apHarmony offers Node.js development services.  Whether you are looking to build a new app based on Node.js, upgrade an existing application backend to use Node.js, or integrate Node as a proxy interface for phased upgrade, we will be happy to bring our team to your software project.  Please feel free to give us a call at 630-855-7522 for a free evaluation and quote.

Node.js is a Javascript-based server for high-performance web development.  The architecture enables custom routing and function proxy based on any component of the request URI.  When combined with Nginx for SSL and caching, the framework enables higher performance and lower overhead than other platforms.

The motivating design methodology of Node.js is using a single-threaded model instead of traditional multi-threaded server systems.  A single-threaded server with non-blocking I/O calls ensures high performance by reducing context switches and enabling overall higher throughput than with other web server models.

Node.js is primarily built for use with AJAX applications.  Since AJAX uses asynchronous JavaScript with rich-client web interfaces, actual server calls are minimal and focused on direct operations instead of graphics overhead.  With this methodology, Node.js can be used not only for standard RESTful applications, but also for server polling and “push” scenarios.

Most node applications are built on the Express.js framework – bringing more complex web server functionality to the platform.  Express enables templating both the HTML and CSS, error handling, and request processing.  Similar to the Sinatra platform on Ruby, Express.js brings a straightforward server-side interface for AJAX front-ends.

One of the challenges to building applications with Node.js is the focus on real-time response and asynchronous operations.  All file system and database operations must be built to be asynchronous, which both ensure performance and increases application complexity.  Certain functionality such as image processing or shell scripting must be rebuilt for asynchronous operation.

For a free evaluation and quote on a Node.js software project, please feel free to give us a call at 630-855-7522.