{"id":2508,"date":"2021-12-09T11:30:33","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T11:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/?p=2508"},"modified":"2023-04-13T18:40:25","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T13:10:25","slug":"what-is-nodejs-used-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/","title":{"rendered":"What is NodeJS Used For?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anyone who knows or works with JavaScript must have heard about NodeJS; A server-side platform builds on Google\u2019s JS engine or V8 Engine. Developed By Ryan Dahl back in 2009 and currently, we have its latest v0.10.36. From creators<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Page Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#Zen_of_NodeJS\" title=\"Zen of NodeJS\">Zen of NodeJS<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#Asynchronous_and_Event_Driven\" title=\"Asynchronous and Event Driven\">Asynchronous and Event Driven<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#Very_Fast\" title=\"Very Fast\">Very Fast<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#Single_Threaded_but_Highly_Scalable\" title=\"Single Threaded but Highly Scalable\">Single Threaded but Highly Scalable<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#No_Buffering\" title=\"No Buffering\">No Buffering<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#License\" title=\"License\">License<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#Uses_of_NodeJS\" title=\"Uses of NodeJS\">Uses of NodeJS<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#Real-Time_Chats\" title=\"Real-Time Chats\">Real-Time Chats<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#Internet_of_Things\" title=\"Internet of Things\">Internet of Things<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#Data_streaming\" title=\"Data streaming\">Data streaming<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#Complex_single-page_applications\" title=\"Complex single-page applications\">Complex single-page applications<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#REST_API-based_Applications\" title=\"REST API-based Applications\">REST API-based Applications<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#Getting_Started_With_NodeJS\" title=\"Getting Started With NodeJS\">Getting Started With NodeJS<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#NodeJS_on_Windows\" title=\"NodeJS on Windows\">NodeJS on Windows<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#NodeJS_on_MacOS\" title=\"NodeJS on MacOS\">NodeJS on MacOS<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/what-is-nodejs-used-for\/#Linux\" title=\"Linux\">Linux<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Node.js is a platform build on Chrome&#8217;s JavaScript runtime for easily building fast and scalable network applications. Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I\/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient, perfect for data-intensive real-time applications that run across distributed devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NodeJS is an open-source and free-to-use runtime environment for server-side and network development available for cross-platform. Applications build on Node are write in <a href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/top-25-best-javascript-libraries-and-frameworks-for-2022\/\">JavaScript<\/a> can be run within its runtime environment on any operating system including OS X, Windows, or Linux.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It offers a huge library that includes various JavaScript resources. So, it provides a runtime environment and JavaScript Library in the same place with the powerful V8 engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Zen_of_NodeJS\"><\/span>Zen of NodeJS<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Node has so much power and resources as well that helps its users but besides those node also offers the following &#8211;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"351\" src=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1_ODU5V_oAmYmzvZ1wIw3rDw.jpg\" alt=\"NodeJS Extern Labs\" class=\"lazyload_inited wp-image-2512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1_ODU5V_oAmYmzvZ1wIw3rDw.jpg 600w, https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/1_ODU5V_oAmYmzvZ1wIw3rDw-300x176.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Asynchronous_and_Event_Driven\"><\/span>Asynchronous and Event Driven<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">APIs on the <a href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/nodejs-development.php\">NodeJS library<\/a> are asynchronous, which means non-blocking. Basically, It allows servers to never wait or stop on an API to get return data, Server moves to the next API right after calling it. A notification system of events provides a notification with the response from that previous APIs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Very_Fast\"><\/span>Very Fast<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NodeJS is built on a V8 engine which makes it faster and also working with its library is also fast and accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Single_Threaded_but_Highly_Scalable\"><\/span>Single Threaded but Highly Scalable<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NodeJS works as a single thread model with event looping. The event mechanism helps the server to function unstoppable which allows the server to be highly scalable, unlike regular servers. Node servers can handle multiple requests where regular servers limit to single requests. Thread programs can help Node servers to keep multiple requests at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"No_Buffering\"><\/span>No Buffering<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NodeJS Applications provide output data in Chunks that keep them working without any buffer or user wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"License\"><\/span>License<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Node.js is working under the MIT license<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/contact.php\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/javas-6.jpg\" alt=\"Hire Javascript Developer\" class=\"lazyload_inited wp-image-3274\" width=\"695\" height=\"92\" srcset=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/javas-6.jpg 750w, https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/javas-6-300x40.jpg 300w, https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/javas-6-696x93.