Why BI Developers Love Node.js

Chris Longo gives three reasons why Node.js is better than shell script for working with BI data.

It can be tempting to wait a bit too long to adopt technologies that are new for the sake of the tech we trust. Node.js might seem like one of those sit and wait cases. Yet at Progress® BravePoint®, we are using Node.js with Progress® OpenEdge® today in professional services engagements.

Get to Know Node.js 

Node.js, as explained on the Node website, uses “an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient, perfect for data-intensive real-time applications that run across distributed devices.” Rooted in C and usually run within the confines of a browser, Node.js enables applications to run JavaScript on desktops, devices and servers—essentially, just about anywhere. Using Node.js, your developers can use the same language for client-side, server-side, back-end and front-end business applications.

3 Advantages of Using Node.js Over Shell Script 

At BravePoint, we are using Node.js in client engagements to access and update critical business intelligence data. From a developer perspective, Node.js has three clear advantages over shell scripting:

1. Cross-platform support: Node.js runs on virtually any operating system. This makes Node.js portable, and your applications ready to support a wide user audience.
2. Community support: Node.js is open source, with a diverse and rapidly expanding node developer community. Developers share, make feature requests and upload packages and bug fixes using Git.
3. Extensibility: The most current Node.js add-ons documentation provides full support and examples for building your own extensions

A BravePoint Node.js use case

One example of our use of Node.js at BravePoint is as a data transfer broadcast hub. Push notifications of certain application events and triggers are sent to their subscribers. With Node.js, such data can be pushed in real time to GUI clients or browser subscribers.