Difference Between

NodeJS vs. Golang: Which is best for Backend?

The backend is considered to be the most crucial part for developing any application. Therefore, picking a proper platform or programming language that makes the backend super scalable and highly effective is critical.

There is a wide range of advanced languages available for this particular operation. Each of these languages differs in several aspects. So, to make it simpler for you, we are going to focus on the two most promising programming languages- NodeJS and Golang. Let us see which one is the best for backend development.

NodeJS – A Brief

NodeJS is built on the V8 JavaScript engine of Google Chrome. It is a server-side and open-source platform that was introduced in 2009. Soon after its introduction, NodeJS became an exclusively popular platform that allowed developers to create cross-platform apps. It facilitates developing super scalable server-side apps by making use of JavaScript and features a non-blocking and event-driven I/O model.

JavaScript was used for coding the NodeJS platform. It allows developers to easily input both server-side and client-side scripts by making use of a single language. To enhance the performance, and faster development we need to hire node js experts. Furthermore, operating systems like macOS, Windows, Linux, and Unix support NodeJS.

Golang – A Brief

Google created a multi-purpose, statically-typed, open-source language for programming in 2007, which is known as Golang. It is also popularly known as Go. This language has the potential combination of Python’s speed and C/C++’s security benefits and performance.

Thus, Golang facilitates a powerful, robust, and structural way of tackling concurrent programming. Besides, it is also known for handling garbage collection, dynamic interfaces, and memory safety, and thus makes Golang Development companies powerful.

Although Golang is not much recommended for web development, it is highly functional when it comes to cloud-based networking apps, interfaces, microservices, and the development of a real-time app.

NodeJS vs. Golang

So, now that you know the basics of NodeJS and Golang, here we will compare both of them and let you know which is more suitable for your purpose.

Performance factors

There exist multiple factors that influence a programming language’s performance. So, the language must be carefully selected for developing a program efficiently. The factors to consider while choosing the right language are given below:

The raw performance of Golang vs. NodeJS

Because of the existing inefficient programming languages, Google wanted to introduce Golang. When it is about computation and raw performance, Golang beats NodeJS to a large extent. Golang is fast and lightweight, almost similar to the characteristics of C++ and C.

NodeJS, on the other hand, is JavaScript’s derivative. Therefore, it is comparatively slower than most other languages. NodeJS is incapable of delivering a raw performance task of high CPU usage or executing any memory-based task. Based on the nature of your application, NodeJS will either perform too high or too horribly.

Golang surpasses NodeJS in terms of offering raw performance and helps developers to attain better performance.

Maturity of Golang vs. NodeJS

Golang is considered to be a robust and mature language. Well, even NodeJS shares the same maturity level and delivers immense support for a massive audience. So, in terms of maturity, both scores are equal.

Real-life performance of Golang vs. NodeJS

In terms of real-life performance, both Golang and NodeJS offer almost the same output or results. For instance, when it comes to network communication or database connection, NodeJS and Golang deliver equal performance at the same speed.

The learning curve of Golang vs. NodeJS

With specific rules, processes, pointers, interfaces, and concepts, Golang is the completely latest language. The resources available are scarce, so developers need to perform robust research to get proper knowledge of the language.

However, JavaScript is one of the most used programming languages around the globe. Thus, it is relatively easier for app developers to learn NodeJS. This platform is a veteran; therefore, tons of offline and online resources are there for helping beginners. Moreover, the community of JavaScript is huge and offers great assistance whenever needed, and also various experts share their long-drawn experience of working on NodeJS.

So, in terms of the learning curve, NodeJS surpasses Golang with ease.

Extensibility of Golang vs. NodeJS

NodeJS is highly extensible. It means that based on the requirements of a project, developers can easily extend NodeJS and customize it. In the case of data exchange between web and client servers, developers can employ JSON, while for creating DNS, TCP, HTTP, and other such servers, they need to use the available in-built APIs in NodeJS.

Golang, on the other hand, is not extensible like NodeJS. It makes customizations difficult for developers. Therefore, in terms of extensibility, NodeJS beats Golang.

Error handling of Golang vs NodeJS:

If you want to opt for error handling in Golang, you will have to implement error checking explicitly. Run-time and compile-time errors are needed to be tackled separately. This makes it quite problematic for web developers. However, Golang programmers have begun tasking on additional functionality of error handling that cuts the time required for the development.

