Differences between Express.js and Node.js

Are you curious about Express.js and Node.js? Do you want to dig deeper into these notions and figure out what you can (and can’t) do with them? Then you came to the right place.

We are about to tackle with Node.js, its undeniable popularity, as well as its connection to Express.js. Being “the talk of the developers’ town,” Node.js deserves to be clarified, and Express.js deserves nothing less. 

To help you grasp the difference between Express.js and Node.js, we’ll start by defining these two terms. After we cover what they are and what they are used for, we’ll reveal the differences and the capabilities that come with using each one of them. Let’s begin!

What is Node.js?

Node.js is defined as “a platform built on Chrome’s JavaScript runtime for easily building fast, scalable network applications.” Simply put, Node.js is an open-source and multi-platform environment that lets you build server-side applications and tools by using JavaScript. 

Node.js brought JavaScript to the next level. While JavaScript is used as a client-side development language, Node.js covers the server-side programming. Thanks to the Node.js, JavaScript has become an all-purpose full-stack development language. 

The JS frontend and Node.js backend are easier to keep in sync because of a single language used on both sides of the application. Node.js allows your programs to be written in JavaScript and to be executed on the server. 

Node.js has become one of the most popular tools in the back end development. Enterprise companies like eBay, Netflix, and Uber all support the use of Node.js through a personal example. 

Jeff Harrell, the director of engineering at PayPal, spoke up about Node.js. He said, “Node.js powers our web applications and has allowed our teams to move much faster in bringing their designs to life.”

One of the reasons why Node.js is so popular is that front end developers can learn it pretty quickly since Node inherits many JavaScript features. 

Developer-wise, Node.js made it possible to share and reuse code. With the help of Node modules, developers can use prebuilt modules or repurpose their own. 

Node is a part of popular MEAN, and MERN JavaScript centered technology stacks that cover an entire web development pipeline. There are many frameworks built for Node (such as Meteor, Sails, etc.) and Express.js is one of them. 

Node.js features

• Built on Chrome’s V8, an engine for chromium browsers
• Run-time platform
• Uses a non-blocking, event-driven I/O model
• Follows a single-threaded model
• Highly scalable and lightweight 
• Efficient for processing multiple requests with less CPU usage
• Thousands of libraries and tools for JavaScript are gathered on npm (a default Node.js package manager and marketplace)

What is Express.js?

Express.js is a minimal, flexible, and open-source Node.js web application framework. You can use it on top of Node.js to ensure better web functionality. Express is the most popular Node.js web framework.

What it provides is a vast set of features for building web applications (single, multi-page, and hybrid). With Express, you can structure a web application that can handle multiple HTTP requests at a certain URL.

Flexibility is visible in numerous components accessible on a package manager. These components automatically persevere into Express.js.

The reason why Express is the most popular web framework is that it makes the development of web apps, websites, and APIs easier. It also offers an underlying collection of topographies. 

With Express.js, you’ll get to hone different aspects of the web application. You can determine settings like the location of templates that will be used for the response or the port that will be used for establishing a connection. 

Express.js main features

• An open-source framework
• Focus on high performance
• Super-high test coverage
• Supports multiple templating engines (which simplifies generating HTML)
• Allows you to write responses to specific URLs
• A simple mechanism that locates bugs in the applications quickly

The Key Differences between Express.js and Node.js

We’ve handed you a lot of information that clarifies these two notions, but what about specific differences? It is time to draw a clear line between Express.js and Node.js, which can contribute to your understanding of both. 

Categorization

• Node.js primarily falls under the Frameworks (Full Stack) category.
• Express.js is classified under Microframeworks (Backend) category.

Building block

• Node.js is built on Google’s V8 engine.
• Express.js is built on Node.js.

Features

• Node.js has fewer features than Express.js.
• Express.js embodies more features since it is an addition to Node.js functionalities. 

Usage

• Node.js is used for building server-side, I/O, event driven apps.
• Express.js uses approaches of Node.js for building web apps and APIs. 

Dependence

• Node.js can be used independently from Express.js.
• Express.js requires Node.js.

Time 

• Node.js demands more time because of multifaceted tasks that ask for more lines of code and, therefore, more time. 
• Express.js demands less time because it can be written in less number of lines and a few minutes.

View model

• Node.js doesn’t support the view model.
• Express.js supports the view model.

Programming language

• Node.js is written in C, C++, JavaScript.
• Express.js is written in JavaScript.

Controllers 

• In Node.js, controllers are not provided.
• In Express.js, controllers are provided.

Routing

• In Node.js, routing is not provided.
• In Express.js, routing is provided.

Middleware

• Node.js doesn’t use provision.
• Express.js uses middleware for arranging functions systematically. 

Final Thoughts

Both Node.js and Express.js have something valuable to bring to the table. Their differences are indisputable, but their similarity lies in their effectiveness and popularity among developers.

Node.js is a favored JavaScript environment that is unlikely to disappoint. But if you want to make your job easier (and faster), you should consider Express.js. 

Think of these two notions in the following manner. Imagine that Node.js is a toy motor, but to have a functioning toy, you have to put together the rest of the parts. On the other hand, Express.js provides you with an already built toy that you can use immediately. 

Express.js is the future. It has been created for a reason. That reason is the improvement and upgrade of the Node.js platform. 

Whether you want to move forward or you want to challenge yourself and start with mastering Node.js is completely up to you. Either way, we hope that this clarification of the difference between Node.js and Express.js has brought to light what both of them have to offer. 

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