Java vs Node.js: Facts that conclude, which one is better

The development companies have many choices for selecting the technologies to their project. If you are searching on the Web, then you figure out many cases where one group is this side, and the other is on the opposite side. But the question is- why we need this comparison? What is the reason we make a comparison between the programming languages, frameworks, development platforms, development tools, and APIs?

The answer is we want to do it at the initial stage of development because the success of every project is based on the initial choice of technology. For the development team, the use of right technology determines the performance, popularity, and growth potentials of their project. A right choice of technology is the key fact that facilitates developers as well as users, a great product experience with support and seamless working environment.

Here, I am going to discuss the Java vs. Node.js comparison in the context of their rightness for developing applications.

Java vs. Node.js

Java is globally loved by millions of developers and one of the most popular programming language from the last 22 years. It is an object-oriented, class-based, platform-independent, and robust programming language. Java code can run on any Java Virtual Machine, which offers developers a lot of flexibility and portability. It is mostly used to develop web applications or mobile applications.

On the other hand, Node.js was written by Ryan Dahl in 2009. Node.js is a free, an open-source, and a cross-platform, which is used for creating running JavaScript applications outside the browser. It facilitates developers to build back-end services (APIs). There are some facts to clear about the Node.js that it’s not a programming language nor a framework.

Now, after taking the brief introduction about both the technologies, I am showing some advantages of Java and Node.js. This advantages will help you to find distinctive facts about both technologies.

Advantage of Java

It is Platform Independent

Java is known for its approach of ‘Write once, run anywhere’; It means, the Java code can be run on any platform. This was possible due to the JVM (Java Virtual Machine) where Java code is being executed.

After JVM introduced, it possible for the software to be run on any hardware or operating system where it installed. It doesn’t need any special compiler to read it. Before the introduction of JVM, all software was meant to operating system specific.

When you need the software to run on another platform, you will have to rebuild the modules, so that they are compatible with the new OS.

Similarly, Node.js has different modules that tied with the operating system. If you require to run your software to another platform, you will need to rebuild the module, compatible with a new OS, which is more complex than Java.

It has an Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

Java and Node.js both have IDEs

In Java, each IDE is the comprehensive system that provides all support for back-end code creation. You can write your code, edit/ debug your code, build your software, and then test the software. Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and NetBeans are some tools that integrated with debuggers, servers, and decompilers.

Similarly, Node.js has IDEs but with some differences. The Node.js developers prefer to use Visual Studio Code rather than the use of plain text editors and command lines to write their code. Still, Node.js have IDEs in the market like WebStorm that provide many special features, such as coding assistance and error checking. Also, it has a special Node.js stack, including a fully configured debugger module. But, it’s not as good as Java IDEs.

It has Libraries

Java, now more than 20 years old. Thus it has massed with huge libraries that are time-saving due to its reusable code components. Almost all the Java libraries are updated by Java experts. It contains general-purpose libraries, XML parsing libraries, unit testing libraries, and many more.

In the context of Node.js, it contains modules which are supposed as JavaScript libraries. The modular feature of Node.js allows a user to save time and easy update/ modification. But, still, Java libraries are considered to be much better.

It supports Multi-threading processing

Java process each request in a separate thread. It multi-threading feature allows performing several tasks simultaneously without a wait.

Node.js provides single-threaded processing, where all requests are processed in a single thread. It processes each event one by one, so the application performs somewhat slowly.

Advantages of Node.js

JavaScript is the key to Node.js.

Node.js allows the use of JavaScript for both front ends as well as for back-end development that creates a more seamless infrastructure. Thus, the migration of code is also easy between the client-side and server-side.

But Java is the back-end language that needs different logics for front-end development.

It provides faster development

JavaScript is now a common language for all and also easy to learn. Thus, Node.js has much easy to learn than Java and provide much faster development.

As per the development knowledge, Node.js takes 33% fewer lines of code than Java. Also, Java libraries and reusable components are larger to those of Node.js, which is not easy to learn.

It provides Scalability

Node.js uses an event-based model for scalability and simplify the coding by allowing JavaScript libraries for JavaScript modules. Due to its single-threaded nature, it uses single-core systems. For Java, it is multi-threaded and uses multicore systems. So, you required cluster. And running a cluster is the memory consuming solution. Thus Node.js is more scalable than Java.

Feature-based Quick Comparison

Final Ideations to choose the right technology

Every technology has many factors that make it more popular or less popular. But selecting the right one to build your app/ product/ project need to consider all the possible factors that affect your way of development. Java is the language behind the most popular platforms like Android, Google, Amazon, and many more. So, if you are planning for complex and enterprise-level heavy application/ product, then Java will be your favored choice.

This is also one fact that Node.js can also able to develop the enterprise-level application. But it depends upon the processing speed, involved data, and read/ write operations. Thus, the complexity of choosing Java or Node.js is still a big question for all developers. But many offshore web developers who are expert in both the technologies and can easily suggest the best one for you as per your requirements.