FS Module in Node

FS Module in Node

The fs (File System) module in Node.js provides various methods for interacting with the file system of your operating system. These methods can be categorized into two main types: synchronous and asynchronous. Understanding the difference between these two types is crucial for writing efficient and responsive Node.js applications....

Synchronous Methods

Synchronous functions block the execution of the program until the file operation is performed. These functions are also called blocking functions. The synchronous methods have File Descriptor as the last argument. File Descriptor is a reference to opened files. It is a number or a reference id to the file returned after opening the file using fs.open() method of the fs module. All asynchronous methods can perform synchronously just by appending “Sync” to the function name. Some of the synchronous methods of fs module in NodeJS are:...

Asynchronous Methods

Asynchronous functions do not block the execution of the program and each command is executed after the previous command even if the previous command has not computed the result. The previous command runs in the background and loads the result once it has finished processing. Thus, these functions are called non-blocking functions. They take a callback function as the last parameter. Asynchronous functions are generally preferred over synchronous functions as they do not block the execution of the program whereas synchronous functions block the execution of the program until it has finished processing. Some of the asynchronous methods of fs module in NodeJS are:...

Difference between Asynchronous and Synchronous methods

Synchronous methods Asynchronous methods Synchronous functions are called blocking functionsAsynchronous functions are called non-blocking functions.It blocks the execution of the program until the file operation has finished processing.It does not block the execution of the program.These functions take File Descriptor as the last argument.These functions take a callback function as the last argument.Examples: fs.readFileSync(), fs.appendFileSync(), fs.writeFileSync() etc.Examples: fs.readFile(), fs.appendFile(), fs.writeFile(), fs.stat() etc....

When to Use Each

Synchronous Methods: Use synchronous methods when simplicity and sequential execution are more important than performance, such as in scripts or small applications where file operations are minimal.Asynchronous Methods: Use asynchronous methods when performance and responsiveness are crucial, especially in large-scale applications or web servers where multiple operations need to be performed concurrently without blocking the event loop....