NPM Packages that Node.JS Developers Should Know

Every day, either new frameworks and libraries are released or existing ones are updated with new functionalities. Developers have to stay on top of these trends. Because the quality of your software development depends very much on such tools and technologies. Knowing how to properly leverage them saves much of their time and effort.

One such tool that developers use is NPM packages. Top-rated nodeJS companies use them to simplify the development process and help businesses scale up. NPM packages are becoming popular nowadays as they are suitable for asynchronous frameworks.

Top NPM packages

1. Async

Being a utility package, Async comes with robust functionalities that help you work with asynchronous JS. integrating your NodeJS project with Async NPM helps improve your code efficiency.

Developers can leverage the Async package to streamline workflows, manage complex functions, and elevate development efforts. The key features of the Async package are as mentioned below:

  • Async is adept at handling errors and reporting them.

  • The NPM package also supports retry, waterfall, queue, and more such advanced control patterns.

  • Integrating NodeJS modules such as child_process, fs and net with ASync is very easy.

  • Async allows you to execute the asynchronous tasks in both series and parallel manner.

2. Body-parser

Body Parser aims to simplify the incoming parsing language during NodeJS app development. This robust middleware can help you collect relevant data from incoming requests which you can use in your project.

This saves the valuable time and effort of the developers while allowing them to focus on the critical aspects of NodeJS app development. The essential Body-Parser features include:

  • Easy integration with Express.JS

  • Provides support for parsing different bodies such as multipart, JSON, and URL encoded.

  • This NPM is capable of managing a variety of requests like PUT, HTTP, GET, POST, and so on.

3. Express

Many developers prefer to use the Express NPM package for the creation of web applications. Its offerings include server foundations for single-page, multi-page, and dynamic web applications.

It also provides processing, a speedier app, content negotiation, HTTP support, superior efficiency, and comprehensive routing. Such superior capabilities make Express an ideal easily accessible option currently available in the market.

APIs from Express simplify building any kind of web app you want. Express renders a robust overview of how to develop applications from the ground up. Express features of this NPM are:

  • Comes with a robust ecosystem consisting of various plugins and modules

  • HTML pages can be rendered quickly using Express’s engine.

  • This middleware also supports app functionality’s extensions

  • HTTP requests are easy to manage with Express’s routing system

4. Lodash

Being a modern JS library, Lodash has a set of functionalities that help change strings, arrays, and more. Lodash is considered as one of the most robust and reliable tools because of its high usage of JavaScript. It helps improve the efficiency and readability of the app’s code. Features of Lodash include:

  • To create easy and concise code, Lodash supports chaining functions

  • Strong manipulation string functions

  • Comes with functional concepts such as reduce, map, filter, and so on.

  • Offers high-performing functions when working with arrays and objects

5. Socket.io

If you are working on a real-time communication app that also runs document streaming concurrently then Socket.io is the right choice for you. Socket.io comes in handy when in a database, a material originates or API from non-dependent features.

Twitter and Facebook use the same strategy for aggregating the latest tweets and news respectively. Various API combinations from Socket.io use real-time data which can be very useful. Popular features of Socket.io are as mentioned below:

  • Socket.io uses React and Angular front-end technologies to broadcast notifications to multiple clients all at once.

  • The structure for real-time communication is finetuned using the custom config option from Socket.io

  • Supports both server-side and client JS

  • Supports messaging multiple clients simultaneously

  • It is compatible with various communication standards and has cross-browser fallbacks

6. Passport

For node programmers who have to deal with various kinds of malicious codes, Passport NPM provides unique security modules. Its primary objective is to help developers with the authentication of the application. Third-party modules are used to serve the authentication process.

Passport also refers to a few strategies to handle malicious actions and codes. When a query is submitted for identity verification, no matter if it passes or fails, it needs hooks to maintain the process. Passport avails those hooks. The NPM also offers multiple authentication strategies that are useful in authentication.

Passport’s features are as mentioned below:

  • Easy to use and easy to configure

  • Easy integration with various authentication methods like OAuth, OpenID, and more

  • It authenticates the workflow to suit your requirements

7. Redux-Saga

This powerful middleware library was developed to work with Redux. It allows the developers to supervise async actions and their side effects easily. This makes managing async actions efficient and predictable. Moreover, the quality and stability of the NodeJS code of your system is maintained.

So, if you are looking for a simple way to handle async requests or a way to work with complex data files, then Redux-Saga can help you out. Redux-Saga offers the following features:

  • Predictable APIs

  • Simple testing

  • Easy integration with Angular, React, and other front-end frameworks

  • Maintains side effects by supporting declarative effects

  • Integrates with Redux seamlessly to manage app state

  • Can easily manage huge async workflows

8. Mongoose

Designed for MongoDB and NodeJS, Mongoose is a powerful ODM model. It interacts with MongoDB intuitively and straightforwardly. NodeJS developers can successfully build a database structure that can easily organize and manage the data with the help of Mongoose.

Mongoose’s features include:

  • Supporting population, aggregation, and more advanced functions

  • Its middleware supports hooks which can be executed before or after certain database operations

  • Powerful query building and execution

  • Built-in features for validating and casting data

  • Defines and models data usage schemas

Conclusion

A wide array of NPM packages are available in the market that can empower NodJS development. They act as a robust solution that helps developers enhance the functionality of the application, and maintain its workflows.

The NPM packages we discussed in this post are just a fraction of a large ecosystem. Leveraging these packages for NodeJS development allows you to stay on top of the ever-changing technological landscape.

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