The 3 most popular backend frameworks
In this second part, I will be talking about the most popular JavaScript backend frameworks. What is a backend framework? It is a software foundation where developers can make applications faster and in a standardized way. Developers use a backend framework for time-saving, scalability, security and robustness.
Express
Coming in at №1 for one of the best backend frameworks is Express. Its popularity among large enterprises is explained by the flexibility and minimalist feel of the platform. Furthermore, Express is an open-source framework for the Node.js environment and can be used to build APIs. Express is considered a MEAN stack back-end component utilizing Angular frontend framework, MongoDB database and Node.js, the premier JS web server.
ExpressJS features include fast server-side programming, routing and debugging. Because Express is a Node.js framework and for that reason, developers are able to easily incorporate a few code lines instantly instead of writing high volumes of code. Routing is a feature that enables applications to continue webpage states through URLs. Working in conjunction with Node.js, Express is able to provide a more sophisticated routing mechanism capable of handing dynamic URLs. Finally, Express.js offers a convenient debugging system to let developers easily identify the causes of application bugs.
Companies that use Express.js are IBM, Twitter, Accenture and Intuit
- Easy to learn
- Utilizes Full-Stack JS features
- Provides high performance
Next.js
At №2, Next.js provides a simple implementation of server-side rendering (SSR) and static JS applications based on React. The strengths that lie in Next are speed and performance. React components that formulate the user-facing part of a web application all began rendering on the server side. This means that once the HTML and CSS have rendered on the client-side, nothing else needs to happen for the user to be able to read the content on the page. This makes page loading times much faster to the user as there is less for the user’s browser to download. Companies that use Next.js are Hulu, Netflix, Twitch, Tik Tok and so much more. It is considered the fastest-growing React frameworks because it is perfect to work with static sites.
- Rich User Experience
- Improved performance = faster applications
- Rapid feature development
Meteor
At №3 for backend JS framework, Meteor is an open-source that is written using Node.js. It was initially built under the name Skybreak in 2011 and renamed Meteor in 2012 and was officially launched. It can also be used with React.js and Angular frameworks. Meteor.js allows the usage of single language and offers the facilitation of real time applications. It processes cross-platform code and allows rapid prototyping. In addition, it works well to integrate with MongoDB and utilizes publish-subscribe pattern to update data changes in real-time without requiring any added code. This greatly facilitates collaboration on a project. Furthermore, Meteor is a reactive UI. This means that when a user posts or comments, it appears immediately without reloading of a page. Most importantly, like some of the other frameworks, Meteor is easy to learn because the documentation is well written, detailed and often updated. Meteor has no strict structural rules in terms of syntax. Not many big companies use Meteor but a few smaller ones are Workpop, Inc., Centria Healthcare LLC, and Pluto.
- Applications are Real-Time by default
- Saves time with packages
- Easily convert web applications into mobile applications
There are many more backend frameworks that are being built and developed. Express, Next and Meteor are just three of the many that work well with JS. New programming solutions are born every day and developers who adopt them early on have a competitive edge. So try new frameworks, experiment and keep perfecting your development tool belt!
Happy learning, friends!!
