Building Real Time Applications with NodeJS: A Rundown for Prudent Decision-Making

Quick Summary: Node.js is a popular choice among developers for creating various types of applications. Real-time applications are one of the primary uses of Node.js, as it allows developers to create feature-rich and high-performance applications with real-time functionality. This article provides detailed information about Node.js and how it is important in the development of such applications.

Instant communication and collaboration have become the need of the hour with the changing work patterns and to bridge distances. Real-time applications help users communicate or exchange data in real-time (immediately) to accomplish their goals.

Selecting the right technology is important to build a scalable and fast real time application. Many businesses prefer NodeJS development services when it comes to creating these kinds of applications. It offers the required scalability, performance, and functionality for it.

From High Performance to High Load Capacity, Build Feature-packed Real-Time Apps with NodeJS

Contact Us Today

Node JS real time applications are efficient as they use fewer resources because of Node’s single-threaded model. Further, with the use of various tools available with Node.js, it is easy to optimize applications and improve loading time with the use of caching.

Stay tuned as we explore what NodeJS is and the reasons why you should choose it for real time app development. Keep reading!

An Overview of NodeJS

Node.js is popular in web development and it’s a runtime engine for JavaScript. Consequently, it is possible to execute JavaScript code outside of a web browser. This runtime environment is based on Chrome V8 engine. It’s at the #1 position among the top web frameworks as per data by Statista.

NodeJS follows an execution model based on a single-threaded event loop enabling it to handle a multitude of concurrent client requests efficiently. It is deployed to a web server to handle and process client requests.

Further, NodeJS development is elastic with the use of additional libraries, packages, and third-party APIs that extend your application’s functionality seamlessly. So, you can utilize it to build flexible and customizable applications.

Examples of applications using this technology include:

• LinkedIn
• Netflix
• Yahoo
• Groupon
• PayPal
• Uber

What are Real-Time Applications?

What do you experience - when chatting with your friends with an online application, video calling with someone far away, or playing an online game? There is one thing common in each of these scenarios that is you are communicating or using the service in real-time. The application processes data and responses in real-time making it function immediately.

It can be a real-time web app or mobile app. Instant messaging, online gaming, and video conferencing are types of real-time apps. Facebook, Twitter, and Gmail are real time web application examples. These types of applications bridge distances and offer instant communication and collaboration.

How is NodeJS Architecture Suitable for Real-Time Applications?

Node.js follows a powerful architecture with excellent flexibility and scalability. The architecture can handle heavy workloads with a high failure-tolerant capacity. This makes it a popular choice among developers to build a myriad of applications including real-time applications.

The real power of Node JS comes from its asynchronous, event-driven execution model allowing it to process other requests without blocking the existing ones. It differentiates Node from other technologies such as ASP.NET, JSP, Spring, etc., that follow a multithreaded architecture.

Node.js architecture offers the following benefits:

• Usage of memory or resources is low because it uses fewer threads.
• Asynchronization and concurrency make Node JS applications more flexible.
• Its event loop can efficiently handle more requests and doesn’t need more threads.
• It can handle increased concurrent requests easily.

The following image depicts the Node.js architecture.

Why Node.js is the Right Choice to Develop Real-Time Applications?

Swift response, scalability, and user-friendliness are some of the important metrics for a real time application’s success. Node JS empowers developers with the best features and tools to build applications that operate in real time and resonate with your target audience. The following reasons make it the winning choice for creating these applications whether web-based or mobile-based.

Event-Driven Architecture

A real time application has to deal with multiple users at any point in time. So, it must efficiently process requests to handle every user. Node’s event-driven architecture and asynchronous behavior makes it deal with a large number of users seamlessly. Further, synchronization and data transfer are also easy with it which increases its capabilities.

Single Language

Usually, you have to use different types of frontend and backend technologies. However, NodeJS is based on the JavaScript programming language which is a versatile language used on both frontend and backend.

So, there will be a single language on both sides to make data movement between the client and the server seamless. It provides optimal synchronization between the client and server. It will simplify development as developers must work with a single programming language.

Get Top 1% Talent to Build a Cutting-edge Real-Time Application with NodeJS

Let’s Get Started

Code Reusability

Whether you are creating real-time web applications or mobile-based apps, code reusability is extremely helpful to create them in a quick and easy manner. This is one of the main reasons Node.js is preferred by developers. Indeed, it is possible to create React modules and reuse them in other projects using Bit. You can also utilize NPM to access and manage packages across different projects. It is more beneficial in the case when developers are moving from the existing environment to Node JS.

Fast Speed

It offers an impressive fast speed to build high-performance real time apps, and it’s not a myth. A performance comparison between Go, Java, PHP, and Node JS by Toptal proves it. There are many reasons for the fast speed.

Starting with the fact that it is built upon the Chrome V8 engine that compiles JavaScript into machine code at an impressive speed. The performance of Node.js increased with the improvements in the engine. Plus, with the non-blocking I/O feature, it can handle multiple concurrent requests.

JSON is Supported

JSON helps to simplify data exchange between the server and the client for applications that operat in real time. So, it is an important factor in real-time app development. Other server technologies like Ruby on Rails and PHP can also handle JSON for communication, but they convert it into binary models. Node JS can do this without the conversion with the use of JavaScript. As a result, data exchange in such applications is easier with it.

Efficient Data Handling

Node JS efficiently handles application data and provides immediate response to users. Users can add new information into Node.js real time applications on-the-fly and the application can run some logic right away to give the appropriate response. So, the application works very fast without wasting the time it takes between the server and the client.

Scalability

Scalability is another advantage of building applications with Node JS. Scaling applications based on it is painless and can be scaled both vertically and horizontally. Scaling real-time applications horizontally is achieved by adding additional nodes. For vertical scaling, developers can integrate more resources into a single node. So, it helps you build scalable applications.

Libraries and Frameworks Used with Node.js for Real Time Application Development

There are many frameworks and libraries that are used with NodeJS to build exceptional real time. Let’s check the list of top NodeJS frameworks and libraries.

Express.js

It’s a popular Node.js web application framework. The framework is known for its popularity in developing single-page, multiple-page, and hybrid web applications. It also helps you build applications functioning in real time. It simplifies your application’s functionalities with the use of routing and middleware. It is also utilized for creating RESTful APIs.

Sails.js

This is another web framework for real-time app development. It functions on the model-view-controller (MVC) architecture for creating applications with the NodeJS environment. It allows developers to build custom enterprise-grade applications. It is also used to build APIs.

Socket.io

It is a popular event-driven library that is widely used in developing applications that operate in real time. Using this library enables developers to achieve bidirectional, real-time communication between the client and the server. It offers a client and a server component that are installed on the client and the server respectively.

Nest.js

It’s a versatile and progressive framework for Node JS for creating complex real-time applications. It supports the TypeScript programming language that lets developers create scalable and reliable applications. This framework offers excellent tools and features to enable developers to create clean code for such applications.

Leverage a Blend of Innovation and the Latest Technologies with Custom Application Development

Let’s Do It

To Wrap UpThat’s it about Node.js for developing real-time applications! Now it’s your choice whether you decide to choose it or otherwise. Moreover, it has become a hot cake that everyone is using for many obvious reasons discussed above. Creating an application that operates in real time with Node JS requires the right team with good experience.Here you can rely on a renowned Node.js development company like Radixweb to develop a tailor-made application for you. Our team is highly experienced as they have been working for a myriad of clients for more than a decade of our existence.You can leverage their talent to create an innovative application that works in real-time with prudent use of technology and expertise. Let’s connect to discuss more about your requirements and start a project with us.