Node JS is an open-source run-time environment built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine. Since its launch in 2009, several Node JS development companies in India have been using it successfully for building dynamic websites, real-time chatbots, video data streaming, single page web apps, etc. The superior performance, excellent ecosystem, scalability, and great community support make Node JS app development quite popular for businesses. By overtaking React JS, Node JS has become the most popular web framework among software developers around the world, in 2022. A survey conducted showed that 47.12% of the respondents were using Node JS.
Node JS has always been the preferred choice for developers for building quick and scalable apps. Being lightweight in nature and the inclusion of JS module libraries makes real-time app development easier for Node JS development companies. Node JS development makes faster time to market possible for businesses in today’s highly competitive world of web development.
Major changes and updates in Node JS 19
The release of Node JS version 18 came with a lot of updates and features and became quite a hit among developers. After the release of Node JS v18, another version ‘Node JS v19’ is now available, in just about six months. Node JS introduces some exciting changes with every update. This is true for Node JS v19 as well. There are several significant improvements to the features seen in Node JS v19 that were lacking in the previous version.
Stable WebCrypto
The WebCrypto API offers a feature-rich interface for Node JS development companies in India to build systems using cryptography. The WebCrypto API is stable in Node JS v19, with the exception of Algorithms such as Ed25519, X448, Ed448, and X25519. For accessing the WebCrypto module, Node JS app development companies can use require (‘node:crypto’).webcrypto or globalThis.crypto.
Node Watch mode
In Node JS 19, it is possible to run the watch mode. When developers start a server in Node JS and later make changes to the code, Node JS does detect the new changes automatically. Hence, there was a need to manually restart the server, or make use of an additional tool to restart the server. However, with the new version of Node JS v19, all this won’t be required. Using the node-watch feature, Node JS v19 will automatically be able to restart the application whenever it detects any changes to the file.
HTTP(S)/1.1 KeepAlive by default
By default, Node JS v19 sets KeepAlive to true. For any outgoing HTTP(S) connections, HTTP 1.1 KeepAlive will be used by default. The duration for KeepAlive by default will be 5 seconds. This will help provide superior performance and throughput as the connection will be reused automatically.
Custom ESR resolution adjustments
With the release of Node JS v19, the experimental-specifier-resolution flag has been removed. A custom loader can now be used to achieve the same functionality.
Upgrade of V8 JS engine to 10.7
In the recent release of Node JS v19, the JavaScript V8 engine has been updated to V8 10.7. An important feature of this JavaScript API is the ‘Intl.Numberformat’, for language sensitive number formatting.
No support for DTrace/SystemTap/ETW
DTrace is a useful tool to get a complete view of the existing system, which includes CPU time, memory, filesystem, and network.
Here are the main reasons why support for DTrace/SystemTap/ETW have been dropped from Node JS v19:
- Maintaining support for these tools is quite complex and has not proved worth the effort.
- There are no clear signs of anyone using DTrace, SystemTap, or ETW.
Node JS version 19 has brought a lot of updates over V18. It is important for Node JS development companies to keep in mind that Node JS will officially be the ‘current’ release for the next six months, i.e., up to April 2023. Being an odd number, V19 will never be promoted to long-term support (LTS). However, it will continue to get support until April 2023, till a new even-numbered version of Node JS is released.
Should a Node JS development company upgrade to Node JS 19?
Now, you have understood the changes brought in the latest version of Node JS. If you are going to use Node JS for your next web app development project, then definitely it is a good idea to build the app with the latest version of this platform. If you already have an app built in the old version of this platform, then you might wonder whether you should upgrade to the latest version or not.
Node JS V19 comes with all the major updates and improved features that will help a Node JS app development company deliver superior and sustainable apps. With the new Node JS version, the APIs (packages) that were built for experimental gain will become stable versions. There will be a new publish for Node JS V19 every week, thus allowing Node JS development companies to stay updated with the latest features and changes. The users that have already built their apps in the older version of this platform should also update to enjoy the advantages brought by this app. Upgrading to Node JS 19 will provide businesses using apps built with Node JS app development services with complete peace of mind for at least 2-3 years.
Concluding Notes
With Node JS app development, it is possible to build high performance, feature rich, function rich, and scalable responsive web apps to suit all your business requirements. The new Node JS 19 version facilitates both simple and quick development for startups and small businesses. However, it can also work well in a complex ecosystem that top enterprises use. To leverage the full benefits of the Node JS 19 version, businesses should hire an expert and experienced Node JS development company. The best development companies can help you efficiently build responsive web apps using Node JS 19, the latest version of Node JS.
If you have an app development project in mind or want to upgrade to Node JS version 19, your search for one of the best Node JS development companies in India ends here. You can hire Node JS developers either on a full time or part time basis or use our development or upgrade services. For more details, contact us.