What is Deno? Is it Better or Worse than NodeJS?

Deno is a popular JavaScript framework that is suddenly being viewed as a competitive alternative to the NodeJS framework. The buzz about the Deno vs Node.js is quite loud now in the developer circle and as a NodeJS development company, you just cannot pretend not to hear about it.

In spite of the fact that NodeJS as of now stands ahead of the competition thanks to its full-stack ecosystem, Deno has its own specific plus points. Deno as a JavaScript framework is capable of compiling JavaScript and TypeScript code at one go. That is quite impressive about Deno and that is why we are here explaining the promise of Deno against NodeJS. If you are a NodeJS development company, it is likely to concern you.

Key Features of Deno

Deno is a great JavaScript framework that allows compiling TypeScript code as well. The framework is tremendously secure and uses a V8 JavaScript engine for JavaScript. Let’s take a quick look at the key features of Deno.

• The code of Deno is written in Rust.
• The Tokio loop in the main Deno is also written in Rust.
• It supports and compiles both JavaScript and TypeScript code.
• It runs V8 JavaScript runtime engine.

Here we would also like to provide a shortlist of the inbuilt tools in Deno’s repository.

• Bundler: It comes with a particular script and the related dependencies packed within a single file.
• Formatter: This inbuilt tool allows compiling and autoformat JavaScript and Typescript.
• Dependency inspector: By running this on the ES module developers can easily list all dependencies.
• Test Runner: Test runner allows testing the JavaScript and Typescript code simultaneously through the standard library.
• Debugger: This tool allows easily debugging the Deno programs with Chrome, VS code, Devtools, etc.
• Linter: Linter is a great tool to detect all issues and performance glitches in the application.

Key Benefits of Deno

• It is a fully secure runtime environment.
• Comes with a module optimized for security
• It uses Rust in contrast to C++ language for Node
• Comes with an inbuilt dependency controller and a code developer.
• It offers a well-articulated permissions system to ensure optimum security.

Key Advantages Over NodeJS

In several aspects, Deno offers some crucial advantages over NodeJS. Here we are going to explain a few of them.

• Security

Node.js runtime comes with a very relaxed access system allowing access across all files, network requests, environment variables, and various others. This is where third-party code can cause huge destruction if it remains unchecked. This creates bigger risk factors for the development process.

In complete contrast to this, improving the security modules was the biggest concern and objective. Deno comes with an elaborate and strong permission system for running the external code. To make security further stronger, Deno makes sure that all codes are executed in a separate sandbox environment. This ensures that the third-party code cannot get unchecked access across the file system, environmental variables, and networks until and unless a command-line argument grants permission. On top of all, no file can be deleted without permission.

• Managing Third-Party Packages

Node.js ones with npm to manage all third-party packages. Moreover, it boasts of a large and widely varied ecosystem comprising a multitude of libraries and packages. But the problem is that not all packages and libraries are not equally maintained and hence the quality can vary.

Deno on the other hand, allows developers to install third-party packages directly from their respective URLs and they can also be used in the URL script. This approach without requiring any package manager simplifies the process. Once you are sure about the quality of the intended third-party package you can just incorporate and use it instantly. Since Deno already has a strong security module, importing packages directly from URL further cannot enhance security risk, as most experts think.

Instead of offering a vast package manager with all low quality and high-quality modules included, Deno offers a standard library that makes the job of developers easier by providing all the official tools and technologies for primary functions as well as demanding tasks.

Quick Comparison Points Between Node.JS and Deno

• Deno in contrast to NodeJS doesn’t come with a package manager. Deno also doesn’t offer any package.json file for determining dependencies.
• Nodejs core is coded within C++ while Rust programming language is used for coding the Deno core.
• NodeJS coming way back in 2009 continued to incorporate new JS features such as Async, Promise, Await, ES modules, etc. Deno comes with by default support for all these features from the day one.
• Deno supports both JavaScript and Typescript and is capable of compiling both Javascript and Typescript simultaneously.
• Deno can take a break and postpone the process for exceptions that remained unhandled. This is never possible with NodeJs.
• Deno comes with a lot more security features than NodeJS and offers explicit permissions for access to the file, network, environment.
• Deno comes loaded and equipped with a bounty of inbuilt tools to make developers’ life easier.

Deno is so powerful and well equipped that we are almost tempted to ask whether Deno can replace NodeJS or not. The answer is, Deno has just been launched and has just started its journey while NodeJS has been there for more than a decade. Hence, it is too early to make such a conclusive verdict. Both are equally powerful and have their own pros and cons. Deno seems to have an edge over NodeJS in respect of security, inbuilt tools, and few other capabilities.

Conclusion

Deno has emerged as the most promising kid in the block reserved for performance savvy rich Javascript frameworks and technologies that developers around the world are fond of. But in spite of these advantages, NodeJS as the robust and all-powerful full-stack technology is not going to leave its ground too soon. So, Deno vs NodeJS buzz is likely to continue for some time.