On the contrary, NodeJS takes over the traditional mechanism of error handling, the throw-catch method. It is already popular among programmers. This conventional method displays the errors and corrects them instantly before carrying out any more operations.

On comparing the error handling methods of Golang and NodeJS, most of the developers prefer NodeJS over Golang because they already know about the conventional throw-catch method properly.

Universality and shareability of Golang vs. NodeJS

It does not matter whether you are developing non-block servers, event-based servers, or both. NodeJS is universal. Furthermore, NodeJS is strongly equipped with a core library having 50,000 packages. It is useful for making a variety of strong solutions, which can be shared, reused, and updated by other developers.

Golang is also good when it comes to simple but it lacks these features and certain powerful high-level functionalities. This makes Golang less versatile compared to NodeJS. Therefore, it is unable to attain the universality of NodeJS. Also, Golang is not shareable and does not support generics.

Besides, as there exists no virtual machine for Golang, its files are larger than NodeJS and any other market-leading programming language, which consumes more RAM. Golang has not made itself indispensable in any field. Therefore, it will take more time to adopt. And ultimately, it will take more time to make a larger ecosystem.

Concurrency of Golang vs. NodeJS

When it comes to concurrency, Golang is more suitable for huge software projects that need simultaneous handling of an uncountable number of requests. Golang makes use of a lightweight thread communication mechanism and coroutines. It enables developers to run their functions concurrently. But the users of NodeJS are unable to run simultaneous functions.

Besides being single-threaded, NodeJS uses a mechanism known as event-callback. Thus, a linear order needs to be maintained while performing tasks, and as a result, concurrency can never be attained. So here, Golang surpasses NodeJS in terms of concurrency.

Scalability of Golang vs. NodeJS

Golang wins the scalability battle as well against NodeJS. Golang’s major asset, Goroutines, facilitates the handling of parallel threads reliably and effectively.

But Node Js’s scalability lacks high-functionality. Also, because of its weak parallel process, it is not recommended to use NodeJS for huge projects.

Availability of developers of Golang vs. NodeJS

As Golang is a newborn language, finding developers who can work on it is hard. But it is the most promising programming language. So, the foreseeable future is bright.

Nevertheless, the popularity of NodeJS cannot be ignored. In fact, developers prioritize it the most. It is easy to look for developers having NodeJS expertise and develop a professional team to perform several development operations.

Development tools of Golang vs. NodeJS

Golang is new, and it is not yet popular. Indeed, it offers decent packages and libraries. But compared to NodeJS, it has lesser availability of development tools for programmers. If you are planning to master Golang, you will have to perform thorough research and gather experience manually.

However, NodeJS offers a wide range of development tools, libraries, and frameworks for developers to make all types of apps. Furthermore, JavaScript has got a massive community that offers extended help and support for all kinds of task-related to development. Thus, Golang loses the battle in terms of development tools against NodeJS.

Benchmark of Golang vs NodeJS

Golang is a statically-typed, well-designed, new programming language. From the aspect of programming, Golang surpasses NodeJS up to a certain extent. Golang takes less memory, CPU load, and time for performing operations when compared to NodeJS. So, in the benchmark test, Golang wins against NodeJS.

Which is more powerful? Golang or NodeJS?

Well, Golang is currently the most popular programming language. It secures the highest rank worldwide because it facilitates top-notch productivity and usage of multi-core power.

On the other hand, NodeJS stands out from the crowd when it comes to backend development technologies because it is promptly equipped with all the indispensable development tools.

Which companies use Golang and NodeJS?

Everything is moving way faster than before. So, for attaining faster performance, various companies are adopting the latest technologies. It also improves the quality of the development process of software.

Now, let us have a look at which companies use these programming languages or platforms for backend development.

  • Golang: Uber, BBC, Basecamp, Medium, Google, Intel, Heroku, and Docker
  • NodeJS: LinkedIn, Netflix, PayPal, Trello, eBay, Walmart, and NASA

As soon as Golang was launched, an uncountable number of companies switched to it from their current technologies, including NodeJS, to improve their software’s performance.

For example, Uber left NodeJS and migrated to Golang to get better results in terms of software performance.

Conclusion:

We have successfully gone through the comparison of NodeJS vs. Golang. It is difficult to say who is the winner, as both have their weaknesses and strengths. In terms of performance, Golang is a clear winner. On the contrary, NodeJS excels in development tools, simplicity, and front-end development tools’ richness. In short, it solely depends on the requirements of your project while choosing the right language.