What Are Node.js Frameworks?: How To Choose the Best Node.js Framework for 2023

Node.js is widely known as a versatile runtime environment, powering both back-end and front-end web development. Its popularity notwithstanding, the community often pits it against Golang or Go, Google’s programming language introduced in 2009. 

Comparing a runtime environment with a programming language might seem absurd on the surface. But, a deeper examination of the pros and cons of each throws light on which of the two back-end development tools you should choose for your project. 

This article showcases a head-to-head comparison and attempts to settle the Node vs. Go debate, at least for now and in the near future. If you’re deliberating between the two from a hiring perspective, read on to find which option makes the most sense for your project.  

What Is Node.js?

Node.js is an open-source runtime environment built on the V8 JavaScript engine that extends JavaScript’s capabilities beyond web browsers. Node.js excels at building server-side logic, while also integrating well with JavaScript on the front end. Back-end developers can easily upskill to full-stack competencies using Node.js.

Node’s rich ecosystem of libraries and reusable components makes it a prime choice for developers. 

What Is Node.js Used For?

Node.js provides developers with the tools to create beautiful, modern real-time web applications. Node’s asynchronous architecture is especially ideal for creating applications like online games, online messengers, video chats, and more.

Due to its seamless JavaScript integration, virtually any web application focused on the end-user experience can be built with Node.js. Developers can also create robust server-side environments and networking applications using Node.

Who Is Using Node.js?

Companies like Netflix, PayPal, Walmart, LinkedIn, Trello, Uber, and many more use Node.js for their industry-leading UIs and server-side platforms.

Netflix even managed to achieve a 70% reduction in startup time when they implemented Node.js and unified their server and client environments with JavaScript. Using the same programming language at both the server and client end is one of Node’s most powerful features.

Companies that want to build two-way applications that don’t require waiting for APIs to return data find Node.js perfectly suited to their needs.

The 2022 Stack Overflow Developer Survey clearly shows Node.js as the second most wanted framework by developers.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Node.js?

It’s important to be aware of both the pros and cons of Node.js before committing resources to a development project. Node.js isn’t free from a few drawbacks, some of which might be deal-breakers for your particular use case.

Pros of Node.js

• Simplicity: Using JavaScript on both the server and client ends makes Node.js code easier, simpler, and shorter. Components can be reused and developer costs can be kept down by hiring full stack developers.
• Scalability: Thanks to native API clusters, child_process, and worker_threads, building scalable web apps is quite easy with Node.js. It can tackle an increased number of requests by taking the burden off of CPU resources.
• Time-to-market: Node’s lightweight nature and inherent reusability considerably reduces build time. The huge number of reusable components available in Node Package Manager (stylized and abbreviated as ‘npm’) makes development even simpler for your team.
• Future-proof: Owing to the widespread popularity of JavaScript, it’s safe to say Node.js isn’t going away anytime soon. As the second most loved runtime environment by developers, Node will continue to retain its relevance due to a large pool of current and future Node developers.

Cons of Node.js

• Not ideal for CPU-heavy computing: Node’s single-threaded and event-driven nature yield a performant codebase, but this is a sub-par alternative for CPU-based computing tasks. Large CPU-dependent tasks can slow down its event loop, hindering performance in such cases.
• API dependency: Node’s APIs are regularly updated with little to no backwards compatibility. Maintaining Node.js code due to the frequent changes requires ongoing commitment and resources.
• Error handling: Node.js uses JavaScript which is a dynamically typed language. This means debugging can be a pain and it will take some expertise to keep the code error-free.
• Asynchronous model: Node’s asynchronous programming is an advantage that makes it ideal for scalability but it also requires a high level of expertise to master it.
• Library dependency: Developers more dependent on the npm libraries and registries could encounter some incomplete packages in the underlying JavaScript. As an open-source standard, JavaScript is constantly modified by the community. This can lead to some inconsistencies and incomplete packages 

What Is Go?

Go or Golang is a statically-typed programming language released by Google in 2009. It is an open-source language created to tackle challenges like multi-core computing, networking, and web development that were prevalent during the time. The language rose in popularity in 2016.

