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Node.js VS web2py

Compare Node.js VS web2py and see what are their differences

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Node.js logo Node.js

Node.js is a platform built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime for easily building fast, scalable network applications

web2py logo web2py

Web2py is an open source web application framework.
  • Node.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-18
  • web2py Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30

Node.js features and specs

  • Asynchronous and Event-Driven
    Node.js uses an asynchronous, non-blocking, and event-driven I/O model, making it efficient and scalable for handling multiple simultaneous connections.
  • JavaScript Everywhere
    Developers can use JavaScript for both client-side and server-side programming, providing a unified language environment and better synergy between front-end and back-end development.
  • Large Community and NPM
    Node.js has a vibrant community and a rich ecosystem with the Node Package Manager (NPM), which offers thousands of open-source libraries and tools that can be integrated easily into projects.
  • High Performance
    Built on the V8 JavaScript engine from Google, Node.js translates JavaScript directly into native machine code, which increases performance and speed.
  • Scalability
    Designed with microservices and scalability in mind, Node.js enables easy horizontal scaling across multiple servers.
  • JSON Support
    Node.js seamlessly handles JSON, which is a common format for API responses, making it an excellent choice for building RESTful APIs and data-intensive real-time applications.

Possible disadvantages of Node.js

  • Callback Hell
    The reliance on callbacks to manage asynchronous operations can lead to deeply nested and difficult-to-read code, commonly referred to as 'Callback Hell'.
  • Not Suitable for CPU-Intensive Tasks
    Node.js is optimized for I/O operations and can become inefficient for CPU-intensive tasks, slowing down overall performance due to its single-threaded event loop.
  • Immaturity of Tools
    Compared to more established technologies, some Node.js libraries and tools still lack maturity and comprehensive documentation, which can be challenging for developers.
  • Callback and Promise Overheads
    Managing asynchronous operations using callbacks or promises can lead to additional complexity and overhead, impacting maintainability and performance if not handled correctly.
  • Fragmented Ecosystem
    The fast-paced evolution of Node.js and its ecosystem can lead to fragmentation, with numerous versions and libraries that may not always be compatible with each other.
  • Security Issues
    The extensive use of third-party libraries via NPM can introduce security vulnerabilities if not properly managed and updated, making applications more susceptible to attacks.

web2py features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    web2py provides a user-friendly web-based interface and requires no installation, making it easy even for beginners to use. It also includes a web-based IDE and administrative interface.
  • Security
    It comes with built-in security features like XSS, CSRF, and SQL Injection protection by default, ensuring safer web applications out of the box.
  • No Configuration Required
    web2py runs with zero configuration, allowing developers to start coding immediately without worrying about initial setup.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    web2py can run on any system that supports Python, providing cross-platform compatibility including Windows, macOS, and Linux.
  • Full-Stack Framework
    As a full-stack framework, web2py includes everything needed to build a web application, from the database to the web server and the front-end interface.
  • Real-Time Error Logging
    The framework offers real-time error logging which aids in easy troubleshooting and debugging during development.
  • Internationalization Support
    Built-in support for internationalization and localization, making it easier to develop applications for a global audience.
  • Active Community and Documentation
    web2py has a strong community and extensive documentation which greatly aids in quick issue resolution and learning the framework.

Possible disadvantages of web2py

  • Less Popular
    web2py is not as popular as other modern frameworks like Django or Flask, leading to fewer third-party plugins, extensions, and community support.
  • Performance
    While web2py is designed for productivity and ease of use, it may not offer the same level of performance optimizations that some other frameworks provide.
  • Lack of Asynchronous Support
    web2py does not natively support asynchronous request handling, which can be a limitation for applications requiring real-time capabilities.
  • Learning Curve
    Despite being beginner-friendly, the framework's custom syntax and paradigms might still present a learning curve for developers used to other frameworks.
  • Monolithic Design
    The monolithic nature of web2py can make it less flexible compared to micro-frameworks like Flask, especially for developers who prefer a modular approach.
  • Limited Ecosystem
    Due to its lower popularity, the ecosystem for third-party libraries, plugins, and tools is relatively limited compared to more widely adopted frameworks.
  • Not Ideal for Large Projects
    web2py is often considered ideal for simple to moderately complex applications but may not be suitable for very large or highly specialized projects.

Analysis of Node.js

Overall verdict

  • Node.js is a popular and effective choice for building a wide range of applications, from small utilities to large-scale enterprise solutions. Its performance, speed, and community support make it a strong option, especially for real-time applications.

Why this product is good

  • Node.js is considered good because it's built on Google Chrome's V8 JavaScript Engine, making it fast and efficient for handling I/O operations. Its event-driven, non-blocking I/O model makes it suitable for building scalable network applications. Additionally, it has a large ecosystem of packages available through npm, allowing developers to find solutions for almost any problem they might encounter.

