Node JS is a platform built on Chrome’s JavaScript runtime that allows developers to create fast, scalable network applications using JavaScript. Node JS can be used to develop the server side of your application or the entire thing, depending on your requirements. Node js has become one of the most popular JavaScript frameworks in 2016 and 2017 because of its speed and scalability.
A Simple Example
In PHP, if you have a variable called $counters which has a value of 3, then to increment that value, you might write: $counters++;. This isn’t terribly difficult, but when you have 50 or 100 variables that need increments or decrements in some order, it can get hairy fast. In JavaScript (or in PHP using Python), there are lots of functions available for those scenarios – but what if all you want is just one little increment?
What makes Node.js so special
As a JavaScript runtime, Node.js allows you to use JavaScript on both frontend (the client) and backend (the server). It works on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Unlike other interpreted languages such as Perl or Python that are also used for system scripting jobs, it was built specifically for asynchronous I/O. More precisely, it was built with a single purpose in mind: writing highly concurrent server-side web applications.
This purpose led to its event-driven architecture which focuses on asynchronous input/output (I/O). In other words, instead of waiting for an action from a user before proceeding with its task, it constantly monitors for activity and then proceeds with its job. So if one of these actions happens to be sending data over a network connection- Node js development agency will immediately deal with it.
Understanding JavaScript event loop
If you have come across code snippets that use JavaScript’s setTimeout function, then you might have wondered what actually happens when a call to setTimeout is made. The truth is that not a lot of things happen in such scenarios. That’s because it takes up to 20 milliseconds before your computer actually works on executing that particular statement.
Where can I learn more about the technology?
For those of you who are either just curious or want to dive in deeper, here are some resources that might be helpful. I found them very helpful when I was learning how to code my own Node app.
Best books on node.js
I would suggest reading node.js in action by ashley williams.
Whether you have some front-end experience or not, whether you’re a full stack JavaScript developer, or whether you just like to dabble in code on a weekend – This book was written for everyone. It will be valuable to anyone who wants to build web applications with node.js. The book will teach you how to take advantage of what node has to offer as well as how it differs from other frameworks in use today.
Best Courses on node.js
If you want to build fast, scalable, and reliable web applications using Javascript as a programming language, then learning how to use node.js can be a great choice. As an open source server-side technology based on Google’s V8 Javascript engine, it enables fast development of powerful network programs that run on both POSIX (Unix-like) operating systems such as Linux or Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows.