Golang developers based the language on C, a low-level language. Given that low-level languages offer little abstraction from pure machine code, Go is easy to compile, providing superior speed and efficiency.

Unlike JavaScript, Go is a strongly-typed language with excellent concurrent programming, garbage collection handling, and memory usage capabilities.

Golang is still one of the most wanted programming languages according to the 2022 Stack Overflow Developer Survey.

What Is Go Used For?

Go combines fast compilation and garbage collection to bring the benefits of both low-level and high-level languages to applications. Its excellent handling of concurrency makes it ideal for CPU-hungry tasks often seen in back-end applications.

Popular development tools like Kubernetes and Docker have been built with Go. Go can even be used for system programming, large-scale distributed systems, and highly scalable network applications.

Go is also useful for cloud development, big data apps, and machine learning applications. 

Who Is Using Go?

Google, Netflix, Dropbox, IBM, Soundcloud, Medium, Twitch, and many others use Go widely in their applications. Google has claimed that it uses Go in YouTube and Chrome.

Uber’s microservice for geofence lookups that supports everything from driver searches to dynamic pricing is written in Go. This microservice is Uber’s highest ‘queried per second’ service and has been running 99.99% of the time since its launch

What Are the Pros and Cons of Go?

Google’s highly efficient programming language has its own set of pros and cons that should be seen in conjunction with those of Node.js.

Pros of Go

• Efficiency: Go’s code is compiled directly to machine language and hence doesn’t require an interpreter. This makes Go extremely fast, efficient, and easy to maintain.
• Scalability: Go’s ability to handle concurrency with ‘Goroutines’ is one of its foundational features. Go can handle up to 1000 concurrent requests per second and can make full use of multi-threaded CPUs.
• Simple syntax: Go’s syntax comprises a mere 25 keywords. This not only keeps the code highly readable and clean but also minimizes the chances of errors by developers. 
• Memory handling: Go’s excellent garbage collection handling prevents memory leaks in cases where developers forget to release memory from redundant objects.

Cons of Go

• Time-consuming: Go’s simplistic code makes it harder to implement complex abstractions. Developers need to code more for using simple features, limiting the language’s versatility.
• Limited reusability: As Go doesn’t support generic functions, it doesn’t support reusability JavaScript does.
• Nascent community: Go’s community is less mature as compared to that of some other programming languages. This makes it less attractive for newer developers as they can find it hard to get their questions answered by the community.
• No built-in GUI library: Building GUI applications needs significant effort as you need to connect additional libraries with your project.
• Resource-heavy: Go is prone to consuming significantly more resources for complex applications as it doesn’t have a virtual machine (VM).

Node.js vs. Go: Side-By-Side Comparison

Both Node.js and Go have advantages and drawbacks when it comes to different aspects of web development. In order to choose the one best suited for your present use case, it’s important to compare them side-by-side.

Simplicity

When it comes to simplicity in coding, Go trumps Node.js. Its simple syntax and strict rules keep its code clean and readable. On the other hand, Node’s code deals with all the intricacies inherent in JavaScript.

Learning Curve

In terms of ease of learning, Node.js takes the win here. As JavaScript is already used by a large population of developers, Node.js is relatively easier to get a hang of. Whereas Go has a whole new set of of. processes, rules, pointers, interfaces, strict typing, coroutines, and much more.

Performance

In terms of raw performance, Go has a clear edge over Node.js as its code is compiled directly into machine language. But in terms of real-world performance where database server interaction and network applications are involved, there is very little difference in speed between the two.

Scalability

Go’s ability to process around 1,000 requests per second and its reliable execution of multiple threads through goroutines make it a clear winner in terms of concurrency. This makes Go ideal for scaling large projects. Node.js applications can also be scalable but its asynchronous single-thread architecture lags behind that of Go.

Error Handling

Error handling works differently in Node and Go. Node uses the conventional throw-catch method to catch errors during runtime, debugging each line sequentially. Go requires explicit error checking which can create inconsistencies. Node is thus the better choice in this aspect, at least until Go2 (Go’s planned successor) brings some improvements.

Community

While Go has fast gained the trust of developers (it has 105k stars on GitHub; Node has 91k), it still has a long way to go in terms of community support. The Node.js foundation enjoys the support of the likes of IBM, Microsoft, and PayPal and has a more mature ecosystem of developers and reusable libraries. 

