Node.js and Express.js Overview

What is node.js? A (mostly) server side JavaScript run-time environment for web content delivery.

Built on top of Chrome’s V8 engine. It allows Javascript code to be run outside the browser.

Event-driven architecture
- Handles multiple concurrent requests efficiently without blocking
- Perfect for real-time applications like chat systems and game servers
Non-blocking I/O
- Executes tasks asynchronously, preventing bottlenecks
- Allows handling thousands of simultaneous connections
Excellent for high I/O operations
- Ideal for streaming applications and real-time data processing
- Great for APIs and microservices that require frequent database operations
Full-stack JavaScript
- One language shared between frontend and backend
- Reduces context switching for developers
Lightweight and flexible
- Small core with modular architecture
- Easy integration with popular frameworks like React and Angular
Rich NPM ecosystem
- Over 1.5 million packages available
- Active community contributing to regular updates and security patches
Large corporate support
- Backed by companies like Microsoft and IBM
- Regular maintenance and updates
Cross-platform compatibility
- Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, and more
- Same codebase works across different platforms
Fast execution speed
- V8 JavaScript engine provides excellent performance
- Quick startup time for applications

CPU-intensive limitations
- Single-threaded nature makes heavy computations challenging
- Not ideal for video/image processing or complex calculations
- May require worker threads or separate services for CPU-heavy tasks
Callback hell
- Nested callbacks can make code hard to maintain
- Can lead to complex error handling
Frequent API changes
- Regular updates may break existing code
- Requires constant maintenance to stay current
Lack of consistent coding standards
- Different coding patterns across modules
- Can lead to inconsistent project structure