What Is Node.js?

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment that is:

• Open-source
• Cross-platform
• Single-threaded

Together, all of this means Node.js allows for creating quick server-side applications for tasks such as networking.

The V8 JavaScript engine powers Node.js and uses event-driven, non-blocking I/O architecture. This is what makes Node.js so efficient and suitable for real-time apps.

Node.js is easy to use and scale. Its speed advantages and thousands of useful packages make it a great choice for web projects. According to W3Techs, Node.js powers approximately 1.2 percent of websites whose server technologies are known.

Related5 Ways to Check If an Object Is Empty in JavaScript

Why Is Node.js Important?

Node.js solves the problem with server-side JavaScript. JavaScript is among the most popular programming languages in the world, and with the introduction of Node.js, JavaScript expanded from client-side interactivity to server-side development as well, allowing millions of websites to use it on the back end. JavaScript enables dynamic interactions on websites, including user input handling, API calls and real-time updates.

Initially, JavaScript was a client-side scripting language that interacts with the back end. To run JavaScript, you had to place the code between <script></script> tags in the HTML document. This meant all JavaScript code ran in the browser which wasn’t optimal when it comes to code maintainability and speed.

This problem gave rise to the idea of having a separate runtime environment for JavaScript. This runtime environment should be able to handle simultaneous connections and offer a speed boost to web apps.

Node.js provides the core capabilities to run JavaScript efficiently and at scale — with flexibility for building secure and reliable systems.

RelatedWhat Is jQuery?

Node.js Features

Node.js has gained developers’ attention in the past couple of years thanks to a long list of useful features that come with the runtime environment. 

Easy for Beginners 

Node.js is great for beginners. This is, in part, due to the large, supportive open-source community. With all the available tutorials and guides, it’s a good choice for most web developers.

Scalable 

Node.js uses a single-threaded event loop and non-blocking I/O, allowing it to handle many concurrent connections efficiently — a key factor in its scalability.

Speed

The thread execution is non-blocking in Node.js, which makes the JavaScript’s execution that much faster.

Packages

Node package manager (NPM) has more than a million available packages. These packages simplify your work and you can install them with a single command. The packages handle a lot of automation behind the scenes, such as building the right type of folder structure and initiating boilerplate code. This type of automation lets you focus on building the actual project.

Powerful Backend

C and C++ power Node.js. This provides Node.js with even greater speed while also making it possible to complete useful tasks, such as networking, creating dynamic page content and collecting form data.

Cross-Platform Support

With Node.js you can build websites, desktop apps and even mobile apps.

The cross-platform support is possible because Node.js abstracts out system-specific functionality and turns it into APIs. You can then invoke these APIs with your applications from multiple platforms.

Frequently Asked Questions