What are the key features of Node.js?

Node.js offers several key features that make it a popular choice for building server-side applications:

• Asynchronous and Event-Driven: Node.js uses an asynchronous, event-driven programming model that allows it to handle multiple concurrent connections efficiently. This enables building scalable, high-performance applications that can handle large numbers of requests without blocking.
• Non-blocking I/O: Node.js uses non-blocking I/O operations, allowing it to perform I/O-bound tasks such as file I/O, network I/O, and database operations asynchronously without waiting for the results. This improves throughput and responsiveness, especially in applications with high concurrency.
• Single-threaded Event Loop: Node.js uses a single-threaded event loop to handle asynchronous operations, eliminating the overhead of thread creation and context switching. This makes it lightweight and efficient, suitable for building real-time applications with low latency requirements.
• Cross-Platform: Node.js is cross-platform and runs on various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it suitable for developing applications that can run on different environments with minimal modifications.
• NPM (Node Package Manager): Node.js comes with NPM, a package manager that provides access to a vast ecosystem of reusable libraries and modules. NPM simplifies dependency management, code sharing, and project collaboration, allowing developers to leverage existing code and accelerate development.
• Scalability: Node.js enables building scalable applications by supporting horizontal scaling across multiple CPU cores without the need for additional threads. This allows applications to utilize hardware resources more efficiently and handle increasing loads with ease.

Node.js provides a modern, efficient, and developer-friendly platform for building a wide range of server-side applications, from lightweight APIs to large-scale distributed systems.