Development Tools

JavaScript has been around for decades now and as a result, Node.js developers have access to more than 800k ready-made tools in npm alone. In Go, developers need to do a lot more manual work. Although it has a solid built-in library to make tasks easier, Go lags behind in terms of sheer quantity of development tools.

Node.js vs. Go: Which Is Better?

Deciding which technology to go with depends not only on technical factors but also on strategic considerations. If your organizational tech stack is Node.js or JavaScript heavy, there might not be enough long-term benefits to go with Go, even if it performs faster.

On the other hand, in cases where you need to leverage the most CPU bandwidth you can, Go might be the ideal choice despite having a lengthy and costly development cycle.

In short, it all depends on your business use case and the compromises you’re more comfortable with. Both Node.js and Go are fantastic development tools with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. 

Conclusion

If your project requires Node.js developers, Trio can make the hiring process smooth and economical for your organization. Trio developers are extremely skilled, thoroughly vetted, and ready to be onboarded in no time.

Contact Trio today to learn more about outfitting your project with senior Node.js developers from around the globe.

Node.js is used for back-end development with JavaScript. Web developers as of late having been optimizing their tech stack by implementing this far-reaching technology. 

Every competent web developer knows that they need a solid grasp of JavaScript in order to build any modern web application or website. After all, JavaScript is the premier programming language for front-end web development; or rather, it is the only language. 

But with so many tools available to manipulate and enhance the use of JavaScript, just knowing the programming language you’re going to use for your next software project isn’t enough. 

As an illustration, flocks of JavaScript developers have been opting to use Node.js as a back-end technology. In fact, as of a 2020 Developer Survey by StackOverflow, Node.js is in the top ten of most loved languages or technologies among developers. 

Node.js is versatile. Among the many uses of the software, you will learn about four applications of Node.js:

1. Collaborative Tools
2. Streaming Services
3. Dashboards 
4. Microservices

Take a closer look at several Node.js examples explaining precisely when and where to use this JavaScript-based tool.

What Is Node.js?

Node.js is an open-source, cross-platform runtime environment for JavaScript. First released in 2009, it provides web developers a platform to write, test, and debug JavaScript code outside of a browser. 

While Node.js does not change the syntax, structure, or really anything about JavaScript itself, it does come equipped with many application programming interfaces (APIs) that extend the capacity for back-end development in JavaScript.

Support for file systems, HTTP requests, and child processes glimpse some of the features offered towards this undertaking. The same cannot be accomplished in a browser so these Node.js examples of back-end agency are thoroughly exciting to many a web developer. 

The notion of back-end development with JavaScript, combined with JavaScript's well-established role in front-end web development is defined under the popular slogan, ‘JavaScript everywhere’.

This slogan means to convey the enthusiasm of web developers who appreciate the ease of using a singular programming language – JavaScript – throughout their tech stack. In other words, Node.js projects make full-stack development an attractive reality. And developers love to see it!

What Is Node.js Used For?

Naturally, like anything that has to do with the mere mention of JavaScript, developers use Node.js to build dynamic websites and web apps. Current Node.js examples of major websites thriving thanks to its platform include the likes of Netflix, PayPal, LinkedIn, and more. 

These names are not underground by any means. Node.js is a stable and popular technology used in the everyday tech stacks of web developers big and small. Most of these companies saw a drastic improvement in speed when they adopted Node.js.

From a technical side, this is likely because Node.js provides an environment for non-blocking, event-driven servers. Non-blocking or asynchronous i/o refers to how operations execute in Node.js. 

In synchronous or blocking programming, an operation must be finished before starting another. For instance, if a web server is asked to open a file and return the content to the client, the process that must occur is quite exhaustive.

A task is sent to the computer’s file system. The file system opens and reads the file. Nothing else can happen during this operation so there is a waiting period. Then the content is returned to the client. Now, another request can finally be handled. 

Node.js handles file requests in a much more efficient manner because as it is asynchronous multiple things can happen at once. The task is sent to the computer’s file system. And then Node.js is ready to handle the next request!