Recommended for

  • Web applications with a lot of I/O operations
  • Real-time services such as chat applications
  • APIs for mobile and single-page applications
  • Prototyping and agile development
  • Microservices architecture

Node.js videos

What is Node.js? | Mosh

More videos:

  • Review - What is Node.js Exactly? - a beginners introduction to Nodejs
  • Review - Learn node.js in 2020 - A review of best node.js courses

web2py videos

Web development with Python and web2py Part1

More videos:

  • Review - Full Stack Web Development with Python WEB2PY
  • Review - Web2py & Py4web

Category Popularity

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User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Node.js and web2py

Node.js Reviews

Top JavaScript Frameworks in 2025
JavaScript is widely used for back-end or server-side development because it makes a call to the remote server when a web page loads on the browser. When a browser loads a web page, it makes a call to a remote server. Further, the code parses the page’s URL to understand users’ requirements before retrieving and transforming the required data to serve back to the browser....
Source: solguruz.com
9 Best JavaScript Frameworks to Use in 2023
Node.js applications are written in JavaScript and run on the Node.js runtime, which allows them to be executed on any platform that supports Node.js. Node.js applications are typically event-driven and single-threaded, making them efficient and scalable. Additionally, the Node Package Manager (NPM) provides a way to install and manage dependencies for Node.js projects...
Source: ninetailed.io
20 Best JavaScript Frameworks For 2023
TJ Holowaychuk built Express in 2010 before being acquired by IBM (StrongLoop) in 2015. Node.js Foundation currently maintains it. The key reason Express is one of the best JavaScript frameworks is its rapid server-side coding. Complex tasks that would take hours to code using pure Node.js can be resolved in a few minutes, thanks to Express. On top of that, Express offers a...
FOSS | Top 15 Web Servers 2021
Node.js is a cross-platform server-side JavaScript environment built for developing and running network applications such as web servers. Node.js is licensed under a variety of licenses. As of March 2021, around 1.2% of applications were running on Node.js. Among the top companies and applications utilizing this modern web server are GoDaddy, Microsoft, General Electric,...
Source: www.zentao.pm
10 Best Tools to Develop Cross-Platform Desktop Apps 
Electron.js is compatible with a variety of frameworks, libraries, access to hardware-level APIs and chromium engine, and Node.js support. Electron Fiddle feature is great for experimentation as it allows developers to play around with concepts and templates. Simplification is at the center of Electron because developers don’t have to spend unnecessary time on the packaging,...

web2py Reviews

  1. Yeral Garcia Mayedo
    · Student at University of Camagüey ·
    Best framework for newbies

    It's a framework to rapid development with a nice DAL to connect to the databases. great for me. Just less than 20mb to download and you have all you need to do develop offline.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Node.js seems to be a lot more popular than web2py. While we know about 900 links to Node.js, we've tracked only 1 mention of web2py. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Node.js mentions (900)

  • 🔥 Why Everyone Is Talking About HTMX: The Game-Changer for Web Development
    🌍 Who Should Use HTMX? ✅ Django / Flask / Rails developers ✅ Express / Node.js backend lovers ✅ Fullstack devs who want LESS frontend headache ✅ Teams jo SSR + SEO ko priority dete hain. - Source: dev.to / 1 day ago
  • How to Easily Integrate the SeerBit Payment Solution with React.js
    Node.js v12+ installed on your machine. You can download it from the official site. - Source: dev.to / 9 days ago
  • Building a Responsive Carousel Component in React: The Complete Guide
    Before starting, you must have npm installed on your computer, which comes bundled with Node.js which you can install from here. - Source: dev.to / 7 days ago
  • Using NanoAPI on Game Mods
    Napi works out of the box on both mac and Linux systems. To use this tool on Windows, you will need to install WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) and run the CLI commands from there. Make sure that Node.js (>=22) and npm are installed https://nodejs.org/en. Then the command we run is npm install -g @nanoapi.io/napi. - Source: dev.to / 17 days ago
  • Setting up the Pinecone MCP server in your IDE
    Node.js installed with npm and npx on your path. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
View more

web2py mentions (1)

  • would it be ok to post backup restore code and instructions and have a backups folder for easy finding?
    Web2py {{for _item in response.menu or []:}} {{if len(_item)<4 or not \_item\[3\]:}} {{=_item[0]}} {{else:}} {{=_item[0]}} {{for _subitem in _item[3]:}} {{=_subitem[0]}} {{pass}} {{pass}} {{pass}} {{if 'auth' in globals():}} {{if auth.user:}}{{=auth.user.first_name}}{{else:}}LOGIN{{pass}} {{if auth.user:}} {{=T('Profile')}} {{if 'change_password' not in... Source: over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Node.js and web2py, you can also consider the following products

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Microsoft IIS - Internet Information Services is a web server for Microsoft Windows

ExpressJS - Sinatra inspired web development framework for node.js -- insanely fast, flexible, and simple

Apache Tomcat - An open source software implementation of the Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies

Laravel - A PHP Framework For Web Artisans

LiteSpeed Web Server - LiteSpeed Web Server (LSWS) is a high-performance Apache drop-in replacement.