Introduction

The Internet never sleeps, and across the world, someone is accessing some website somewhere to accomplish a task at any given time. It is more so during a pandemic like Covid-19 when the whole world has been forced to go online and stay indoors. While there was always a need for fast and scalable web applications, this crisis forced many governments and organizations to scramble resources efficiently. This is where a technology like Node.js becomes a much-coveted one; it is an open-source, run-time JavaScript environment or development platform. This helps developers to quickly and efficiently come up with scalable web applications.

Node.js is indeed considered special in the technology circles and has names like Amazon, Netflix, eBay, Reddit, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and PayPal counted among its users. In a world where time is money, Node.js is said to help reduce development time by 58% while increasing performance by 50%. Perhaps it is no wonder then that many of these tech giants use it as it helps high-traffic sites immensely to reduce response time on their pages.

It is not just fast but also flexible and can be used to develop web applications as well as enterprise applications. With cost, time to market, scalability, performance, and reliability all becoming essential for survival, Node.js is also the go-to technology for most startups.

What is Node.js?

Until Node.js came along, web development was always linked to technologies like Java, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. However, JavaScript, which became an irreplaceable part of most web applications, could not be run outside of a browser. Node.js provided the much-needed extensibility that made it possible to code stand-alone applications. Ideally, any JavaScript developer of today is also expected to know and use Node.js as an important part of their web development toolkit.

It is a server-side, lightweight platform built on Google Chrome’s V8 (JavaScript) Engine that runs on various platforms like Mac OS X, Unix, Windows, etc. It is easy to learn and comes with massive library support, which has made it popular among web developers. It was first written in 2009 by Ryan Dahl and has become quite successful in only 12 years. This is huge when we realize that the web has been around for 32 years and JavaScript for 26 years. Clearly, it helped many limitations that the web developers otherwise felt, and it helped that it was open-source, with huge community support. In technical terms, Node.js uses an event-driven, single-threaded I/O model that makes it efficient and lightweight, making it the ideal choice for performance-driven, real-time, intensive applications.

Features of Node.js

The combination of JavaScript and Node.js makes the code faster to execute as it works in the asynchronous mode. This makes responses faster, thus improving the performance while following a;single-threaded event loop model’. Node.js architecture is designed so that it operates on a single thread, making it possible to handle many such concurrent requests. It is said it can achieve scalability levels of 1 million concurrent connections. This is why it is said to be asynchronous and event-driven. Node.js does not use any buffering as well and simply outputs the data in chunks. In this, both the client and the server can initiate communication and interact to exchange data freely. This is opposed to the typical web applications wherein the client always initiates the communication, and also, the application needs to run only on standard Port 80.

Additionally, it has a library called ‘npm,’ which is said to be the world’s largest software registry but has a simple structure. Millions of downloadable library files make it easier to code for specific requirements across the front-end, middleware, and backend. This makes it possible to code easily for data-intensive applications like social media marketing backend, chat applications, stand-alone applications, real-time monitoring dashboards, proxies, IoT applications, and even streaming applications.

It is better not to use it to code CPU-intensive or heavy server-side computation applications; it is single-threaded and runs on a single CPU core and hence this limitation. The Node.js team is working on the limitations to address the concerns and find some workable solutions. The technology is good and mature and is used widely for various use cases, including server-side programming.

Using Node.js

It is a low-level platform that makes it easy for developers to understand and use, with the library opening up exciting possibilities to explore. Node.js needs to be installed along with the npm (a built-in package manager), following the instructions at the official Node.js website and would have to restart the system once done. It can then be initiated through the Command Line Interface(CLI) of the computer. You would then need to run an assigned Node.js server on which the node.js will open and run.

It comes with a console module that helps debug the code easily, has many other useful modules. You may also create and include modules. The code needs to be written as a .js file and can then be initiated using the appropriate command. It comes with a File System module that allows for interaction with files, and the npm library provides access to a host of files that are useful for fast app development. The huge, active community with access to discussion forums and many events makes it easy to learn on the go and also avoid or correct coding errors.

Expertise Required

Requirements - hard skills

• Proficient in writing, testing, and implementing Node.js code.
• Extensive experience in JavaScript, HTML5, CSS, web stacks, libraries, and other related frameworks
• Experience working on one or more high-performance applications.
• Experience working with front-end/server-side components and integration of the same.
• Good knowledge of software programming best practices.
• Proficient in database programming with experience in SQL/NoSQL/MongoDB.
• Understanding of basic security and scaling practices and ensuring code is optimized according to these.
• Documenting all processes, database schemas, test results, and other associated reports.
• A deep interest and understanding of the latest trends in Internet-oriented development.
• Experienced in owning complete end-to-end delivery of assigned modules by interacting with other stakeholders.
• Good understanding of various testing methodologies/tools and unit testing of code.
• A good grasp of the entire software/web development life cycle.
• Assessing risks, recommending new technology and process changes as and when required

Experience

Most organizations have a project-based approach to software development, making it a team effort across multiple roles. A junior Node.js developer may work on an independent module or may also have to collaborate with other team members. Junior Node.js developers need to have a good grasp of the application being developed. This would make them understand why Node.js is chosen, which library to use, and how to write optimized, efficient code. Strong technical and domain knowledge will be a great strength to have in such roles as it will help them to come up to speed fast. A deep understanding of the various technologies involved in app development, including the specific industry, helps immensely at higher levels. Non-technical skills like mentoring, research, people, and project management are essential to succeed and grow.

• Complete ownership of the assigned tasks, including non-technical ones. 
• Delivering high-quality work consistently while ensuring team spirit.
• Managing dynamic project requirements in an Agile environment.
• Risk assessment covering technology, people, project timelines, etc., to help the team manage any such occurrences.
• Looking out for innovative ways to address any problems and arriving at solutions proactively.
• Owning the product roadmap and participating in the team discussions to ensure continuous learning and growth.
• Enhance existing skills, and pick up new ones that are relevant to the domain and product vision.
• Perform code reviews and provide and implement feedback.

Salary Structure

Node.js is a much in demand technology and has grown considerably in the past decade at a fast pace. Hence, the demand for Node.js developers is only said to increase in the pandemic-driven scenario with a jump in online transactions. Existing organizations may want more applications and services to enhance their portfolio. Startups with new ideas too will want to bring out their products and services as fast as possible to capture the market. All of this will drive demand in the Node.js developer requirements. We at Skuad can help you hire the best Node.js talent in the industry, tailored to meet your requirements.

Industry Expertise

We cater to various sectors - Edutech, Fintech, Healthcare, Logistics & Transport, Retail & Ecommerce, Travel, Banking, Media, and more. From selecting to onboarding, invoicing, compliances, and taxation, we act as your local HR to manage the day-to-day operations related to your overseas employees.