Going by the official definition on its website, “Node.js® is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine. Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient. Node.js’ package ecosystem, npm, is the largest ecosystem of open source libraries in the world.”
The environment of custom software development steadily unfolds with new trends, methods, and languages. But, when you speak about the Node.js library of modules, overall app development is significantly clarified. It presents quick and practical solutions for back-end development, be it for independent developers or a Node.js development company, and it blends well with front-end platforms.
When we look at the present scenario, the web and network server applications written with Node.js are becoming more prevalent. Independent app and software developers, web design agencies, IT companies, and businesses, both small and large, employ or hire Node.js developers for various projects and applications.
What are the significant benefits of using Node.js?
A software developer gets multiple advantages from using Node.js like:
- Programmers can put it to use for asynchronous event-driven programming. This sort of programming rejects blocking processes, making it easier to add capacity.
- Many developers know JavaScript, and they can practice this skill to learn Node.js directly. They can code both client and server components of their project with it.
- It has an energetic developer community that adds valuable tools and shareable open-source modules. There are tons of modules in “Node Package Manager” (NPM), which are forever growing.
- The accessible open-source document database MongoDB, and related NoSQL databases already use JavaScript. Developers utilizing Node.js can promptly implement database queries due to this.
Below are some of the most noteworthy Node.js development tools
Let’s explore the following NodeJS monitoring tools that will help you monitor the application and server performance and other metrics.
PM2
PM2 has been the most prominent tool used by rookie and expert developers both to guarantee that their applications are eternally live. PM2 is applied for running live production workloads and controlling them from CLI or web interface. It can be installed as an NPM module.
Snyk
Cybersecurity has perpetually been one of the principal concerns for developers. Snyk comes to the rescue. It is a popular tool that fixes vulnerabilities in open source segments. Launched initially as a project to fix vulnerabilities in Node.js projects, it has unfolded to find and fix vulnerabilities in Ruby, Java, Python, and Scala applications.
Keystone.JS
Keystone.js is a robust and energetic open-source web framework. Developers can utilize it to construct websites, web apps, and APIs on Node.js. Keystone.JS is “Content Management System” framework, too, using Express.js.
Babel
Babel is a JavaScript compiler. Alongside this, it is also a comprehensive toolchain frequently practiced in front-end development. This grants some significant advantages to the programmers.
ECMAScript 2015 is a model for scripting languages. Babel expedites converting ECMAScript 2015 into a version of JavaScript that is backward compatible. The tool aids in molding the syntax. Besides, developers require to code less. Babel offers a support map too. Consequently, programmers can quickly debug the code.
Hapi
Hapi is proficient in formulating full websites and enterprise-level functions. For instance, Walmart developers faced extensibility and maintainability issues from the Express framework as their application grew in proportion. They wanted a different structure that can support the Black Friday influx of customers. Thus, Walmart developers created Hapi.
Nevertheless, developers typically use this rich framework for building services that extract data from the back-end and serve it efficiently, all while keeping a well-maintained code foundation.
Highlights combine input and response validation, server-side caching, sessions, cookie-parsing, logging, among others. Hapi also developed dozens of API development plugins for documentation, authentication, and other functions. Currently, big brands such as Macy’s and Disney use the power of Hapi to scale their protocols.
Mocha.js
Mocha.js is a JavaScript test framework stemming out of Node.js. It empowers you to examine both in the console and the browser. You can use this quick testing suite to do the unit and integration testing. Along with that, it works for TDD (Test-Driven Development) and BDD (Behaviour Driven Development) faultlessly.
A notable improvement of Mocha.js is its modularity. This way, you can easily use other libraries with it, such as Chai, Sinon, or Should.js.
Webpack
JavaScript module bundling has persisted around for many years now, and assists developers and programmers in saving innumerable hours of manual labor.
Webpack is a JavaScript module bundler that clarifies deployments by formulating bundles, and asynchronously loaded to defeat the loading time. With Webpack, bundling and serving assets are smooth, agile, and effortless.
Endnotes
These were some of the most widely used Node.js tools in the market. The world online is enormous, and if you seek, you find thousands of tools to help you execute a particular task. It would be best if you defined your goals to pick the right set of tools.