Similarly, Node.js is event-driven, a programming paradigm that is designed to respond to user actions such as mouse clicks or key presses. Although theoretically, all programming languages can carry code of this nature, an environment like Node.js makes the paradigm far easier to implement. 

This line of coding enables asynchronous programming and to a larger extent leads to faster overall performance. Arguably, this is one of the bigger benefits of using Node.js. 

Related reading: Node.js vs. PHP: Which Is Better For Your Business?

4 Examples of Node.js Applications

Looking for a bit more straightforward Node.js examples? The following Node.js application examples should give you a more detailed understanding of what Node.js can do for you.

1. Collaborative Tools

Like mentioned, Node.js specializes in asynchronous programming, allowing for multiple things to happen at once. Such an ability is especially useful for programs that must facilitate real-time processes and operations. 

Co-collaborative features like document editing is one Node.js example of this in practice. Video conferences and instant messaging also rely on the same technology. WebSockets is a Node.js API rendering event-driven, two-way interactive communication. 

2. Streaming Services

With the birth of smart devices came the boom of streaming services. Simply defined, streaming services are platforms that permit users to watch videos or listen to music from a widely accessible internet hub. 

Netflix, of course, is probably the most popular Node.js example of streaming in action. With a small monthly fee, Netflix users can choose from a plethora of films and series to watch any day of the week. 

Node.js has a built-in module for streaming capable of transmitting large amounts of data chunks in a sequential fashion. Because of this, developers won’t need to temporarily store or cache data in the application memory. 

3. Dashboards

Dashboards are a great way to effectively and easily strengthen the user experience (UX) of your web app. Your app may offer the same essential services to every customer but dashboards cater to the customer’s individual experience and history within your app. 

Web apps can use Node.js on their server-side to provide immediate updates to a dashboard user interface (UI). Server-side rendering (SSR) generally signifies faster load times as it eliminates the need for browser-to-server round-trips.

In effect, customers will have a satisfactory impression of your app’s UX and UI.  

4. Microservices

Microservices is an architectural style where an app is managed not as one unit but as a collection of services. Businesses opt for this style because they can be easier to manage in maintenance in testing. They can also be deployed independently. 

NASA is actually one of the many major enterprises using Node.js. It also happens to be a fruitful Node.js example for the moment. Using microservices, NASA was able to migrate all its data to the cloud.

There’s a pretty in-depth case study that explains all about how Node.js keeps astronauts safe and data accessible. 

Conclusion

Now that you know what your business can do with Node.js, trust that utilizing this software will bring you the function and speed to uplift the spirits of any developer.

However, you’ll need developers in the first place if you plan to do any spirit uplifting – or developing for that matter. 

At Trio, you’ll find highly qualified developers that can whip up any of the four Node.js examples mentioned not so long ago and add a few sprinkles on top as well.

If you want to do something more, don’t worry. Trio still has you covered. Our developers can adapt to your business and roll with new challenges as they come along.

Contact Trio now to learn more about hiring Node.js developers.

Django vs. Node.js compares two in-demand tools for developing your next software project. Both are dynamic technologies for building web-based applications and mobile apps. 

Between 2012 and 2021, JavaScript has maintained its title as the most commonly used programming language. 

Likewise, the 2021 Developer Survey by Stack Overflow listed Python as the third most popular programming language. 

Node.js and Django being the respective offspring of these languages, it’s clear why their comparison can breed fierce competition.

Today, you will get a brief snapshot of the key differences contrasting Node.js vs. Django. 

And then you’ll have an opportunity to dive deeper into their main attributes, ending with a side-by-side comparison of Django vs. Node.js in the following categories:

1. Community
2. Scalability 
3. Architecture
4. Security
5. Usability
6. Performance

To learn more about the differences between Django and Node.js, and find out which tool will be the last one standing, stay tuned!

What is Django?

Django — cleverly dubbed ‘the web framework for perfectionists with deadlines’ — is a Python-based full stack web development framework. 

The origin story of Django starts in 2003 — as corroborated by Django’s co-creator via Quora. 

Simon Willison and Adrian Holovaty were working in a newsroom, using PHP to develop websites like Lawrence.com and other projects associated with the paper. 

