Getting to Know
Node.js



What is Node.js ?

Node.js is a platform (server-side) which is built on google chrome's javascript v8 engine. It is open source , cross platform and is capable of generating real time web applications. It is developed by ryan dahl with the team of other developers working at joyent in 2009. Its initial release only supports linux. It is written in C,C++ and javascript.


Why Switch to Node.js ?
  1. It is fast : Node.js is single threaded. It uses the concept of event loop and callbacks to perform multitasking. Its event driven architecture and Asynchrnous nature leads to application's less response time and high throughput. One of world's leading online payments system PAYPAL has reported 35% reduce in their response time with double the number of requests received per seconds after switching to nodejs .

  2. Real-time communications/apps : With the help of node.js you can easily build Real-time web applications. Real-time comes through the help of websocket protocol. This protocol simple deals in providing two way communication between the server and the client.Socket.io is the websocket library which makes this possible. With the help of this we can easily develop online gaming and online chatting platforms. World's leading Cab Service Uber uses Nodejs.

  3. NPM (Node Package Manager) : Nodejs's Package ecosystem NPM (node package manager) is the world's largest ecosystem of open source online libraries. We never have to write a already existing code again which reduces the efforts of the programmers upto a large extent and they can focus on the unsolved problems instead of rewriting the same code again and again.

  4. It is simple : Anyone who is having a Basic knowledge of javascript ( Which is quite common) can work with Node.js. There are no complications such as handling multiple threads because node.js uses the concept of event loop and callbacks. Moreover node.js is single threaded.

  5. It is asynchronous :One of the main reason which leads to the creation of node.js is that it is very difficult to achieve concurrency in its predecessor Languages which often leads to poor performance. But with the introduction of node.js , the era of event-driven and non-blocking API begins which leads to the optimization of application's throughput and scalability.

Any Problem with Node.js ?
Node.js is not considered suitable for CPU intensive works and large web applications.