Node.js - JavaScript Runtime Framework

Node.js is JavaScript runtime framework, which is built on chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. It is an open-source, cross-platform, back-end JavaScript runtime environment that runs on the V8 engine and executes JavaScript code outside a web. It is designed to build scalable network applications. 

Features

• Asynchronous & Event-Driven: Non-blocking I/O model for high scalability.
• Single-Threaded: Handles concurrent connections with a single thread using events and callbacks.
• Cross-Platform: Runs on various platforms (Windows, Linux, Mac OS).
• Built-in Libraries: Includes essential modules like HTTP, File System, Path, etc.
• NPM (Node Package Manager): Access to a large ecosystem of open-source libraries.

Pros

• Fast Performance: Due to V8 engine, offers high speed for I/O-bound tasks.
• Scalable: Handles a large number of simultaneous connections efficiently.
• Real-time Data: Great for real-time applications (e.g., chat apps).
• Active Community: Strong community and ecosystem support.

Cons

• Single-Threaded Limitations: May not be ideal for CPU-intensive tasks.
• Callback Hell: Complex asynchronous code can lead to maintenance issues (though Promises and async/await mitigate this).
• Not Ideal for CPU-Heavy Tasks: Performance can degrade with computationally intensive operations.

Free Plan Details (if applicable)

Node.js itself is free and open-source, distributed under the MIT license. There is no commercial licensing fee required for using Node.js. However, services built with Node.js (e.g., cloud hosting) may have free tier plans that depend on the service provider (e.g., AWS, Heroku).