What is Node JS? A Guide for Beginners - CoinNav.io

JavaScript stands as one of the world's most popular programming languages, empowering countless websites and attracting a multitude of developers and designers to create innovative web features. For newcomers to programming, learning JavaScript proves to be one of the best choices.

Initially, JavaScript was primarily used for client-side scripting, confined within the <script> tag. This limitation required developers to work with multiple languages and frameworks for front-end and back-end components. However, the advent of Node.js changed the landscape by providing a runtime environment that executes JavaScript programs, bridging the gap between front-end and back-end development.

Node.js serves as a single-threaded, open-source, and cross-platform runtime environment, specifically designed for building fast and scalable server-side and networking applications. Powered by the V8 JavaScript runtime engine, Node.js adopts an event-driven, non-blocking I/O architecture, contributing to its efficiency and suitability for real-time applications. The versatility and performance of Node.js have made it a valuable tool for developers seeking to create robust and responsive server-side applications.

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Node.js Architecture and Its Unique Approach

Node.js adopts the "Single Threaded Event Loop" architecture, enabling efficient handling of multiple clients simultaneously. To comprehend its distinction from other runtimes, it's essential to understand how concurrent clients are managed in languages like Java.

In a multi-threaded request-response model, various clients send requests, and the server processes each one before sending back responses. However, multiple threads are employed to handle concurrent calls, forming a thread pool where individual threads are assigned to process incoming requests.

Node.js, on the other hand, follows a different approach, and here's how it works:

1. Limited Thread Pool: Node.js maintains a restricted thread pool to handle requests, which contributes to its efficiency.
2. Queueing Requests: When a request arrives, Node.js places it into a queue, awaiting further processing.
3. The Core Component - Event Loop: The single-threaded "Event loop," which is the heart of Node.js, comes into play. It continuously waits for requests.
4. Processing Requests: When a request reaches the front of the queue, the event loop checks whether it requires a blocking input/output (I/O) operation. If the request does not involve any blocking operation, it proceeds to process the request and sends the response.
5. Handling Blocking I/O Operations: In case the request involves a blocking I/O operation, the event loop assigns a thread from the internal thread pool, known as the worker group, to handle the request. This worker group consists of limited auxiliary threads specifically for handling such blocking tasks.
6. Non-Blocking Nature: The event loop keeps track of blocking requests and queues them until the blocking tasks are completed. This ensures that Node.js maintains its non-blocking nature, enhancing its performance and responsiveness.

Node.js' choice to utilize fewer threads results in efficient resource and memory usage, ultimately leading to faster task execution. For real-time applications that prioritize responsiveness, Node.js proves to be a compelling choice. However, when dealing with data-intensive tasks, multi-threaded languages like Java may be more suitable. In summary, Node.js' single-threaded architecture effectively manages concurrent clients and excels in real-time application scenarios.

 

Expanding Market Reach

Over the past two decades, there has been a remarkable surge in the number of websites, and Node.js has kept pace with this rapid growth. The widely adopted runtime has already surpassed the remarkable milestone of 1 billion downloads, achieved as early as 2018. According to W3Techs, Node.js is harnessed by approximately 1.2% of all websites worldwide, which amounts to a staggering figure of over 20 million websites across the internet.

As expected, Node.js has also become a popular choice among numerous companies, attracting millions of users. Let's highlight a few well-known companies that currently leverage the capabilities of Node.js:

1. Twitter
2. Spotify
3. eBay
4. Reddit
5. LinkedIn
6. GoDaddy

The wide adoption of Node.js by industry giants and numerous other enterprises underscores its significance and relevance in today's digital landscape. As the demand for efficient and scalable web solutions continues to grow, Node.js remains at the forefront of technologies shaping the internet's future.

 

Is Node.js a Programming Language?

In short: No.

Node.js is not a programming language; it is a runtime environment designed to execute JavaScript code outside the web browser.

Furthermore, Node.js is not a framework—a platform for developing software applications. Instead, Node.js serves as a runtime environment that utilizes a programming language—in this case, JavaScript—and facilitates the execution of frameworks.

In summary, Node.js does not function as a programming language or a framework; rather, it provides an environment for the execution of JavaScript and the frameworks built upon it.

 

Is Node.js Frontend or Backend?

History of Node.js

In 1995, Brendan Eich, an engineer at Netscape, introduced JavaScript as a programming language solely intended for browser use. Originally, web pages displayed static information, but JavaScript's invention fulfilled the need for interactive behavior, enabling developers to create dynamic web pages.

Despite JavaScript's popularity in the browser, attempts were made by companies like Netscape and Microsoft to use it for server-side scripting, seeking to run web servers. However, these endeavors, such as Netscape's Livewire and Microsoft's Active Server Pages, did not become the preferred method for web server development.

In 2008, Google changed the internet browsing landscape with the introduction of its optimized web browser, Chrome. Chrome's key feature was the inclusion of the V8 JavaScript engine, which significantly improved JavaScript code execution speed and user experience.

Inspired by the limitations of traditional back-end servers, software engineer Ryan Dahl conceived Node.js in 2009. Utilizing Google's V8 engine, Node.js enabled JavaScript code execution outside the browser and served as a powerful tool for running web servers. It provided an alternative to conventional servers like the Apache HTTP Server, as it excelled in handling a large number of real-time user connections effectively.

Node.js gained widespread acceptance among developers due to its impressive performance and scalability. Today, major organizations such as Netflix, NASA, LinkedIn, PayPal, and others utilize Node.js to build robust applications for their users.

Notably, Node.js has achieved extraordinary popularity and recognition in the tech community. In the latest StackOverflow Developer Survey, Node.js ranked as the most popular technology in the "Web Frameworks and Technology" category, underscoring its widespread adoption and relevance in the present day.