Express.js is history? Why use Modern Frameworks in 2024?

In modern web development, Elysia.js and Hono.js are gaining attention for their impressive performance, often outpacing Express.js, which, despite its popularity, is beginning to show its age.

Why Choose Modern Frameworks?

Let’s break down why this shift is happening:

1. Built for Speed 🏃

Both Elysia.js and Hono.js are designed with speed in mind. They aim to minimize overhead and take full advantage of modern JavaScript, giving them a performance edge over Express.js, which was developed over a decade ago—before today’s performance-boosting techniques were widely adopted.

• Elysia.js: It uses highly optimized, lightweight code to handle requests with minimal CPU and memory usage.

• Hono.js: Similar to Elysia, Hono is built for ultra-low latency, utilizing efficient routing and a streamlined core.

On the other hand, Express.js has accumulated some “legacy baggage” over time due to its commitment to backward compatibility and a more extensive feature set. This can make it slower, especially when it comes to high-throughput applications.

2. Smarter Middleware and Routing

• Express.js: While it's a powerful framework, Express’s middleware system can become inefficient for larger, scalable apps. The way it processes middleware—evaluating every function—can slow things down, especially as applications grow in complexity.

• Elysia.js and Hono.js: Both frameworks take a more modular approach, processing only the middleware that's directly relevant to the request. This saves valuable processing time and makes them more efficient for larger applications.

3. Modern JavaScript, Built In

Elysia and Hono take full advantage of modern JavaScript features like async/await and ES modules, allowing for:

• Faster asynchronous operations with minimal performance overhead.

• Seamless integration with modern development tools and workflows.

While Express has added support for async/await, it was originally designed in the days of callbacks. As a result, its older codebase isn’t as optimized for modern JavaScript compared to these newer frameworks.

4. WinterCG Compliance and Interoperability

• WinterCG Compliance: Both Elysia.js and Hono.js support WinterCG, a standard for web-interoperable runtimes. This compliance ensures that these frameworks can run smoothly across various environments, such as Cloudflare, Deno, Vercel Edge Runtime, and Netlify Functions. They rely on Web Standard definitions like Fetch, Request, and Response, making them highly adaptable to different platforms.

• Interoperability: The WinterCG compliance also allows these frameworks to work seamlessly with others that follow the same standards. Through features like the .mount method, developers can integrate multiple frameworks into a single codebase. For example, it’s possible to mount an Hono.js app inside an Elysia.js server or vice versa, allowing for greater flexibility in project architecture.

5. Smaller, More Modular

Another reason Elysia.js and Hono.js shine is their modularity. You can import only the parts you need, which makes tree-shaking (removing unused code during build processes) more effective. This results in smaller, faster code bundles, which is especially important for serverless or edge environments.

Express, by contrast, often includes more features than you might need for every project. This can lead to larger bundle sizes and higher resource consumption, which impacts performance.

6. Ready for Serverless and Edge

Both Elysia and Hono are designed with edge and serverless computing in mind. They excel in:

• Edge architecture: By serving content closer to users, they reduce latency.

• Cold start optimizations: This reduces startup time for serverless functions, making them ideal for platforms like AWS Lambda, Vercel, or Cloudflare Workers.

Express, on the other hand, was designed with more traditional server setups in mind. While you can use it in a serverless environment, it doesn’t have the same built-in optimizations for cold starts and lightweight execution that you get with Elysia or Hono.

7. Lighter, Faster

Elysia.js and Hono.js are significantly lighter than Express. This smaller footprint translates to:

• Faster installation times and lower memory usage.

• Smaller Docker images for cloud deployments, making scaling more efficient.

Express, in comparison, is relatively heavy, which can become a bottleneck in microservice-heavy architectures where every bit of efficiency counts.

8. Future-Proofing

By adhering to WinterCG standards, Elysia.js and Hono.js are positioned as future-proof frameworks. They are well-aligned with emerging web standards and new technologies, offering modern solutions that prepare developers for the future of web development.

Final Thoughts

Elysia.js and Hono.js are pulling ahead of Express.js in modern web development because they prioritize:

• Performance from the ground up.

• More efficient middleware and routing.

• Better use of modern JavaScript features.

• Optimizations for serverless and edge architectures.

• Smaller, more modular codebases.

While Express.js still has a large, dedicated community and remains a solid choice for many developers, those looking for cutting-edge performance, scalability, and modern architecture are increasingly turning to frameworks like Elysia.js and Hono.js to meet those needs.

If you want to dig deeper into how one framework might outperform the other in specific scenarios, feel free to ask! 😊