Overview
Express.js is a minimal and flexible Node.js web application framework that provides a set of robust features for building web applications and APIs. It is one of the most popular frameworks for building server-side applications in Node.js due to its simplicity and flexibility. Express offers middleware to handle HTTP requests and responses, route management, and easy integration with databases, making it a go-to framework for developers looking to create scalable and high-performance applications. It is also used as the back-end component in the MERN and MEAN stacks (MongoDB, Express, React/Angular, Node.js).
Key Features:
- Minimalistic Framework: Lightweight and minimal, allowing developers to build fast and scalable applications.
- Middleware Support: Provides middleware functions that can be used to handle requests and responses, offering extensibility for features like logging, security, and session handling.
- Routing System: Offers an easy-to-use routing system to manage API endpoints and URL paths.
- Integration with Databases: Supports various databases such as MongoDB, MySQL, and PostgreSQL.
- RESTful API Creation: Built-in support for creating RESTful APIs with minimal setup.
Use Cases:
- Single-page applications
- RESTful APIs
- Real-time applications (e.g., chat apps)
- Server-side web applications