Menu
×
   ❮     
HTML CSS JAVASCRIPT SQL PYTHON JAVA PHP HOW TO W3.CSS C C++ C# BOOTSTRAP REACT MYSQL JQUERY EXCEL XML DJANGO NUMPY PANDAS NODEJS DSA TYPESCRIPT ANGULAR GIT POSTGRESQL MONGODB ASP AI R GO KOTLIN SASS VUE GEN AI SCIPY CYBERSECURITY DATA SCIENCE INTRO TO PROGRAMMING BASH RUST

Node.js Tutorial

Node HOME Node Intro Node Get Started Node JS Requirements Node.js vs Browser Node Cmd Line Node V8 Engine Node Architecture Node Event Loop

Asynchronous

Node Async Node Promises Node Async/Await Node Errors Handling

Module Basics

Node Modules Node ES Modules Node NPM Node package.json Node NPM Scripts Node Manage Dep Node Publish Packages

Core Modules

HTTP Module HTTPS Module File System (fs) Path Module OS Module URL Module Events Module Stream Module Buffer Module Crypto Module Timers Module DNS Module Assert Module Util Module Readline Module

JS & TS Features

Node ES6+ Node Process Node TypeScript Node Adv. TypeScript Node Lint & Formatting

Building Applications

Node Frameworks Express.js Middleware Concept REST API Design API Authentication Node.js with Frontend

Database Integration

MySQL Get Started MySQL Create Database MySQL Create Table MySQL Insert Into MySQL Select From MySQL Where MySQL Order By MySQL Delete MySQL Drop Table MySQL Update MySQL Limit MySQL Join
MongoDB Get Started MongoDB Create DB MongoDB Collection MongoDB Insert MongoDB Find MongoDB Query MongoDB Sort MongoDB Delete MongoDB Drop Collection MongoDB Update MongoDB Limit MongoDB Join

Advanced Communication

GraphQL Socket.IO WebSockets

Testing & Debugging

Node Adv. Debugging Node Testing Apps Node Test Frameworks Node Test Runner

Node.js Deployment

Node Env Variables Node Dev vs Prod Node CI/CD Node Security Node Deployment

Perfomance & Scaling

Node Logging Node Monitoring Node Performance Child Process Module Cluster Module Worker Threads

Node.js Advanced

Microservices Node WebAssembly HTTP2 Module Perf_hooks Module VM Module TLS/SSL Module Net Module Zlib Module Real-World Examples

Hardware & IoT

RasPi Get Started RasPi GPIO Introduction RasPi Blinking LED RasPi LED & Pushbutton RasPi Flowing LEDs RasPi WebSocket RasPi RGB LED WebSocket RasPi Components

Node.js Reference

Built-in Modules EventEmitter (events) Worker (cluster) Cipher (crypto) Decipher (crypto) DiffieHellman (crypto) ECDH (crypto) Hash (crypto) Hmac (crypto) Sign (crypto) Verify (crypto) Socket (dgram, net, tls) ReadStream (fs, stream) WriteStream (fs, stream) Server (http, https, net, tls) Agent (http, https) Request (http) Response (http) Message (http) Interface (readline)

Resources & Tools

Node.js Compiler Node.js Server Node.js Quiz Node.js Exercises Node.js Syllabus Node.js Study Plan Node.js Certificate

Node.js V8 Engine


What is the V8 Engine?

The V8 engine is Google's open-source JavaScript engine, used by Chrome and Node.js.

It compiles JavaScript to native machine code for fast execution.

  • Origin: Developed by Google for Chrome in 2008
  • Integration: Node.js uses V8 to provide JavaScript runtime on the server
  • Features: Just-In-Time compilation, efficient garbage collection, ES6+ support

Why V8 Makes Node.js Fast

  • Just-In-Time (JIT) Compilation: Converts JavaScript into optimized machine code instead of interpreting it
  • Hidden Classes: Optimizes property access on JavaScript objects
  • Efficient Garbage Collection: Manages memory to prevent leaks and optimize performance
  • Inline Caching: Speeds up property access by remembering where to find object properties

Example: Check V8 Version in Node.js

// Show the V8 engine version used by your Node.js installation
console.log(`V8 version: ${process.versions.v8}`);
Try it Yourself »


Understanding V8's Role in Node.js

V8 provides the core JavaScript execution environment that Node.js is built upon.

It allows Node.js to:

  • Execute JavaScript code outside the browser
  • Access operating system functionality (file system, networking, etc.)
  • Use the same JavaScript engine that powers Chrome for consistency

Example: V8 Memory Usage

// Get information about V8's heap memory usage
const v8 = require('v8');
const heapStats = v8.getHeapStatistics();

console.log('Heap size limit:', (heapStats.heap_size_limit / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(2), 'MB');
console.log('Total heap size:', (heapStats.total_heap_size / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(2), 'MB');
console.log('Used heap size:', (heapStats.used_heap_size / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(2), 'MB');
Try it Yourself »

V8's Update Cycle

V8 is constantly being improved with new JavaScript features and performance optimizations.

  • Node.js regularly updates its V8 engine version
  • New Node.js versions often include newer versions of V8
  • This provides access to newer JavaScript features and better performance

V8 implements the ECMAScript and WebAssembly standards.

When a new JavaScript feature becomes part of the ECMAScript standard, V8 will eventually implement it, making it available in both Chrome and Node.js.



×

Contact Sales

If you want to use W3Schools services as an educational institution, team or enterprise, send us an e-mail:
sales@w3schools.com

Report Error

If you want to report an error, or if you want to make a suggestion, send us an e-mail:
help@w3schools.com

W3Schools is optimized for learning and training. Examples might be simplified to improve reading and learning. Tutorials, references, and examples are constantly reviewed to avoid errors, but we cannot warrant full correctness of all content. While using W3Schools, you agree to have read and accepted our terms of use, cookie and privacy policy.

Copyright 1999-2025 by Refsnes Data. All Rights Reserved. W3Schools is Powered by W3.CSS.