Top Reasons Why Node.js is Perfect for Enterprise App Development
- Web
- April 13, 2020
Businesses in today’s world face cutthroat competition where quick action is the key to success. Thus, having a swift and secure way to develop web apps is no longer an option; it’s a requisite.
Decision making has to be on point and speedy. This is where Node.js proves its excellence.
Where enterprise applications must uphold business performance, employee connections, data confidentiality and so many other aspects, this server environment comes as a big relief.
Let us get into the details of it.
What is Node.js?
Node.js is an amazing open source, cross platform server environment that can run JavaScript codes outside the web browser. Developers can use JavaScript in Node.js to write command line tools that run server-side scripts.
This, in turn, helps in the production of dynamic web page content before the page itself reaches the user’s web browser.
The biggest advantage of Node.js is it uses asynchronous programming. In a way, it brings web application development under a single programming language for server as well as client-side scripts.
Built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine, this server environment works on a non-blocking, data-driven I/O model which renders it effective, scalable, and lightweight.
It is extensively used to build real-time web applications with the help of push technology applied over WebSockets. This makes it a favorite with developers who build serious enterprise apps.
According to the latest Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2019, Node.js is the most popular platform in the “Frameworks, Libraries, and Tools” category.
Significant Benefits of Using Node.js
- Quick development of real-time apps.
- Coding in JavaScript for server-side as well as client-side
- Increased efficiency of the web app development process
- Bridging the gap between frontend and backend development
- Fast execution of code in other languages
- Node.js is Ideal solution for microservices in enterprises
Node.js Usage Statistics
- According to a Node.js User Survey, 43% Node.js programmers use it to build enterprise apps. Interestingly, a majority of them are working for Fortune 500 companies.
- 70% companies around the globe believe Node.js increases developer productivity.
- 58% of the total development time around the world is spent in Node.js.
- In all versions of Node.js download has been reported to increase by around 40% every year.
Top Reasons Why Enterprises Need to Adopt Node.js
What is it about Node.js that makes it the best bet for complex enterprise app development? If you are looking for a reason, there’s more than one!
Scalability and performance
As discussed earlier, Node.js is based on Google Chrome’s V8 runtime, which is written in C++. In other words, Node.js is built to work on multiple operating systems and designed to be super speedy.
Because V8, as well as Node.js, are updated regularly, their performances are always optimized. The updates make sure the security patches are always done.
To that end, V8 and Node.js both support the features of modern JavaScript. Now, leveraging JavaScript means data transformation of JSON on the web is automatically fast.
Furthermore, because the Node.js architecture is single-threaded and event-driven, it can manage multiple connections simultaneously and effectively.
This dismisses the shortcoming that comes with web platforms that create additional threads for new requests, thus feeding on RAM to process the same.
Using a single thread, Node.js implements event loop and callbacks meant for I/O operations making task delegation quick.
Accordingly, a million concurrent connections can be managed without slowing down or using up RAM.
Node.js is scalable from the very first point of its implementation. It is equipped with features such as Cluster module, which effectively supports load balancing over varied CPU cores, and PM2 process manager, which simplifies the monitoring, optimizing and deploying of Node applications.
Cross-platform app development
Node.js enables the building of cross-platform desktop apps using platforms such as NW.js and Electron.
A team of developers can reuse codes from the web app to the desktop app compatible with Windows, Linux, and MacOS.
Another advantage is the same developers can work on the web apps and even create desktop apps without being skilled in C#, Objective-C, and similar languages used for native app development.
Node.js Developers can exclusively access Google Chrome Developer Tools and the likes, which give them the power to debug better and profile desktop versions of the apps more efficiently for client-side apps.
In fact, all the significant developer tools related to Node are cross-platform, thus dismissing the need for developers to have a Windows machine to build Windows apps or a Mac machine to build macOS apps.
Lack of learning curve
Node.js is based on JavaScript. This eliminates the learning curve because of the relative simplicity. The syntax of the two resembles and hence, developers can easily get the hang of it. For this reason, Node.js is welcomed by Java as well as .NET developers alike.
Learning Node.js and developing scalable apps that work on Windows as well as Unix systems isn’t much of a Herculean task.
Beginner or seasoned developers, Node.js is for everyone who wants to build web apps at jet speed.
The node package manager
The Node package manager, also known as NPM, has released an enterprise version to uphold the privacy and security of large enterprises.
This package manager is useful in helping programmers with installing, updating, and utilizing modules in Node.
These modules are nothing but minor software packages which are open source. Because of NPM, developers have the liberty to do without writing common features from scratch.
Further complexity can be avoided, which is why the app development process remains simple.
NPM is also advantageous for a large organization struggling with data storage in the cloud.
Thanks to the enterprise version, the NPM infrastructure can run in the background of a company’s firewall without glitches.
This, in turn, enables the enterprises to gain access to private registry and other security features.
Companies can thus identify vulnerabilities, control code access and automate the replacement of flawed codes.
Reusable RESTful APIs
Reusable RESTful APIs are the primary focus in Node.js. This is also one of the prime reasons why Node.js is the best option for enterprise app development.
Because the RESTful APIs can be reused, they can be connected to the backend without becoming cumbersome.
Large volumes of data can be easily handled without things going haywire. This, in turn, supports the development of software systems at large scales.
Support for long term
User demands change. Enterprises keep adopting newer techniques and adapting to the changes. However, Node.js has emerged as a stable solution for enterprise app development.
It came out a decade ago, but has successfully served to provide long term support (LTS). Needless to say, Node.js is reliable to the utmost.
As declared by the company, Major Node.js releases are maintained at least for 18 months from the time they are built as LTS. A 12 month period of maintenance follows.
During this time, new features are not added or old features are not renewed. Only existing bugs and security issues are identified and resolved.
Easy maintenance and updating
Because the needs of users are constantly changing, enterprise applications need to evolve with the market to adapt to the demands. User experience is a vital part of this change in such apps.
How businesses choose to present elements in an app or wish to collect information is always changing. The apps have to be clutter free, distraction free and most importantly, functionally superior.
Thus, the codebase of enterprise apps needs to be regularly maintained and updated. This is easy with Node.js which can be quickly and easily deployed and the warranted features implemented.
To Conclude…
Node.js is the platform of choice when it comes to enterprise app development. It is best for backend development services and is currently the apple of all developer’s eyes worldwide.
Its architecture deserves mention because of the way it suits enterprise level applications warranting I/O operations in high volumes that are tied to Network or memory. Such apps include the likes of news apps, chat apps and others.
Long story short, Node.js comes with immense benefits and helps in building enterprise apps with faster time-to-market. Fewer lines of code are used with fewer resources and without compromising performance.
This is no ordinary claim. Developers and companies who use Node.js never go back to another platform, at least a majority of them. Node.js is definitely here to stay.
FAQs About Node.js Enterprise App Development
Node.js is an amazing open-source, cross-platform server environment that can run JavaScript code outside of a browser.
Node.js offers many advantages for web application development like quick development, increased efficiency, fast execution of code, an ideal solution for microservices, etc.
There are many reasons to adopt Node.js for enterprise app development like scalability and performance, cross-platform app development, lack of learning curve, reusable RESTful APIs, support for the long term, etc.
