In the earlier days of web development, JavaScript was used specifically for scripting client-side, which basically means altering interface actions within a particular web page. A few years ago though, the framework Node.js was developed particularly to enable JavaScript to be applied as the script executed at server side as well. Here the scripts run in the server to develop dynamic web pages before the page is finally sent to the user’s web browser.  Node.js is a very powerful, open source, cross-platform JavaScript-based run-time framework built on Google Chrome’s JSV8 engine. Being a completely free platform, it is used by thousands and thousands of developers around the world.

It is generally used to develop I/O intensive web applications. GoDaddy, LinkedIn, Microsoft, IBM, PayPal and Netflix are some of the well-established corporate users of the Node.js software.

Node.js

Node.js provides its users with a rich variety of JavaScript modules from its diverse library. These modules make it easier to develop web applications using Node.js. We now present you a list of the ’10 of the best Node.js libraries used by the developers’ to make the web development extremely convenient.

1. Mocha.js

Mocha.js is a testing framework which enables us to test both in the console as well as in the browser. It is generally used a unit testing tool, but can also be used as an integration testing tool too. The big advantage of Mocha.js is that it works well with other libraries like Chai, Should.js, and Sinon.

2. Express.js

Express.js is one of the most vital tools for developing effective mobile and web applications. It is the minimal framework for web development using Node.js. However, its functions are pretty massive. It is possible to build a whole website just using Node.js and Express.js. The combination enables us to build software on the server-side in which Node.js is essential, while Express.js helps to publish the app on our website. It offers a diverse variety of features like database integration, simplified multiple routing, template engines.

3. Passport.js

Passport.js is an authentication tool for Node.js and it provides us a wide range of over 300 different ways for authenticating our website or app. Simplifies the authorization level and lets us provide the customer the authentication methods that he desires. This includes providing the user the login through the standard username-password procedure or login via Google, Facebook or Twitter. It is easily compatible with any Express.js app.

4. Socket.io

Socket.io is the library that enables cross-browser bi-directional communication between two web servers. It is extremely proficient in developing real-time apps across all web browsers and most mobile devices. And it is one of the most rapid and most reliable real-time engines. It provides better debugging, real-time analytics with logs and charts, streamlined API, binary support and improved scalability among many other excellent features. This is the library implemented in chat apps- where the data loads and refreshes automatically. It is also used in sports websites which have live score features, where the score loads automatically when the data is entered on the server-side. It’s loved by massive corporate companies like Microsoft, Google, Trello and also by the upcoming start-ups.

5. Meteor.js

Meteor.js is the framework that is implemented for rapid prototyping of the JavaScript apps. It is also used in making cross-platform codes i.e. Web, Android, iOS. It works flawlessly with Node.js when integrated with MongoDB. It can be used with any JavaScript User Interface widget library. The major disadvantage is that hough it works efficiently for prototyping apps, it is not the best solution to maintain the already finished ones.

6. Math.js

As the name suggests, Math.js is the extensible standard library containing all the mathematical functions that are provided by JavaScript and Node.js. It is very powerful and relatively easy to use.  It provides solutions to work with huge numbers, complex numbers, and matrices amongst various others.

7. Mongoose

Mongoose is an object data modeling (ODM) library that integrates both MongoDB and Node.js. It provides a thorough modeling environment for your data. It is extremely flexible and enforces structures in the data when needed.

8. Protractor.js

Protractor.js is an end-to-end testing framework i.e. it is used for functional testing in AngularJS applications. It is also compatible with the Node.js library. It runs tests with our applications running in the actual browser by interacting with it like a user would.

9. Async.js

The processing and execution technique of JavaScript is a little complicated, and it follows a certainly predetermined algorithm. The Async.js is a library function that is used to synchronize the data that is being executed. The async module implements a function called series() which lets us control the flow of processing and execution. This function takes an array as an argument and executes in the order as specified in the array. It can also be used directly in the browser, though it was originally designed to work only with the Node.js.

10. Moment

Moment is a JavaScript date library that is used for validating, converting, manipulating and formatting dates. It was primarily designed to work in both Node.js and in the web browser. Hence, the codes and unit tests run must work in both these environments.

Our developers at agira technologies have been working extensively with lots of Node.Js development libraries over the past 2-3 years. They have been using these libraries on various project implementations. We want to share the knowledge that we obtained about the same with our readers. They listed down libraries that were the outcome of the internal discussion.

So, the above mentioned 10 node.js libraries are extremely useful in developing an efficient website that can serve the requirements of the user, and hence it is imperative that they are implemented in the right places to make the best use of their functions. We have also written an article listing the Top Node.js development tools.

Are you using Node.Js in your projects? Please share your feedbacks on the listed libraries or if you think any of the important ones are missing in our list, mention the same in the comments section. Would be excited to read your feedback and Happy Coding.