What precisely is a web application framework?
You may have heard a lot about Express and how it is a Node web application framework that is used to construct online applications. But, exactly, what is a web application framework?
A web framework is a software framework that is used to standardize and automate processes for building applications via the internet, according to Wikipedia.
These several frameworks help with database access, templating resources, and session management. They aid in the development of dynamic websites.
People look for lightweight frameworks while developing large-scale apps. As a result, NestJS has taken command of ExpressJS. Without a question, ExpressJS has grown in popularity among developers in recent years, and NestJS is on its way to becoming more widely used in the coming years.
Let us now look at what ExpressJS and NestJS are and see their most important features of them.
NestJS:
NestJS is a NodeJS framework for developing scalable server-side applications. NestJS allows for understandable and predictable code, thanks to TypeScript, which is gaining popularity. It is a framework that is adaptable, progressive, and versatile. Despite the fact that the API in ExpressJS is reliable, it cannot handle async/await methods. NestJS was implemented to avoid similar problems.
Furthermore, ExpressJS is a lightweight NodeJS framework for developing online and mobile applications.
ExpressJS:
Express.js is a simple framework that works on top of the Node.js web server functionality to simplify APIs and provide some useful new features. It facilitates the organization of your application’s functionality through the use of middleware and routing. It adds useful utilities to Node.js HTTP objects and makes dynamic HTTP objects easier to render.
Features:
- Quickly and easily creates Node.js web applications.
- It is simple to set up and customize.
- You can use HTTP methods and URLs to define application routes.
- Contains a number of middleware modules that can be used to carry out additional requests and answers.
- It’s easy to interface(connect) with a variety of template engines, including Jade, Vash, and EJS.
- Allows you to provide middleware for error handling.
Differences: ExpressJS vs NestJS
            ExpressJs |
          NestJS |
| Because ExpressJS is unopinionated, it does not have a set of pre-defined rules to follow, giving developers the ability to create different options and implement code as needed. | NestJS is opinionated, which means it has SOLID Principles to follow, which helps to avoid issues during development and also produces applications that are less prone to error. NestJS is entirely Angular-based, hence TypeScript is its primary programming language. The use of TypeScript ensures that the application is reliable and bug-free. |
| ExpressJs does not follow MVC (Model View Controller) architecture | NestJS follows MVC architecture. |
| Because ExpressJS does not follow to MVC, there is no correct structure, making the application inefficient and less optimised. | NestJS becomes a better choice for developers because it is explicitly built on an architecture that includes components such as modules, controllers, and providers. You can also break the application into microservices, which simplifies development and makes the code easier to understand. |
| ExpressJS does not support TypeScript, making ExpressJS less efficient and incompatible with many browsers. Decorators are another aspect of TypeScript | NestJS also supports TypeScript, which is a big plus. TypeScript follows to static typing, is reliable, and includes a “type” feature. It is extremely useful when developing large-scale, efficient applications. NestJS is wholly built in TypeScript. |
| Unit testing with ExpressJS requires the creation of distinct code, which takes time and can reduce the application’s productivity rate. | NestJS CLI (Command Line Interface) has a default testing environment that is set up with Jest. When a service, interceptor, or controller is formed, the CLI creates a “spec” file that includes auto-generated testing bed code, removing the need for developers to write extra code for unit testing. As a result, unit testing is significantly easier with NestJS than it is with ExpressJS. |
| ExpressJS is less efficient and has poor performance compared to NestJS. | NestJS has a CLI (command-line interface) to increase productivity. A CLI allows you to give instructions directly without having to write extensive scripts. Dependency Injection is another reason why developers like NestJS since it allows you to add as many dependencies as you need for the application to run smoothly. NestJS provides many developers with an out-of-the-box structure and supports third-party plugins. These are the reasons NestJS can assist you in developing scalable applications, which enhances performance and results in an efficient solution. |