Why Should Product Owners Use NodeJS?
It wouldn’t be wrong to say JavaScript (JS) is one of the widely used web development languages of all times. However, with the introduction of NodeJS in 2009, the popularity level of JS reaches the next level. The reason for it is the multiple features and functionalities offered by NodeJS that makes it suitable to build complex web applications with ease.
This article is all about NodeJS and its features, due to which it emerged as a dynamic technology for high-quality web development, resulting in enormous profits for the product owners. So, without wasting any time, let’s learn about the merits and demerits of NodeJS so that you can make a calculative move for your business.
A brief about NodeJS
The first question that will come into your mind is what exactly NodeJS is? So, in layman language, NodeJS is a free JavaScript runtime environment through which you can execute JavaScript code on the server-side. Developed on Chrome’s V8 engine, it is highly efficient and fast for the web development process. Moreover, since it is an open-source technology, NodeJS API development is cost-effective and does not impose a burden on your pocket.
But still, what’s so special about NodeJS that makes it one of the most preferred choices for web development industries?
Well, for that, you need to follow this article to understand the benefits you can have after using NodeJS as your web development platform. Here they are:
Advantages of NodeJS
Scalability and Flexibility
The first point that comes in the list of the advantages provided by Node JS is easy scalability to the applications with microservices architecture. Since NodeJS is a lightweight technology and offers cutting-edge technology, breaking the application logic into tiny modules or fragments becomes easy. As a result, it allows better flexibility and scaling an app vertically or horizontally becomes extremely simple. By adding extra nodes, you can scale it horizontally. On the other hand, you can add additional resources to the single nodes during the application’s vertical scaling.
Top-notch Performance with Chrome’s V8 Engine
When you get features like non-blocking and event loop I/O operations, asynchronous and single-threaded nature, the application’s response time reduces significantly. Fortunately, NodeJS comes with all these features that result in high performance for your applications and websites. Moreover, being a creation of Google Chrome’s V8 engine and written on C++, you can naturally expect a supercharged application when using NodeJS for its development.
A cost-effective Full-stack JS platform
Since NodeJS provides a full-stack JS environment, developers can write codes on both front-end (client-side) and back-end (server-side) with ease. It cuts your additional cost of hiring two separate developers for both front-end and back-end. Moreover, you can also save your time and energy that you would waste in reaching and hiring an additional team of developers for the overall completion of your project.
Quickly adaptable and easy to learn
As already mentioned, JS is one of the most popular and universally recognized web development languages. The reason behind it is that the developers find it easy to grasp, and with interest in learning JS, even an amateur can quickly adapt to JavaScript. Since NodeJS is a part of JavaScript and powered by Chrome’s V8 engine that makes it highly performing, beginners like working on it. Also, being widely used, one can easily get learning resources to learn and adapt NodeJS for web app development purposes.
Simplified Development with community support
With millions of developers constantly working on NodeJS and actively contributing to the NodeJS community, you can get extensive support from them whenever you are stuck on anything. Many leading tech giants support this large-scale community, such as Netflix, Amazon, Google, Facebook, PayPal and many more. You can quickly get solutions to all the problems you will face while working on your NodeJS API development project with the assistance of these experienced and active developers constantly contributing to the community.
Disadvantages of NodeJS
Undoubtedly, NodeJS is a top-class web development technology in the present time, but as they say, nothing can be perfect. Therefore, like any other technology, it has some demerits too that can make you think twice before choosing it as your web development platform. Here they are:
Lacks performance with heavy computing tasks
Although NodeJS being single-threaded and event-driven, helps in providing high performance, yet when handled with sizable CPU-based computing, it falls short. The reason behind this is that it uses all its CPU strength when a heavy computing task occurs. As a result, deceleration of the overall event loop happens, which further hinders the performance of the application’s interface. Therefore, it reduces the overall functioning of the application and badly impacts its performance.
Lacks strong library support system
In comparison to other programming languages, NodeJS lacks well-equipped and strong library system support. Due to this, the developers get no choice other than to use the standard library. However, there is no problem in using it if you are an experienced and high-skilled developer. But if you are a beginner or have no such expertise in NodeJS web development, using this poor quality or improperly documented library will make it challenging to implement even the common programming tasks.
Inconsistent API
One of the significant drawbacks of NodeJS is that it poses inconsistency. It is because the API is unstable in NodeJS and keeps on frequently changing at regular intervals. As a result, the developers have to make changes in the existing code according to the latest version of NodeJS API to make the API consistent.
Time-consuming for inexperienced developers
There is no doubt that NodeJS is an easy to learn and pretty comprehending web development platform, but when you develop an app or website, you have to write the code from scratch. This process is quite time-consuming and needs consistency and precision to write the codes correctly. In that case, you have to hire NodeJS developers who have expertise in developing and maintaining code. However, it can have an impact on your project budget and can cost you beyond your expectations.
Difficulty in maintaining codes due to Asynchronous Programming Model
The asynchronous programming model is one of the essential requirements that make scaling in applications possible. However, this programming model seems pretty complex among many developers than the linear blocking I/O programming model. Also, codes tend to become gawkier in asynchronous programming, and developers need to rely on nested cells for coding.
Conclusion
There is nothing in this world that has no flaws, be it a gadget or a technology. NodeJS is an advanced JavaScript platform that proves to be highly beneficial for developers in web app development. However, there are certain disadvantages of NodeJS, too, that can make you think about considering your choice once again. But these demerits are relatively less than the advantages you can have while developing your application or site with NodeJS.
Over time, people rely more on NodeJS for the web development process. Its best-in-class performance, high scalability features, and property of using it at both front-end and back-end servers are the primary reasons behind this popularity. Therefore, if you are also looking for a high performing, scalable, and productive application or website, it is better to hire NodeJS developers and get an app or site that best suits your business. An expert NodeJS team of developers will not only design an application for you but will also consult with you and suggest the possibilities for the best results for your business.
