If you are familiar with the name Node.js, the runtime environment for JavaScript, then eight out of ten times you might have heard of Express.js as well. Express.js is essentially a free, open-source framework for Node.js. It is this framework that makes developing web applications easy, effortless, and quick. What’s more? All that the developers need to know is JavaScript to build powerful websites or web applications.
Express.js is a lightweight framework for Node.js that helps in building server-side web applications in an organized form using MVC architecture.
Without the Express.js framework, the developers will have to write complex code to build web applications, which is tedious and hectic. This is where Express.js can help web developers in building complex websites within a short duration.
Express.js offers efficiency, simplicity, scalability, and flexibility to programmers. The framework helps the developers in reusing the code already written. However, it is Node.js that is designed to be quick in executing the code with the help of the asynchronous or non-blocking Event loop to avoid all inefficiencies.
Express.js is the most popular, star-rated framework for Node.js, that helps the developers simply enjoy working with this duo for building web applications, websites, or mobile applications, quickly and efficiently.
In the worst-case scenario, Express.js will help you write 5x fewer lines of code as compared to any other API. The following are the features of Express.js:
Express.js is a framework, and hence dismisses the need for coding for the same functionality over and over again. The functions can be readily used and thus saving the coding effort, time, and increases productivity.
Middleware is the part of the program that deals with establishing a connection with the database, client requests, etc. Express.js handles these responsibilities with the help of functions in a systematic, and organized manner.
Routing corresponds to how the application responds to the client request (URL) to an endpoint. Express.js is responsible for maintaining an advanced routing method like an app.all() that helps in loading all middleware functions like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, or any other HTTP request method supported in the HTTP module.
The template engine Pug in Express.js helps the users to fill in details in their applications. At runtime, the template is then sent to the client as a dynamic HTML file.
As debugging is crucial for any application, Express.js follows a debug module that internally logs information about route matches, middleware functions, applications mode, etc. It can, therefore, pinpoint the exact error efficiently.
Express.js is a popular Node.js framework for many reasons as given under:
It is quite evident from the Express.js features and advantages that why/how Express.js expedites the entire process of server-level programming with its modules. Furthermore, Express.js is a thin layer of fundamental web application framework that doesn’t obscure the Node.js efficiency and features.