Understanding Express Web Development
Express is a free and open-source web application development framework for Node.js. It expands the functionality of Node.js by allowing developers to quickly, easily, and securely build web and mobile applications. It is compatible with virtually all operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX to name a few, making it accessible to a wide range of developers regardless of their work environment.
What makes Express unique is its ability to enhance the capabilities of Node.js without requiring developers to spend extra time and resources on writing code from scratch.
Since Express is based on the Node.js architecture, much of the necessary code is already written. This means developers can build single, multi-page, and hybrid web applications with ease, while saving their clients precious time and money – and speeding up the development cycle.
To help you gain a better understand of Express web development, how it works, and how its implementation can improve the quality of your next web application, this article will break down everything you need to know.
What is Express?
Express is a minimal yet powerful web development framework for Node.js. It’s minimal because it doesn’t require a developer to use all the built-in tools and features in order for them to build the web application they want. Yet, it’s powerful, because of its support for middlewares and Node modules.
What are Middlewares and node modules? They are pluggable JavaScript components that enhance the capabilities of an Express web application. They provide a range of common services and capabilities that extend beyond what’s offered in a traditional operating system.
Some examples of this include database middleware, message-oriented middleware, and transaction processing monitors, to name a few.
By introducing middlewares and Node modules into your Express-built web application, this greatly enhances the capabilities and complexity of your web application, resulting in a more engaging and accessible user-experience.
How does Express work?
Express has built-in support for the JavaScript programming language. This means that if a developer is already familiar with JavaScript, they can easily learn Express. On top of this, much of the necessary code is already written in Express, which eliminates the need to write entirely original code from scratch. Express also supports third-party add-ons, which developers can use to provide better functionality, security, and visual appeal for their Express web applications.
In the world of Express web development, there are two types of applications that developers can create: clients and Servers.
Clients are software that can be run from anywhere, be it your web browser or a command line script. Servers, on the other hand, are software that is run via the internet and responds to incoming requests over HTTP. Generally speaking, the servers reply to these requests using the likes of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
With that being said, the purpose of Express is to enable developers to provide server-side logic for their web applications. In turn, this means the logic that defines the operations to be performed by the server in a client-server relationship. Therefore, Express is a server-side framework, one that is primarily used for both front-end and back-end web app development as well as mobile app development.
Benefits of Express
- Scalable – Express is an incredibly flexible framework. Whether your web or mobile application is big or small, Express makes it easy to build your dream application on your own terms. And it gives you the freedom to upscale and downscale at any time however you see fit.
- Fast server-side development – Featuring a range of built-in tools and components as well as support for third-party plugins, Express greatly reduces the need for developers to write their own code from scratch. This means tremendous time and cost savings for clients while helping them get their product to market sooner.
- Simple and intuitive debugging – Express makes it easy for developers to identify early in the development process the presence of bugs. The reports given are highly detailed and comprehensive, which means problems can be quickly resolved and in the correct way without impacting development time.
- Advanced routing – Routing refers to how an application’s endpoints respond to each client request. With Express, developers have a variety of ways to determine how best to respond to each client request. As a result, this enables the framework to respond to multiple requests at once, resulting in improved performance.
- Dynamic web applications – Express features a range of tools which allow developers to make their Express web applications more dynamic and interactive. This is thanks to the inclusion of HTML templates, which are quick and easy to implement into any project. Plus, there’s a massive library of templates to choose from, resulting in near-limitless possibilities in terms of pushing the capabilities of your web application.
- Used by some of the world’s biggest companies – What do PayPal, IBM, Twitter, and Accenture have in common? They all use elements of Express in some type of form to power their web and mobile applications. Aside from being extremely popular, Express features robust community-driven support and documentation, which means the framework is constantly being updated and improved to provide a better user-experience.
Why Choose Express?
Whether you’re a start-up looking to build your first web application, or an existing company wanting to enhance the functions and capabilities of your current web applications, Express is a great framework that can help your app reach its full potential.
It’s extremely flexible, lightweight, intuitive, and scalable. You can use as little or as much of Express as you need to bring your vision to life. And since framework is for Node.js while being powered by JavaScript, the architecture is familiar and easy to use for developers around the world, which means you should have no problem outsourcing your Express development services.
Last, but not least, Express is jam-packed with robust features for building single, multi-page, and hybrid web applications of various shapes and sizes. Whatever kind of digital experience you aim to deliver to your users, Express can make it happen.
Contact us today
For a free price estimate on your next Express web development project, contact Orient software today.
