When to use Node JS as a Backend

What is Node.JS?

“ Node.js mostly is used when we are dealing with Real-time data and Game development. “

• Node.js is the best choice if you’re planning to build a web application. Because, first the language is JavaScript and second it rules both back-end and front-end (even query language for databases is also JavaScript e.g. MongoDB).
• Also, Node.js is based on single threaded, non-blocking I/O and due to this, it is highly efficient for building real-time applications like chat apps.
• Node.js and Express with Axios is the easiest way to create an API backend.

When to use Node JS as a Backend:

• Ideally in all web applications except those which involves heavy computation with high CPU processing.
• Alternatively, you can use Node.js for building API services, or building real time chat systems, and so on.

How is Node.js different from web JavaScript:

• JavaScript programs on a web page perform tasks like displaying output based on calculation or add interactive behavior.
• Node.js is a platform or a software that runs JavaScript on the server-side or back-end side. It uses JavaScript as language but runs on a different side than the front-end.

Limitations of using Node.js:

• Node.js is an event-driven and single threaded platform. So if an application requires heavy computing, Node.js is not an ideal choice to handle CPU-intensive processes.
• Node.js is too low-level in terms of functionalities it provides via standard modules. This increases dependency on frequent third-party packages usage.
• Packages for many popular problems are solid and stable, but still you have to manage a huge amount of dependencies for the project.