Node.js: Pros and Cons

For those, who have just started their way in the back-end or are just considering learning Node, it would be nice to get acquainted with what is it exactly.

Node.js is a kind of server like TOM, Apache, and so on. To be more precise it is a runtime environment that is based on JS engine V8, created by Chrome.

It allows you to run and work with JS on the server side and manipulate it as you need for your projects.

With time Node.js turned out to be so comfortable and useful that brought a lot of popularity among developers and clients. In that way, let’s start discovering the advantages of Node.js.

Node.js provides good scalability thanks to the asynchronous and event-driven character. That makes it a perfect match for real-time apps and brings it a lot of popularity among web developers.

Using a single thread this technology allows maintaining long-time connections together with an event loop to switch from new data’s listening to the handling of existing requests.

Furthermore, Node provides O/I that is not blocked and together with microservices brings opportunities for scalability, efficiency, and high-performance speed. 

One of the main advantages in that regard is the possibility of the adaptation of new requirements. Such a feature makes Node.js unbelievably flexible and comfortable to use.

As far as JS is the most popular programming language it has a lot of technologies to enhance its possibilities, and Node.js is one of them. Node is rather easy to learn because it is based on JS, so, basically, all you need to know is JS and then you just need to empower your knowledge with the rules and chances that Node.js provides. In that way, it delivers the possibility to create amazing things and requires less time to learn than its competitors like RoR and so on.

In comparison to other technologies, Node.js provides a much better performance rate. Sure thing that makes it rather attractive for either developers or clients.

In order to experience that performance, it would be better to test how other technologies will respond to the web page requests and compare them with Node.js.

Due to a ton of benefits, Node.js has fast conquered its place in the digital market and gathered an active and big community around itself. 

This is one of the greatest advantages of any technology. The reason is the speed of help received, new solutions, approaches, and features. With a cool and active community, you start to be much more effective and as a bonus, you can get new friends. 

One of the most significant advantages of Node.js for high-traffic websites is catching. By using it you will be able to store and access the files on the computer of a user when needed. In that way, when all data is cached, there is no need to request data from a database anymore. That, in turn, boosts performance and increases the speed of a website.

Most of the front-end technologies like React, Angular, and Vue use JavaScript. Node.js is based on the same language and which means that any developer can create full-cycle websites and apps if they learn this technology. By using the same language for both front-end and back-end you can build everything according to your logic. Full-stack development is a big advantage for clients for sure. They don’t need to spend time hiring two developers when one person can do everything. As expected, that shortens the cost and time of market delivery. 

NPM or node pack manager is built-in functionality to ease up and speed up the development process without any need to install third-party libraries. So, by applying the specific command in the terminal you can easily install all the Node.js packages in almost no time.

Alongside advantages, any existing technology has disadvantages too. Node.js has also several of them, so, let’s cast light on that topic.

This is drawback #1 in Node.js development. Because of the absence of stable APIs, there are certain difficulties when a developer works on projects where API stability is required.

Have that problem in mind so it wouldn’t surprise you and cause trouble at work.

Unfortunately, Node.js has weak support for libraries, and that forces developers to use third-party libs that are not in the Node.js core. Furthermore, because of the bad documentation and support, a lot of newbies can be at a loss and won’t be able to find solutions.

Compared to the synchronous programming model, the Node.js asynchronous programming model is more challenging to maintain.

The synchronous programming style, where each process is carried out sequentially, is straightforward and uncomplicated.

The use of “callbacks” in asynchronous models makes it challenging for developers to handle scenarios. So, the asynchronous programming model is considered to be one of the most huge drawbacks of Node.js.

As you are able to see, Node.js has much more pros than cons and is a great choice for back-end development. Especially, when your projects are on JS you can reduce the time of development, costs, and time of market delivery. 

At RIVO AGENCY, we widely use this technology to create both products for our customers and for us as well.

So in case, you don’t know where to start and need some piece of advice, we are always here to help.