it is popularly known, NPM. It includes a large array of features and continues to grow every day. NPM is one of the reasons why many developers prefer to use NodeJS for developing a business application.

NodeJS Cons

• NodeJS is indeed good at building data-intensive apps. But in the case of heavy computing, NodeJS apps don’t perform well. So, you will be disappointed if you use NodeJS for an app that needs to do heavy computing.
• NodeJS is not a mature framework yet. Some inconsistent versions and frequent bugs deem NodeJS to be immature.

When to use NodeJS?

NodeJS will be the perfect choice if you are about to build an app that needs to deal with complex data processing. Intensive data processing is easy for NodeJS. So, developers can opt it for the same.

Spring Boot

Being a Java-based framework, Spring Boot comes with most of the Java features and functionalities you need to build production-grade standalone apps. The framework supports multi-threaded programming. And because it is built upon Java, it has also inherited all the security measures needed for coding a secure application.

Spring Boot Pros

• The Java community is very large which becomes a unique advantage for Spring Boot. If you are struggling with any particular development task then you can just post it online, and the active community members will surely help you solve it.
• Along with community support, picking Spring Boot gives you long-term maintainability as well. All thanks to Java. So, when you combine maintainability with community support, you will never be stuck with a problem if you pick Spring Boot.
• Multi-thread programming is one of the biggest advantages of opting for Spring Boot. It means that your app can manage multiple processes simultaneously. So, if your app is created with multi-threaded programming from Spring Boot, your app will run faster. This feature alone is the reason why many developers around the world prefer Spring Boot for building heavy applications.
• Spring Boot is a popular framework so it’s easy to find a large pool of resources related to it. Let’s say you want to implement a particular function then you can always find some guidance in the form of a tutorial video or documentation on the internet that can guide you through the process. You can even get the ready-made programs. All you have to do is just copy-paste the function and change the necessary variables and class names. It’s not only time-saving but also cost saving.

Cons of Spring Boot

• One major challenge developers face while using Spring Boot is that it takes up a lot of memory. On one hand, you have NodeJS which consumes very little memory and on the other hand, Spring Boot consumes a lot of it. So, if your device has limited memory then working with Spring Boot might be very problematic.
• Another problem is that debugging using Spring Boot is very challenging. Developers might get overwhelmed while debugging code written with Spring Boot. It is important to note that it has multiple boilerplate codes which makes debugging tough and tedious.

When to use Spring Boot?

If your top priority is security then you have to go with Spring Boot. Because the framework is built upon Java whose focus lies on developing a secure application.

Conclusion

Well, that was one bumpy ride. At one step you would get the facts that would make you trust the framework completely. But the next step would reveal its limitations, planting confusion in your mind.

As claimed in the beginning, this post was intended to help you make an informed decision. For that sake, it was necessary to provide you with a complete picture. That includes presenting you with the pros and cons of the framework. And making you aware of the situations in which both contenders would perform well and the ones in which they would be rendered useless or even problematic.

We’ve done our work by creating hypothetical scenarios and, we disclosed the situations in which our contenders will be useful to you. Now, the ball is in your court. You have to identify your project requirements, and your app’s business goals, consider the information given to you in this blog, and pick a suitable framework for your project.