Five Reasons Why Node.js is the Best Environment for 2018

1. Node.js is really, really popular

The Node.js application runtime is the fastest growing open source project on the planet, with over 1,600 contributors and 9 million Node instances online, (according to Nodesource’s Node by Numbers 2017 edition). In 2017, Node.js was downloaded over 25,000,000 times.

In addition, the 2017 Stack Overflow developer survey saw Node.js come out top in the ‘Frameworks, Libraries and other Technologies’ with 47.1% of respondents using it more than other technologies.

We’re not saying you need to use it to get in with the cool kids at parties (although you might). But popular environments mean large, highly engaged communities and huge resources. Also the more popular frameworks and libraries attract long term resources which means you can be fairly confident that they’ll be properly supported and sticking around for a while. Which is always good to know when you’re putting a lot of effort into building something sweet on them.

2. Node.js is trusted by some of the biggest global names in tech

Big brands like Netflix, LinkedIn, Trello and NASA have made use of Node.js in their web applications. Other cutting edge modern businesses built on Node.js include Netflix, eBay, Paypal and LinkedIn. Node.js is well-suited for distributed systems making large amounts of network requests - something Uber made good use of to manage the huge levels of supply notifications and demand requests across their systems.

3. Node.js is fast and scalable

Apps built in Node.js take up a lot less system RAM. This allows for faster performance and higher levels of scalability.

Node.js is perfect for developing lightweight microsystems for fast and flexible developments across complex projects.

The ability to cover front and back ends in the same language (JavaScript) can mean greatly increased efficiencies for smaller development teams.

LinkedIn moved their mobile app backend to Node.js from Ruby on Rails and are now benefiting from an app that is not only lightweight, but many times faster than the old one. Netflix took advantage of Node.js to benefit from greatly reduced start up times.

4. Node.js hands you the keys to the world’s largest library

With node.js comes the world’s largest open-source library collection, meaning developers have more resources than they know what to do with. More library content means less bespoke code writing which means faster development. Writing fewer lines of boilerplate code allows developers to focus their talents on creative solutions and problem solving instead.

For example, Node.js’s excellent support for Websocket libraries makes it simple for developers to create chat and messenger solutions at high speed by combining them with Node’s event-based architecture. This asynchronous and event-driven architecture also makes it a great fit for collaboration driven apps, like Trello.

5. It’s future facing

Node.js is designed to be ultra fast and scalable for data intensive, real-time applications - which makes it ideal for futurists and developers interested in fast moving, trend-led applications. The lower memory requirements make Node an easy solution for creative electronic projects with Arduino and similar.

For data intensive, event heavy applications common to Internet of Things devices and other innovative applications this, together with a very much trend-led development community and ever evolving creative library solutions mean that Node.js is well and truly focused on the future.