Exploring Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Node.js Sujeet Pillai November 23, 2022

What is Node.js?

The Node.js platform helps execute JavaScript code on the server side. Node.js is used to create apps that need a continuous connection from the browser to the server and is frequently used for real-time applications such as news feeds, chats, and web notifications. It is usually used as a backend service where Javascript works on the server side of the application, and thus, it is used as both the frontend and backend.

Advantages of Node.js

  • Easy Scalability

i) Node.js supports both horizontal and vertical scalability. This means that using node.js as a backend in applications allows them to be distributed across multiple servers, increasing their horizontal scaling. Further, it aids in vertical scalability, which improves application performance on a single server.

ii) The cluster module is one of the many features included with Node.js. It enables load balancing across several CPU cores, which simplifies delivering desired results via smaller modules without burning out the RAM process.

 iii) Node.js employs a non-blocking event-loop mechanism that ensures high scalability and allows the server to process requests in real time. High-traffic websites are the primary users of Node.js.

  • Cross-functional team building

i) Node.js provides full-stack development, which means the developer can create both client and server-side web applications. 

ii) Assume that your company has two distinct teams in charge of product development. One team is in charge of project development, while the other is in charge of product quality testing. Both teams are working independently and are confined to their respective responsibilities, now, chances are these two teams may have communication gaps. Here, Node.js can help you to prevent this loophole. 

iii) It assists you in forming a team that focuses on improving your development life cycle, allowing you to address challenges instantly. They can communicate with one another directly and devise a solution to their problems if any. This work environment promotes higher productivity and allows you to resolve such issues quickly.

  • High-end performance of Applications

i) Applications with a node.js backend are extremely effective because of their potential to multitask.

ii) Its event-loop and non-blocking I/O operations enable code execution at a significant speed. This, in turn, improves user interface performance.

iii) GoDaddy, a web hosting company, used node.js during their Super Bowl ad campaign and saw significant improvement in their app performance. They could handle 10,000 requests per second with no downtime while employing only 10% of their hardware, all thanks to the high-end performance of Node.js as their backend.

  • Building Cross-Platform Applications

i) Node.js can help to build cross-platform applications, which eliminates the need to spend time writing separate codes for different desktop versions such as Windows, macOS, and Linux. 

ii) As a result, businesses have more time-to-market intervals and better scalability of their applications. It also provides a more user-friendly experience by supporting a wide range of desktop versions.

Disadvantages of Node.js

  • Inability to perform heavy computing tasks

Node.js is single-threaded and event-driven, which makes it unsuitable for heavy computational tasks. When Node.js receives a large CPU-driven task in its event loop, it uses all of its available CPU power to complete that particular task, leaving other tasks in a queue running. This certainly slows down the event loop, complicating the user interface even more.

  • Unstable API causing a change in codes

The frequent API (Application Programming Interface) changes, which are generally backward-incompatible, are one of the most significant drawbacks reported by Node.js users. Unfortunately, this forces them to change the access code regularly to keep up with the latest version of the Node.js API. As a company that focuses on providing a more user-friendly experience, it can backfire and confuse customers.

  • Lack of library support

Diverse NPM(Node Package Manager) registries and libraries are either of poor quality or incomplete and poorly documented. As a result, if some amateurs create a Node.js web application, monitoring becomes difficult. Only well-qualified and reputable experts with project experience can propel your project to success. Because it is open-source and has such a large pool of libraries and modules, it may suffer from a lack of high coding standards. For exceptional results, it is critical to select the right technology partner to build your web applications.

There is a widespread misconception that Javascript developers are also Node.js developers. To learn node.js, one must be familiar with the Javascript back-end, but this standalone can’t support you to become a Node.js developer. Despite the constant increase in demand, finding an experienced Node.js developer is still challenging.   

 The growing demand for Node.js:

  1. For starters, node is open-source and free to use, encouraging businesses to experiment and improve their scalability.
  2. Node.js is lightweight, which means it employs a simple event-driven architecture. Enterprises want to save money while providing the best features and efficiency possible to expand their market reach. Node’s dynamic functionality is assisting not only large corporations but also small and medium-sized businesses in achieving this goal.
  3. Companies saw significant improvements in productivity, economic growth, and application performance after implementing Node.js in their business strategy. According to studies, 85% of businesses use Node.js to build web applications.
  4. Enterprises based in the United States and Canada claim that incorporating Node.js into their strategy has increased their developers’ productivity by 68%. Adopting a better technology (Node.js) and allowing enough time for its adaptation is proving profitable for the organization in the long run.
  5. Companies such as Netflix, LinkedIn, Amazon, Reddit, eBay, and PayPal have expressed strong interest in implementing Node.js as their backend. Amazon even claims that Node.js has futuristic features, while Netflix asserts that node’s implementation will help to reduce startup time for better expandability.

Did you know?

1) Node.js is eBay’s primary backend programming language.

2) Node.js contributes to a 58% reduction in development costs.

3) Node.js contributes to a 50%-60% reduction in loading time.

4) According to research, Node.js is used by 36.42% of professional developers for its frameworks, tools, and libraries.

In a nutshell:

Node.js is easy to learn and use. You can start using it right away. There are no installation steps required. You only pay for hosting when you start using it. This makes it easy to try it out without spending any money.

Contact the expert team of Incentius for all your application and software development work. We bet our team will make sure that you get the best!

 

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