Node.js Web Frameworks
Posted 23 January 2018 · 2 min read
Express
Install: npm install express --save
Express is a minimal framework for developing Node.js web applications. Many of the other frameworks in this list are based on Express with additional useful features to help speed up development or apply a design pattern to aid maintainability. Express is unopinionated and the go to option for a Node.js webserver.
Two of the main concepts required for developing Express-based applications is routing and middleware. Express request handlers are JavaScript functions that accept 2 or more arguments: req = Request, res = Response, and next = function to call next middleware. Which request handler is called is determined by the routes registered to the router and the URL of the request.
Express also supports a range of template engines out of the box, including Pug, Mustache, and EJS which support features like partial templates, variable interpolation and conditional branching within HTML templates.
The express-generator package allows for quick generation of a skeleton Express application via a command line interface (CLI).
Loopback
Install: npm install -g loopback-cli
Loopback is a framework based on Express for rapidly building REST APIs. Development is maintained by IBM and integration with IBM Connect is provided.
Loopback has a command line interface for creating models, relations, and access control rules reducing time setting up boilerplate code. There's also an web-based API explorer that allows you to view and test your REST API routes.
It can also support a range of popular database management systems via database connectors.
A comparison of Loopback vs other frameworks
Sails.js
Install: npm install -g sails
Sails is a framework based on Express implementing a Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern similar to Ruby on Rails.
Sails uses an ORM called Waterline for defining database models which supports a range of database connectors.
Blueprints allow for rapid development of REST APIs by generating common CRUD methods.
Nest
Install: git clone https://github.com/nestjs/typescript-starter.git <project-name>
Nest is a framework based on Express that implements a very similar architecture to an Angular application, including support for TypeScript.
hapi.js
hapi.js is a web application framework that handles requests and routing similar to Express. There are also a range of community plugins for handling common web application requirements such as authentication, authorization, and templating.