At the time, PHP wasn’t the most convenient language for maintaining large sites and the team eagerly switched to Python. 

But their opinionated assertions on how web development should work led them to build Django, which they hoped would be better suited for scalability. 

The Django name was inspired by Romani guitarist Django Reinhardt, one of Holovaty’s favorites.

The technical underbelly of Django is just as interesting. The framework emphasizes several principles for optimizing the software development process.

Loose coupling, don’t repeat yourself (DRY), and less code are three prominent design philosophies of Django. 

In loose coupling, the architecture of Django makes it so that different aspects of a software can function independently, rather than interdependently. 
DRY is a well-known programming concept that stresses the importance of the reusability and pluggability of functions and objects to cut down on development time. 

Lastly, less code is a round-about way of highlighting Django’s need for speed and simplicity. 

Boilerplate code, or code that encourages redundancies and tediousness, is adamantly discouraged within the Django framework. 
There’s definitely more where that came from. But for right now, these guiding principles should give you a pretty good idea of how Django operates.

What is Node.js?

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment. JavaScript itself is the go-to programming language for building dynamic websites and web applications. 

Except, JavaScript favors front-end use, and deals with actions on the client-side like scrolling and clicking. 

In fact, JavaScript is a notorious asset for front-end web development. Few websites would survive without it. 

But the kicker here is that Node.js is a back-end technology. This means you can use JavaScript on the front-end and back-end of your project.

Allowing developers to use an all-time favorite language to script server-side behavior like managing databases and APIs is an ingenious way to simplify development.  

This explains why major companies use Node.js with glee, such as Netflix, LinkedIn, and Amazon Web Services. 

To get back on track, it’s worth exploiting Node.js’s origins. Node.js was born in 2009. Ryan Dahl, a software engineer at Google gets due credit for its conception. 

Node.js is predated by LiveWire, a 1995 Netscape project that aimed to render JavaScript webpages on the server-side. The project failed. 

The current success of Node.js can largely be accredited to its Google V8 JavaScript engine. 

In short, this engine interprets and compiles JavaScript code directly into machine code, making the user experience of a Node.js program exceptionally swift. 

Related reading: Node.js vs. PHP: Which Is Better for Your Business?

Django vs. Node.js: Side-by-Side Comparison

Now that you have the basics down, prepare for a more in-depth take on what Django and Node.js can offer. Here goes:

Community

Both Node.js and Django are free and open-source, empowering their communities in unique ways. 

In fact, experienced Node.js users review updates to the software and offer feedback and customization. 

However, Django’s community is relatively small and only moderately active. In comparison, Node.js’s community is notably large and very active. 

In addition, Node.js amounts to nearly three times the market share in the most relevant categories. 

Developers flock to Django to take advantage of Python’s ease of use. The syntax of Python is known amongst developer circles for being absurdly simple. 

Big names like Pinterest, Instagram, Spotify, and Youtube are some of the higher-status Django applications. 

But Node.js gets most of its attention from front-end developers who want to give server-side JavaScript a taste. 

And full stack JavaScript development is the root of many Node.js applications from dashboards to streaming services.

The innate agility of Node.js makes the runtime environment a favorite tool for many developers. 

Because of the thriving community of Node.js, developers using the tool have easier access to information and knowledge. 

As a result, your development team will have an overall better time building your next software project. 

Winner: Node.js — Due to JavaScript’s popularity, Node.js has a larger user base and community than Django.

Architecture 

Node.js is a runtime environment rather than a framework and operates using an event-driven model. 

In a nutshell, Node.js uses asynchronous programming. Asynchronous programming permits functions to execute out-of-order. 

In turn, synchronous programming relies on a hierarchy, in which one function must fully execute before the next even starts to run. 

For Node.js, this means an improved user experience as web pages won’t delay once one or two elements fail to load immediately. 
Node.js also supports object-oriented programming, a way of structuring code that is intuitive for developers and great for scaling. 

That said, there are specific nuances of the Node.js platform and native methods that present an unfortunate learning curve to those most interesting in using Node.js.

To compare, Django has a straightforward architecture. Its model-view-template structure clearly separates the data access layer from the presentation layer. 