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 695px) 100vw, 695px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Uses_of_NodeJS\"><\/span>Uses of NodeJS<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now we know that NodeJS is powerful and it&#8217;s being used by General Electric, GoDaddy, Microsoft, PayPal, Uber, Wikipins, Yahoo! And many more in line. Now let&#8217;s discuss some uses that Node is the best option-&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Real-Time_Chats\"><\/span>Real-Time Chats<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With its single-threaded asynchronous mechanism, NodeJS is fully comfortable for real-time data communication. It can help in building scalable Chatbots for various purposes. In addition, it is possible to build or integrate features of multi-person chat with push notifications.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Internet_of_Things\"><\/span>Internet of Things<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As NodeJS is good with multiple requests and users makes it is a good option for <a href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/iot-application-development.php\">IoT applications<\/a> because they need multiple requests at the same time or frequently and It is fully capable of handling that with its single-threaded asynchronous system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Data_streaming\"><\/span>Data streaming<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Big players like Netflix use NodeJS for streaming purposes because of its lightweight and fast nature. It supports Native streaming APIs that help Netflix in shameless streaming. These streams allow various users to pipe requests to each other and as a result, Data gets streamed to the final destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Complex_single-page_applications\"><\/span>Complex single-page applications<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SPA or single page application is an app that loads everything that offers loads on a single page. Single-page applications need to process multiple requests and also process them in the background for each component and It can process all problems of SPAs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"REST_API-based_Applications\"><\/span>REST API-based Applications<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">JS is use both in the front-end and back-end of sites. Thus, a server can easily communicate with the frontend via REST APIs using NodeJS. It also provides packages like ExpressJS and Koa that make it even easier to build web applications.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/contact.php\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/javas-7.jpg\" alt=\"Hire Javascript Developer\" class=\"lazyload_inited wp-image-3276\" srcset=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/javas-7.jpg 750w, https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/javas-7-300x40.jpg 300w, https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/javas-7-696x93.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Getting_Started_With_NodeJS\"><\/span>Getting Started With NodeJS<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"NodeJS_on_Windows\"><\/span>NodeJS on Windows<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is convenient to install NodeJS on windows with their <a href=\"https:\/\/nodejs.org\/en\/#home-downloadhead\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Windows Installer<\/a> which you can download from their website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"NodeJS_on_MacOS\"><\/span>NodeJS on MacOS<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can do it by using Bash<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>curl \"https:\/\/nodejs.org\/dist\/latest\/node-${VERSION:-$(wget -qO- https:\/\/nodejs.org\/dist\/latest\/ | sed -nE 's|.*&gt;node-(.*)\\.pkg.*|\\1|p')}.pkg\" &gt; \"$HOME\/Downloads\/node-latest.pkg\" &amp;&amp; sudo installer -store -pkg \"$HOME\/Downloads\/node-latest.pkg\" -target \"\/\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Linux\"><\/span>Linux<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Ubuntu, you can run the following command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>sudo apt update\nsudo apt install nodejs\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NodeJS is already being use by many big and small players in many ways that are suppose to. It has power, resources, and support which makes it a good option for server-side and development. It is sufficient for big and scalable projects. You can <a href=\"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/hire-nodejs-developer.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hire NodeJS Developers<\/a> from Extern Labs to build innovative applications for your business or server, Our team has NodeJS experts who are capable of building scalable NodeJS Development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anyone who knows or works with JavaScript must have heard about NodeJS; A server-side platform builds on Google\u2019s JS engine or V8 Engine. Developed By Ryan Dahl back in 2009 and currently, we have its latest v0.10.36. From creators Node.js is a platform build on Chrome&#8217;s JavaScript runtime for easily building fast and scalable network&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6789,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[204,149,168],"class_list":["post-2508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-software-development","tag-features-of-nodejs","tag-javascript-libraries","tag-software-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/externlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}