5 Tips to Accelerate your Node.js Development Process

Node.js is blazing at an inspiring speed with its unique characteristics and features like asynchronous execution of code, V8 engine, memory management, and much more. These great features have rendered this JavaScript runtime environment as a favorite amid maximum developers. According to the data released from Statista, 51.4 percent of the respondents have made use of Node, a figure that has surpassed even .NET and .NET Core. The technology not only offers a plethora of useful features but most importantly ‘extensive community support’ that offers free help to anyone who is new or having issues in execution. The list goes on and on making all of us appreciate this open-source server environment. So in order to further escalate this experience, we have shared some useful tips that can accelerate the overall development process to achieve maximum performance and quick deployment. Let’s have a look.

1. Use caching options

Caching is a technique that rescues a server from the stress of repeatedly executing the same function again that results in the same output. Don’t you think there should be something that can curb the need of generating the same report again and again from scratch when it is intended to be used multiple times in a run? Don’t you think that the need for performing the same tasks should be processed faster? Caching options can allow reducing such response time of actions or commands to improve the performance and save time. Using Redis for caching the applications to achieve fast fetching of data and information to use it as and when required can assist a lot in quick processing.

An example has been illustrated below to show how you can configure Redis on NodeJS

Apart from Redis, there are other alternatives as well like in-memory caching, caching to file, and using MemCached that can help in reducing the loading time.

2. Use gzip compression

Most of the servers today provide the gzip support to ensure that responses are compressed before sent to a browser as and when the resources are requested by it. The compression of responses makes it possible to boost the speed of the web app by reducing time lag. Gzip compression can be used not only when the responses are to be sent to the browsers, but also when the requests are to be made to the remote servers. This dual-use motivates the overall web application to perform faster. Not using gzip compression for static resources will result in the consumption of additional time to retrieve it.

3. Go asynchronous

Node.js is single-threaded i.e. only one process can be executed at a time.

As a result, the synchronous components of this technology can freeze the entire app in the wait of execution. This can affect performance as well as speed. You can try to avoid the synchronous approach in your code, but this will not go a long way because you might make use of an external library (which usually happens) that contains a blocking call. The solution is using an asynchronous API in the code or an external library that will help to execute the remaining codes in the meantime and there will be no need to wait for the execution. Node.js uses libuv, an asynchronous library that comes with an efficient event loop along with a solution for performing the blocking operations. Libuv blends event loop as well as a thread pool to enable non-blocking and blocking operations.

4. Use a real-time monitoring tool

Selecting a prominent vendor who provides an application monitoring tool should be on your to-do list. A web application is prone to a certain set of problems like errors or blogs that can badly affect the performance and hard-work invested in the development process. Hence, it is necessary to incorporate a robust monitoring and maintenance infrastructure in advance. Some great tools that can be used for the case of NodeJS have been illustrated below:

• Newrelic
• Stackify
• Ruxit
• LogicMonitor
• Monitis

These aforesaid tools can record the activity patterns and provide you with detailed metrics to track and eliminate any element that is hindering the performance of your application. In simple words, a smart analysis is made possible with these real-time performance measuring tools.

5. Use client-side rendering

We all have observed the rise of some MVC frameworks such as AngularJS, MeteorJS, BackboneJS, etc. that have made it possible for developers to deploy single-page applications having admirable speed and superb delivery. It is possible for these powerful frameworks to expose the APIs that shoot JSON responses in favor of the client directly instead of sending them through the server. As a result, the bandwidth is saved and the latency is also reduced. Using client-side rendering when working on NodeJS can help you a lot.

After implementing these above-mentioned tips, you will be able to observe a swift NodeJS development process in the picture. Some other methods like going parallel, going session-free, using binary modules, and using a V8 JavaScript engine can further help your development process to advance in a progressive direction. NodeJS has already gained mass momentum with its exclusive features and making an attempt to accelerate the performance will help you to build more software applications. If you have any doubts or looking to hire a Node JS developer, then feel free to share your requirements with us via call or email. With the latest technology stack and highly skilled professionals, we will assist you in the best possible way.