Node.js has surpassed React.js to become the most widely used web framework among developers worldwide, according to a recent Stack Overflow survey. According to the survey, which was released in early 2023, React.js usage fell to 47% in 2022 while Node.js usage increased to 57%. This signifies a significant change in the web development environment.
A JavaScript runtime environment called Node.js enables programmers to execute JavaScript on a server. Since its creation in 2009, its event-driven, non-blocking I/O model has been increasingly popular, and its popularity has increased over the last ten years. Scalable network applications such as web servers, microservices architectures, API backends, and real-time services are frequently constructed with Node.js.
A front-end JavaScript library for creating user interfaces, React.js was released in 2013. It was the first to introduce component-based architecture, which is now commonplace in front-end frameworks of today. To create full-stack applications, React.js must be used in conjunction with other libraries and tools such as Node.js.
Developers prefer an end-to-end JavaScript stack over combining different languages and frameworks, as evidenced by the shift towards Node.js. The same language can be used on the front end and back end thanks to Node.js. Because developers only need to learn one language and can more easily share code between the front-end and back-end, this increases efficiency.
According to the report, Node.js’s growth has also been attributed to the rise of serverless computing. The use of serverless functions for back-end service deployment is growing in popularity. It makes sense to run serverless code with Node.js.
React.js is still widely used for creating user interfaces, but Node.js’s expansion indicates how versatile it is as a general-purpose framework. The most widely used tool for creating fully functional modern web applications is Node.js. Future choices about project architecture and best practices for web development will probably be significantly impacted by this change.