What Is New In Node 8?

Node.js  8  is  right  here  between  us.  It  is  a  much-awaited  version  of  the  series 
and  claimed  to  have  plenty  of  features  that  developers  are  waiting  to  test. 
Many  industry  experts  claimed  ​Node.js  8  brings  sanity  to  native  module 
dependencies.  The  new  version  of  technology  ensure  protection  of  local 
module  dependencies  across  upgrades.  Though,  it  is  considered  as  a  large 
upgrade  which  has  significantly  improved  performance  in  almost  all common 
situations and is more robust and fault-tolerant. 

What’s New? 

1. Node.js​ API 
 For Node.js designers who love to make local additional items, the new 
exploratory Node.js API (N-API) will permit local additional items to be 
accumulated once on a framework and utilize over numerous renditions 
of Node.js. The new virtual machine rationalist Application Binary 
Interface (ABI) additionally stable crosswise over various Node.js forms. 
N-API has been included as a trial highlight in v8.0, and serves the 
intention of isolating additional items from changes in the hidden 
JavaScript motor. This will help local additional items to keep running 
with various Node.js variants without recompilation. 

2. Buffer Changes 

In  the  buffer  realm,  numerous  significant  changes  are  implemented  within 
Node.js.  The  zero-filling  buffer  and  a  new  buffer  are  included  by  default.  The 
focus  is  to  render  improved  security  and  privacy  in  order  to  maintain  security 
and  privacy  to  prevent  information  leaks.  However,  it  laso  has  the 
disadvantage  that  this  buffer  is  that  people  make  use  of  it  will  take 
performance  hits  however  this  can  be  stayed  away  from  migrating  to 
buffer.allocUnsafe().  It’s  upto developers to use this function only if they know 
about  the  drawbacks  associated  to  it  and  have  the  know-how  to  tackle  such 
issues effortlessly. 
 3. WHATWG URL Parser 

WHATWG  URL  parser  in  Node  8  has moved from research stage to being fully 

supported.  WHATWG URL parser was first come in ​Node.js 7.x a year ago as a 
trial  URL API. The URL usage and API in WHATWG matches what is . Edge and 
Safari.  Nonetheless,  the  new feature of version 8.0 empowering the sharing of 
code utilizing URLs over the distinctive conditions. 

4. TurboFan and Ignition 

The  introduction  of  TurboFan  and  Ignition  has  been  communicated  as  the 
best  change  passed  on  to  Node.js  version  8.  The  new  release  additionally 
includes  V8  5.8  JavaScript  runtime,  empowering  performance  and  offering 
developer​-confronting  APIs.  Version  8  comes  with  a  simplified  pipeline, 
without  the  FullCode  Generator  and  the  Crankshaft,  enabling  a  lot  of 
improvements  such  as  lower  memory  utilization  and  quicker  application 
startup  times.  Additionally,  v8  5.8  engine  has  forward  ABI  (application  binary 
interface)  compatibility  with  V8  5.9  and  the  upcoming  V8  6.0  release,  the 
foundation  said.  The  Node  8  line  is  relied  upon  the  move  to  V8  5.9  and 
possibly  V8  6.0  sooner  or  later,  TurboFan  and  Ignition  will  be  empowered  by 
default  with  V8  5.9.  This  change  was  one  of  the  reasons  of  the  delayed 
release of Node.js 8 . 

5. Async Hooks A
​ PI 

The Async Hooks (once in the past known as AsyncWrap) API has a 
prominent move up to the most recent adaptation. This API opens the 
route for engineers to administer the operation of the Node.js occasion 
circle, and also enabling them to assess the life of handle questions in 
the hub. 

Once,  a  bundle  called  “co”  was  utilized  to  use  generators  to  compose  better 
nonconcurrent  code  to  make  a  more  comprehensible  control  stream. 
Presently,  this  control  stream  can  be  actualized  without  the  need  of  an 
outsider library. 

6. Console 
Node.js  application  would  often  crash  due  to  the  errors  occurring  While 
attempting  to  write  console  ouput  to  the  underlying  stream.  But  with  Node.js 
8,  such  errors  will  be  minimized  like  suppressing  the  error  events  emitting 
when  using  console  methods.  This  feature  will  also  make  the  other  APIs 
safer. 

7. Upgrade NPM to 5.0.0 

Node 8 will ship with the newest version of NPM. After the success and 
notable improvements of Yarn, NPM has followed suit in many areas 
and is releasing a huge update in version 5 in order to compete. Most 
notable features are offline mode, –save by default, and a new lockfile 
that gets automatically created. 

Other Important Changes 

● Enhanced support for Promises – Node.js 8.0.0 incorporates another 

util.promisify() API. 
● Static Error Codes – We have begun the way toward relegating static 
blunder codes to all mistakes created by Node.js. 
 ● Diverting Process Warnings – Processing notices, for example, 
censures may now to diverted to a document 
● Stream API upgrades – For clients of the Stream API, new standard 
mechanism for obliterating and concluding Stream occasions have 
been included 
● Debugger changes – node-inspect has been coordinated specifically 
into the Node.js runtime. Also, the V8 Inspector debugger is a 
completely supported feature   
● Test controller ​JavaScript​ API – Provides better approaches for utilizing 
the investigate convention to examine running Node.js forms. 

With  so  many  updates,  there  could  hardly  be any organization that would take 

risk  to  not  considering  new  updates  in  application  development  practices. 
Have  you  tried  new  features  and  functions?  Is  yes,  then  do  share  your 
experiences with us.