Node.js Design Patterns: Master a series of patterns and techniques to create modular, scalable, and efficient applications

by Mario Casciaro

Deferring the steps of an algorithm is not the only option we have for running CPU-bound tasks; another pattern for preventing the event loop from blocking is using child processes. We already know that Node.js gives its best when running I/O intensive applications such as web servers, which allows us to optimize resource utilization, thanks to its asynchronous architecture. So, the best way we have to maintain the responsiveness of an application is to not run expensive CPU-bound tasks in the context of the main application and use instead separate processes. This has three main advantages: The synchronous task can run at full speed, without the need to interleave the steps of its execution Working with processes in Node.js is simple, probably easier than modifying an algorithm to use setImmediate(), and allows us to easily use multiple processors without the need to scale the main application itself If we really need maximum performances, the external process might be created in lower-level languages, such as the good old C (always use the best tool for the job!)