How to develop powerful Mobile Apps with Node.JS?

June 3, 2017 Shashank Mehrotra 15934 Views
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In many of our previous blogs, we discussed about the right development team, must have features of an app, cost to develop an app etc. This time our blog mainly focuses on Node.JS, one of the technologies that is preferred over other veteran technologies for Mobile App and Web Development. We will further learn about Node.JS frameworks that are known for lightweight development approach. Use of Node.JS frameworks helps to empower development process with some incredible functionalities that were missing in other patent languages. Developers and clients prefer to choose the technology for a layer of benefits and features associated with Node.JS. Corporate users of Node.JS software include Cisco Systems, Walmart, PayPal, Capital One, GoDaddy, Groupon, IBM, Microsoft, Netflix, Uber, SAP, Yahoo, Lowe’s and much more.

But what exactly makes Node.JS one of the top choices for technical prowess and scalable architecture.

Before we hop on to frameworks and benefits, let’s understand what exactly we mean by Node.JS.

Node.JS: The RunTime Environment

Node.JS is not a language, framework or tool. It is a runtime environment for running applications based on JavaScript. Similar to Java Runtime Environment, NodeJS has a virtual machine called JVM (JavaScript Virtual Machine) which is nothing but V8, the open source JavaScript engine from Google. With the help of different libraries called Node API or Node Modules, NodeJS help to run JavaScript applications at runtime, similar to Java Libraries within the JRE. Similarly, JavaScript Virtual Machine generates machine code with the help of main components like JIT and GC for performing tasks, runtime compilation, and memory management respectively.  

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Now, Let’s take a look at some of the best Node.js frameworks.

Node.JS – Popular Frameworks

With an asynchronous architecture based on comprehensive frameworks, Node.JS has answered the needs of computational forces in the quest for incredible user experience blended with powerful options to take care of the evolving World Wide Web (WWW) needs. Below are some sorted out Node.JS frameworks used by top mobile app developers worldwide:

Hapi.JS

Hapi.js is a powerful Node.js web framework for building application program interfaces (APIs) and other software applications. The framework has a robust plugin system and numerous key features, which makes it one of the popular choices among developers. Also, it is used by many large-scale websites such as Disney, Concrete, PayPal, Walmart and more.

Hapi.js is widely used by thousands of developers for designing useful applications. Features of Hapi.js:

  • Especially good for passing around a DB connection.
  • Known as go-to technology for both startups and enterprises.
  • Works as a stable, secure solution as well as helps deploying an application.
  • Good structure to work in a team.

Socket.io

Socket.io is a Node.js server framework for building real-time web applications. It allows bi-directional communication between server and web clients. Like Node.JS, Socket.io is also event driven. Socket.io works as a client-side library running in the browser and as a server-side library for Node.JS. The framework allows real-time concurrency for document collaboration and data exchange. Notable users include Microsoft Office, Yammer, and Zendesk etc.

Top app developers use this framework for below-mentioned features:

  • Asynchronous input/ output (I/O) processing.
  • Binary streaming.
  • Horizontal scaling.
  • Document collaboration.
  • Instant messaging.

Express.JS

Seven years ago, TJ Holowaychuk, one of the core Node project team member developed this essential framework for Node.JS. This framework allows writing code in pure Node.JS with minimum lines of code.

The express.js framework is used by top app development companies for features like:

  • Template engines.
  • Simplified multiple routing.
  • Database integration.
  • HTTP requests.
  • Error handling.

Mojito.JS

Mojito is a JavaScript framework based on Yahoo! Cocktails, a mobile application development platform introduced by Yahoo! Developer Network. JavaScript is the only programming language, which is used for Yahoo! Cocktails Platform. Since client and server components are both written in JavaScript, Mojito can run on both the client side (browser) and the server (Node.js).

Mojito is a model-view-controller (MVC) framework used by top mobile app developers for a gamut of features, such as:

  • Convenient data fetching.
  • Integrated unit testing.
  • Local development environment and tools.
  • Library for simplifying internationalisation & localisation.

Meteor.JS

Meteor is an open-source Node.JS framework for building websites and web/mobile applications. It allows writing both client and server parts of an application in JavaScript. Meteor helps in writing application codes. Moreover, it’s reactive programming model that allows creating applications using lesser JavaScript code. Besides, Meteor is a powerful framework for building real-time applications. Popular applications built using Meteor are Respondly, Blonk and more. Here are some features that lead many top app development companies to choose the language:

  • Full-Stack solution.
  • Isomorphic JavaScript code.
  • Front-end solution.
  • Database integration.
  • Live reload.
  • Custom package manager

Hope the above frameworks have helped you gain an insight into why top app development companies prefer to choose it over other veteran languages. This is just a glimpse of a much bigger picture of many more frameworks and features. Best of luck with choosing the correct technology as its one of the important aspects of mobile app development.

At BrainMobi, our top Node.js app developers have transformed many ideas to the pinnacle of success using Node.JS technologies. Our mobile apps are not only the epitome of excellence but they also mould business strategy for dominating success.

For a team with flexible and lightweight development approach, get in touch with our experts to deliver your idea within desired time and budget.

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About the author

Author

danielcraig Shashank was the Co-founder of BrainMobi and was working as IT Business Analyst, leading the Marketing and Business Analysis division along with Operations at BrainMobi. Shashank loves to write about emerging technologies, mobile innovation, user experience and the way it shapes our world so that users can access the best tips in mobile app development.