Golang and Node.js are common terms encountered when talking about backend. One is a popular language, the other is an environment for running code.
Some people wonder whether they should choose Node.js vs Golang as a solution to create their own application. It's true that both options may seem attractive, but at the end of the day, why are you comparing apples and oranges?
There is a lot of confusion about what a runtime environment is and how it differs from a normal programming language. When starting a project, it is very important to understand the underlying technology we are using and what it is used for. So let's look at the difference between programming languages and runtime environments using Golang vs. Golang. Node.js as a base.
Go
Let's cover the basics of Golang first. Golang, also known as Go, is a programming language created by Google in 2009. It was designed to improve existing languages by addressing common problems such as slow compilation times, lack of flexibility, and lack of support for concurrency. Golang solves these problems by providing a language that is easy to learn and use, with simple and efficient syntax, strict typing, and garbage collection. It also provides built-in concurrency support through goroutines and channels, making it easy to write concurrent code. Golang is known for its high performance, which makes it suitable for building large-scale, high-performance systems, and its built-in concurrency support makes it highly scalable. It is also cross-platform, efficient and takes up little memory space. The Golang standard library is also very comprehensive and provides support for many common tasks and protocols.
Node JS
Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. It was created by Ryan Dahl in 2009 and allows developers to run JavaScript code on the server side. It allows the creation of fast and efficient server-side applications and solves the problem of having to use different languages for client-side and server-side development. Node.js allows developers to use the same language, JavaScript, for both the front-end and back-end of an application, making the development process more efficient and streamlined. It also uses a non-blocking, event-driven I/O model, making it suitable for data-intensive real-time applications.
Compiled vs. Interpreted
Before we delve deeper, we have to explore the difference between a compiled programming language and an interpreted programming language. The difference between them lies in the reason why we cannot directly compare Go and Node.js.
In programming terms, a compiled language needs to go through a compiler to be translated into machine code before it can be used. For example, you cannot save a file written in C++ as a script and run it directly. Instead, it must first be compiled, and if no errors are found, you have an executable.
On the other hand, interpreted languages run directly from their source code. Basically, you have an intermediary between your code and the computer, called an interpreter, who translates the program into moving machine code. This makes the code much slower compared to compiled languages, but at the same time allows the code to be more flexible, for example by allowing dynamic typing.
C, C++, C#, and Go are just a few examples of compiled languages, while the two most popular languages on the planet, JavaScript and Python, are interpreted languages.
Node.js x Go: choose the best for your software project
| Go | Node.js | |
|---|---|---|
| Year of Creation | 2009 | 2009 |
| The creator | Robert Griesemer (Wikipedia) | Ryan Dahl (Wikipedia) |
| Documentation | Access documentation | Node.js documentation. |
| Language type | Compiled Language | Interpreted Language |
| Typing | Statically typed | Dynamically typed |
| TIOBE Classification | 12 | – |
| Popularity | Popular and growing language with strong community | Very popular and widely used platform |
| Forms | Web services, network servers, system tools, cloud services | Web servers, real-time applications, APIs, networks |
| Performance | High performance and efficiency, especially in simultaneous tasks | High performance, but may require careful handling of asynchronous tasks |
| Stability | Stable and well maintained | Stable and well maintained |
| Learning curve | Moderate – Learning Go requires understanding its syntax and concepts, especially for beginners with no prior experience in compiled languages. | Moderate – Learning Node.js requires understanding of asynchronous programming and event-driven architecture, especially for beginners. |
| Community support | Large, active community with extensive documentation and online learning resources. | Large, active community with extensive documentation and online learning resources. |
| Development Time | Go is known for its fast development times due to its simplicity and ease of use. | Node.js can also be developed quickly due to its non-blocking I/O and vast collection of libraries. |
| Main advantages |
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| Main disadvantages |
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| Companies that use this technology | Google, Dropbox, Uber, SoundCloud | Netflix, LinkedIn, NASA |
| Cross-platform support | Both Go and Node.js offer cross-platform support, allowing developers to run code on different operating systems without modification. | Both Go and Node.js offer cross-platform support, allowing developers to run code on different operating systems without modification. |
Go is a compiled programming language released by Google in 2009 that aims to be a more user-friendly alternative to its predecessors. It was designed from the ground up to be readable and easy to learn. In some ways, its syntax is more similar to JavaScript than C++ or Java (Java compiles to bytecode, so it's not exactly compiled, but it's close enough).
Node.js, on the other hand, is not a programming language. You don't “write” in Node.js. Instead, it is a runtime environment. By definition, this means that it is a subsystem that exists both on the computer where a program is created and on the computers where the program is to be executed.
Node.js was designed on a JavaScript Engine and was made to run JavaScript or Typescript code outside of a web browser. Although originally designed with the backend in mind, it can be run virtually anywhere. For example, you can create a game in JavaScript and run it on your computer through Node.js.
Why would anyone want to run JavaScript outside of a web browser? Well, firstly because Javascript is extremely popular and secondly because it is a very simple language to learn and write code in – so much so that I would personally recommend it as the first language to teach a new enthusiast.
Node.js and Go: advantages and disadvantages
So what do Go and Node.js have in common? Actually, not much. Go was designed as an all-in-one programming language for creating software or as a back-end/server solution, whereas Node.js, as mentioned before, is just a place where you can run JavaScript.
Let's rephrase the question then: should you build your backend with Go or with Node.js and JavaScript?
It really depends on the type of project you are working on. For example, if your main concern is performance or you want to implement concurrency , then Go is the clear winner. Node.js applies some pretty ingenious tricks to improve its performance, but at the end of the day, it's still a single-threaded solution.
Now, to be perfectly honest, this raw performance is rarely an issue. Unless you have a computationally intensive backend in a live product, both solutions will likely be about the same in terms of speed.
As for scalability, once again Go takes the lead. The language is touted as one of the best ways to build microservices, which makes scaling easier.
Although Node.js may not be that “powerful”, it has its own strengths – for example, its huge popularity and support . So much so that it is even taking over PHP. Remember, if you decide to continue, you will be working with JavaScript and that means thousands of libraries and packages at your disposal. With Go, there are a lot more tweaks that need to be done to build a solution, whereas with JavaScript it's likely that someone has already done the work for you.
Go is like building furniture from scratch: it's a luxury product that you can shape however you want, but it requires a lot of work and the expertise of a trained team. In contrast, JavaScript is the Ikea table of software development.
So what does this translate into? Speed. If you want to launch your product as quickly as possible, then JavaScript is hard to beat. And that's without considering that for every opportunity to hire developers who work with Golang, there must be at least a thousand with decades of JavaScript proficiency.
Project examples
Again, for projects built with microservices in mind, it's hard not to recommend Go Development Services. To give you an idea of how good Go is for large projects with lots of moving parts, it's the underlying technology behind Google Earth, Dailymotion (video streaming), Twitch (also streaming), Dropbox (cloud storage), and more.
Node.js, on the other hand, is perfect for small-scale projects, quick prototypes, and especially user-facing content. Examples of projects that use Node.js include LinkedIn, Netflix UI, and PayPal UI. But before you abandon it, remember that eBay keeps most of its backend running with this little tool.
While you can't go wrong with either option, it's clear that Go is a more refined technology with a lot of potential. That said, it's hard not to recommend Node.js as it's by far the safest choice. If you liked this article, check out our NestJS vs Express roundup.
If you liked this article, check out our other guides below;
- Change Node Version: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Node JS Cache: Increasing Performance and Efficiency
- Unlock the power of Node.JS microservices
- Unlocking the Power of Websocket Nodejs
- Best Text Editors and Node JS IDE for App Development
