Why might you need Node.js?

  • 2 minutes

Node.js is one of the most widely used technologies by many companies, startups, and government organizations. These include major enterprises like Netflix, Trello, Walmart, Uber, eBay, and NASA.

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime that can run your JavaScript applications and code on a server in particular, and outside a browser in general. Node.js is a single-threaded non-blocking runtime based on the event-driven I/O paradigm. Non-blocking means that (for example) when a remote client makes a request, a server written in JavaScript and running on Node.js would handle the request, construct and send back a response, and then move on to the next request, without blocking and waiting for other tasks to finish.

This unit describes the main benefits of using Node.js, and when to use it.

Multi-purpose technology

You can use Node.js to build a wide variety of production-ready applications. These apps can range from traditional lightweight, high-traffic chat programs to command-line tools and web servers. Node.js was designed from the ground up to handle a high number of concurrent requests.

JavaScript

"Any application that can be written in JavaScript, will eventually be written in JavaScript." – Jeff Atwood, Author, Entrepreneur, Cofounder of StackOverflow.

Today, many applications written outside the browser are in JavaScript or support JavaScript as a first-class citizen language, including:

  • Code editors such as Visual Studio Code and Atom that are written in JavaScript or TypeScript (a superset of JavaScript with static typings). These editors run an embedded version of the Node.js runtime.
  • Many Internet Of Things (IoT) and real-time applications that are written in JavaScript and rely on Node.js to run, either on the server or through microcontrollers and system on a chip (SoC) platforms such as Puck.js or Tessel.
  • Technologies such as NativeScript that can use JavaScript or TypeScript to build high-performing native mobile applications.
  • Many applications that use JavaScript for their plug-in system, such as Sketch, Adobe XD, and Google Apps Script.

Community

The community has already built more than a million modules and libraries for Node.js and published them on the Node Package Manager (npm). Developers can easily download and integrate these modules into their existing projects. Applications that can run on Node.js include command-line tools, frameworks, web servers, and much more.

Open source

Node.js is open-source technology supported by the OpenJS Foundation. A massive active open-source community and contributors continuously work to improve and optimize the technology. A top-level Community committee has authority over community outreach efforts.