Java vs Node.js – Creation, Usage, Performance, Projects, Frameworks & Ecosystem

Java is an object-oriented programming language. It has been developed by James Gosling when working at Sun Microsystems. It is a programming language that promises “write once and run anywhere”. Java converts all the code written in it into a byte code. Thus enabling it to run the code anywhere, no matter the operating system used by the device.

Java is used by Spotify, LinkedIn, Google, Uber, Airbnb, and many more.

Node.js is a JavaScript run-time environment that runs on the Chrome V8 engine. It has been developed by Ryan Dhal in 2009. It allows developers to use JavaScript for writing command-line tools. Node.js aims at uniting the development of web applications around a single programming language i.e JavaScript instead of using different languages for client and server. Node.js is used by Yahoo, Wikipedia, Reddit, Medium, New Yorker, and many more.

Major Differences Between Java vs Node.js

Java	Node.js
It was developed in 1995	It was written in 2009
Developed by James Gosling	Written by Ryan Dhall
Object-oriented programming language	Run time environment of JavaScript
Requires Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to run Java	Need to install Node.js to run it locally
It has a large and versatile community	It has a very big community
Heavy applications can be created	Server-side applications are created
It can be used for projects which are very complex to handle	Can handle all scales of projects
Used in places where object creation is necessary	Mainly used in places where regular modifications are needed.
It is a multi-threaded programming language	It is single-threaded
Concurrency API	Asynchronous and Single Threaded
Heavy	Light
Development is slow	Constant development
Very swift	Very swift
There are a huge number of libraries	There are a huge number of libraries
Highly concurrent	Scalable
Mainly server-side interaction	Used by both server and client-side
Performance is high	Performance is low when compared with Java
Used by Spotify, LinkedIn, Google, Uber, Airbnb, and many more	Used by Yahoo, Wikipedia, Reddit, Medium, New Yorker, and many more

Now, let us discuss some of the features in detail based on which we can compare Java and Node.js

1. Creation

Java

 It has been developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems. It is a class-based object-oriented language derived from C++

Node.js  

It was developed by Ryan Dhal in 2009. It runs on the Chrome V8 engine. It has its framework written in JavaScript, C, and C++

2. Usage

Java

Java is a highly concurrent application. It is used in the following:

Mobile app development, Web-based Applications, Desktop GUI Applications, IoT Applications, Big Data Technologies, Gaming Applications, and many more.

Node.js

Node.js is scalable, runs asynchronously. It is used in the following:

IoT Applications, Real-time chats, Complex single-page applications, Real-time collaboration tools, Streaming apps, Microservices architecture, and many more.

Learn Node.js Fundamentals now

3. Performance

Performance matters a lot. A higher performance has a significant effect on UX (User experience). Let us now discuss in detail the performance of Java and Node.js

Java

In running millions of lines of code of different tasks, Java always wins against Node.js. The code written in java makes use of most of the features of the Operating System(OS). One of the major defects of Java is that it takes a lot of memory. It is multi-threaded

Node.js

Node.js is always in the upper hand when we talk about the execution of a small code. It is lightweight because of its event-based construction. It is built to work for small tasks. It is single-threaded.

4. Projects

Java

It is best suited for complex web-based concurrency projects.

Node.js

It is best suited for small size projects.

5. Frameworks

Frameworks are the set of prewritten codes that are used by programmers to make their tasks easier. They play a key role in reducing the time taken for creating projects.

Java

There are many Java frameworks. Programmer requirements create the need for a framework. Some of the frameworks of Java are discussed below:

Quarkus: It is Kubernetes native framework of Java. It provides a very fast boot time and reduces the utilization of memory.

Google Web Toolkit(GWT): This framework aims at providing the complete set of web development. It connects the server-side and client-side teams. It is mainly used for creating complex browser-based projects.

Grails: This framework aims at simplifying concurrent programming. It is written in apache groovy programming language but can be used in the prevailing java web servers.

Some of the frameworks of Java are Hibernate, Vaadin, Oracle Java Server faces, Apache Struts, and many more

Node.js

Node.js mainly has three types of frameworks named Rest API, MVC, and Full-stack MVC frameworks. Some of the frameworks of Node.js are discussed below:

Koa.js: It has a futuristic framework. It is also known as a lightweight version of express.js. It is known for its error handling. 

Express.js: It was launched in 2010. It is known for its straightforwardness in coding architecture. It gives very high performance. In this framework, various operations are executed independently. It has an MVC pattern of architecture.

Meteor.js: This framework was launched in 2012. It is a framework that only uses one language. It can be easily used with other frameworks. It is a full-stack solution.

Some of the frameworks of Node.js are Loopback.js, Feather.js, Adonis.js, Derby.js,Socket.io, Nest.js, Sails.js, Total.js, Hapi.js,  and many more.

6. Ecosystem

The ecosystem mainly depends upon the community.

Java

The three main parts of the Java ecosystem are Java Development Kit (JDK), Java Virtual Machine (JVM), Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Java has tons of frameworks and libraries. It also has a lot of tools needed for automation and integration.

Node.js

Node.js also has a large number of open-source libraries, modules, and frameworks that facilitate the development of technology. It is scalable and light. We can use node.js for both backend development and server-side programming. It has the largest ecosystem of open source libraries in the world.

Conclusion

Java is best suited for people working solely on backend technologies for creating complex applications. On the other hand, Node.js is best suited for the developers who work on both the front-end and back-end of the application as they can avoid constant context-switching. There is no clear judgment between Java vs Node.js. We should always make the best use of prevailing technologies and choose the best option available for a particular task to be done. Nothing is perfect in this world, everything has its pros and cons. We should make the best use of the pros and try to compensate for the drawbacks.