Nodejs and IoT: made for each other

Hi, Habr! I present to your attention the translation of the article " nodejs and IoT: a match made in heaven ".



The world is becoming hyper-connected and digital. That is why we see more and more smart watches, glasses, various wearable electronics, smart home devices, vehicles, etc. Thus, there is a huge scope for the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced companies know this.

Golden era of Node.js

There are many programming languages, such as Python, Java, C ++, Ruby, etc., that can be used today. However, none of them can be used as one that is best suited for each specific task. In addition, over time, new technologies emerge that offer better support and improve, thus replacing older technologies. Node.js is one of them.
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Node.js is a server-side runtime environment and is typically used to create large and scalable web applications. This is a powerful, but at the same time easy to learn tool, as almost every developer at least once met with JavaScript in their practice.

Developers love Node.js because:

• He has low resource requirements. Thus, the processor and memory are not overloaded.
• Building scalable applications is supported, which today is really important for each company.
• Excellent compatibility with JSON, a popular format that allows you to easily and quickly exchange information over the network.

Technological giants quickly recognized the significance and potential of Node.js.

While Microsoft implemented Node.js in its Azure platform, PayPal decided to use it in its application to process a huge amount of transactions, as well as to increase the security of the application.

Also companies that have implemented Node.js are Uber, Netflix and even IBM!

Why is Node.js ideal for IoT?

Node.js is built on Google's V8 js engine, which is open source and is widely known for its impressive efficiency and scalability.

Thus, it is well suited for real-time loaded applications. Since IoT applications also work intensively with data and work in real time, they are naturally suited for this technology.

Below are some of the reasons why Node.js can greatly assist in building IoT applications:

• A large number of IoT applications use the MQTT protocol and standard Sockets, which are well supported by Node.js.
• The executable code of many IoT devices is written in low-level languages ​​such as C ++ and so on. It can be difficult to work with them. Node.js, in turn, is simple and straightforward even for inexperienced developers.
• The package manager (NPM) comes with several useful modules for IoT. It contains more than 80 packages for Intel IoT Edison, Rasberry Pi and Arduino. As well as more than 30 packages for various devices, sensors, Bluetooth and so on. This greatly helps to speed up and simplify the application development process.
• Since IoT devices, namely sensors, motors, transmitters, etc., generate large amounts of data and a large number of requests, Node.js is great for processing them. This is due to the fact that it perfectly supports streams that provide channels for reading and writing for the ability to manage queries, as well as temporary storage of data.

IoT is one of the fastest growing industries in the IT industry today. Since Node.js allows us to use it as easily as possible to solve problems in this area without compromising the final result, it definitely deserves to spend its time and energy on studying it.