Are the host objects for Nodejs parallel to host objects in other backend languages?

Hi Matthew,

The differences between Node.js, Python, and Java are quite considerable in general and in back-end web programming specifically.

A host object in JavaScript refers to an object that's part of the environment executing JavaScript rather than an object that's a native part of the JavaScript language. For instance, front-end JavaScript runs in your browser, so the browser provides host objects for JavaScript to interact with at runtime, such as the window.

Node.js doesn't run in the browser, it was created to be able to run JavaScript independently, so its host objects are specific to that paradigm. (From your question I suspect you know this though)

Learning about Node.js host objects probably won't help you understand host objects in other languages - because they don't necessarily have them. By gaining a deeper understanding of Node.js host objects, though, you will likely understand more about back-end programming in general. While the host objects themselves won't carry over the concepts of how the language might interact with its environment will be conceptually helpful.

Python has a Python interpreter runtime, Java has the JVM (Java Virtual Machine), and JavaScript has the browser or Node.js. They all execute code differently to one another, but they all provide an abstracted environment.

JavaScript is a fine first language to learn and Node.js has a lot of usage.

Good luck and happy coding!