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ExpressJS vs Next.js: What are the differences?
ExpressJS: Sinatra inspired web development framework for node.js -- insanely fast, flexible, and simple. Express is a minimal and flexible node.js web application framework, providing a robust set of features for building single and multi-page, and hybrid web applications; Next.js: *A small framework for server-rendered universal JavaScript apps *. Next.js is a minimalistic framework for server-rendered React applications.
ExpressJS and Next.js are primarily classified as "Microframeworks (Backend)" and "Frameworks (Full Stack)" tools respectively.
Some of the features offered by ExpressJS are:
- Robust routing
- HTTP helpers (redirection, caching, etc)
- View system supporting 14+ template engines
On the other hand, Next.js provides the following key features:
- Zero setup. Use the filesystem as an API
- Only JavaScript. Everything is a function
- Automatic server rendering and code splitting
"Simple" is the primary reason why developers consider ExpressJS over the competitors, whereas "Automatic server rendering and code splitting" was stated as the key factor in picking Next.js.
ExpressJS and Next.js are both open source tools. ExpressJS with 44.3K GitHub stars and 7.45K forks on GitHub appears to be more popular than Next.js with 38.2K GitHub stars and 4.6K GitHub forks.
According to the StackShare community, ExpressJS has a broader approval, being mentioned in 843 company stacks & 759 developers stacks; compared to Next.js, which is listed in 79 company stacks and 66 developer stacks.
Next.js is probably the most enjoyable React framework our team could have picked. The development is an extremely smooth process, the file structure is beautiful and organized, and the speed is no joke. Our work with Next.js comes out much faster than if it was built on pure React or frameworks alike. We were previously developing all of our projects in Meteor before making the switch. We left Meteor due to the slow compiler and website speed. We deploy all of our Next.js projects on Vercel.
Hey guys,
My backend set up is Prisma / GraphQL-Yoga at the moment, and I love it. It's so intuitive to learn and is really neat on the frontend too, however, there were a few gotchas when I was learning! Especially around understanding how it all pieces together (the stack). There isn't a great deal of information out there on exactly how to put into production my set up, which is a backend set up on a Digital Ocean droplet with Prisma/GraphQL Yoga in a Docker Container using Next & Apollo Client on the frontend somewhere else. It's such a niche subject, so I bet only a few hundred people have got a website with this stack in production. Anyway, I wrote a blog post to help those who might need help understanding it. Here it is, hope it helps!
Pros of ExpressJS
- Simple378
- Node.js333
- Javascript242
- High performance192
- Robust routing150
- Middlewares71
- Open source70
- Great community57
- Hybrid web applications37
- Well documented13
- Sinatra inspired9
- Rapid development9
- Isomorphic js.. superfast and easy7
- Socket connection5
- Light weight5
- Npm4
- Resource available for learning4
- Event loop3
- Callbacks3
- Data stream2
Pros of Next.js
- Automatic server rendering and code splitting46
- Built with React39
- Easy setup33
- Universal JavaScript24
- TypeScript23
- Zero setup22
- Static site generator19
- Incremental static regeneration12
- Simple deployment12
- Just JavaScript11
- Filesystem as an API10
- Frictionless development10
- Has many examples and integrations8
- Well Documented8
- Everything is a function8
- Testing8
- Isomorphic React applications7
- File based routing + hooks built in3
- Deployment2
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Cons of ExpressJS
- Not python27
- Overrated17
- No multithreading14
- Javascript9
- Not fast5
- Easily Insecure for Novices2
Cons of Next.js
- Structure is weak compared to Angular(2+)8
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