Node.js is a platform built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime for easily building fast and scalable network applications. Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient, perfect for data-intensive real-time applications that run across distributed devices.
Node.js has exploded in popularity in recent years, attracting a large customer base including eBay, General Electric, GoDaddy, Microsoft, PayPal, Uber, and Yahoo! to name a few.