In plain English, developers can compartmentalize their programming based on whether they want to make changes to the user interface (UI) or to the business logic on the back-end. 

Combined with the favorability of Python, Django’s architecture is appealing to developers who plan to scale but hate complexity.

Winner: Django — Though Node.js has its perks, the architecture of Django makes it an overall easier tool to use

Scalability 

Since Node.js employs asynchronous programming, it provides concurrency for executing simultaneous functions. 

Naturally, this leads to more scalability overall, making Node.js a clever choice for web and web app development.

And the fact that you can use JavaScript on both sides of development engenders what some call a ‘JavaScript everywhere’ paradigm that is undoubtedly convenient. 

In addition, this relieves you of the pressure involved in implementing and managing a bloated tech stack where businesses must use several different tools for a single project. 

Node.js supports microservices as well. Microservice architecture is independently deployable which can help businesses who want to scale by optimizing the software development process. 

On the other hand, many facets of the Django framework make it similarly scalable. 

For one, Python is a treasured language with an all-around easy-to-use syntax. 

Django is also extremely portable. While Node.js runs on Windows and Linux, Python runs on virtually any platform, including Apple operating systems. And where there is Python, there is Django. 

Reusable apps are another valuable feature of Django. These apps put the DRY principle into practice by enabling users to write, package, reuse, and install Python packages. 

Called Django apps, these packages are small libraries representing a submodule of a larger Django project. 

Using tools like MemCache, Django developers can cache applications easier, giving users quick access to memory and speeding up their experience. 

Winner: None — Both Node.js and Django are highly scalable tools. 

Security

Django has built-in security protocols that ensure security risks are low. Developers pretty much don’t need to think about security issues at all. 

On its site, Django lists its top security protection against a number of common attacks like SQL injection, clickjacking, cross-site scripting, and cross-site request forgery. 

Though this may just sound like gibberish, you can check out Trio’s article on cybersecurity to learn more about why these cyber attacks are so threatening in the first place. 

Node.js is not as advanced. There are no default security settings so developers have to do extra work to feel safe.  

Winner: Django — Django has robust security measures in place to protect your data where Node.js is lacking. 

Usability

Django is monolithic. As compared to microservices, a monolithic architecture is limiting at best and bad for business at worst. 

Software applications in Django are single-tier and code within the program is generally interdependent. 

Plus, the framework is meant for building complex web apps. Unlike Flask, Django’s more down-to-earth brother-in-law, Django isn’t suited for small and/or simple apps. 

In contrast, you can build microservices with Node.js and since the tool is an environment in and of itself, there’s more freedom to code however you want. 

One of Node.js’s best assets is npm, or the Node Package Manager. This is a repository of several free libraries and extensions, making the platform even more flexible. 

You can also customize templates in Node.js. And though it might be challenging, experienced developers enjoy this feature thoroughly. 

On the flip side, Django has built-in templates. While this is handy for beginners, often developers like having the independence to build things from scratch.

Winner: Node.js — Django may have a vast collection of templates and libraries but Node.js is frankly more customizable. 

Performance

Although Node.js offers concurrency, it is still single-threaded. Single-threaded processes use a single sequence to execute tasks. 

Programming in Node.js is asynchronous, but a multi-threaded infrastructure would greatly increase a program’s capacity to process instructions. 

Luckily, this is where Django shines. Not only is it multi-threaded, but app caching and database optimization boosts the framework’s performance as well. 

Winner: Django — Node.js and Django are both high-performing tools, but Django performs much better in this category when you account for all its bonuses.

Conclusion

In comparing Django vs. Node.js, it is clear that Django takes the lead. If you’re looking to build your next software project with a technology that is secure, performant, scalable, and straightforward, Django is the right choice. 

But if for some reason your heart is still yearning for Node.js, rest assured that you’re not alone. Node.js is a flexible, scalable software with a supportive community to help you further your goals. 

Depending on where your desire lies, Trio is well-able to be a pillar of support for your next project.

For example, if you choose Node.js, Trio is eager to point you in the right direction for hiring Node.js developers. 

Adversely, if Django is calling to you, Trio is just as prepared to take your call and lend you highly qualified Django developers,

Either way, Trio has your back. We’re here to help.