Worker Threads
Worker Threads are a programming concept and implementation that enables concurrent execution of JavaScript code in Node.js, allowing CPU-intensive tasks to run in separate threads without blocking the main event loop. They provide a way to perform parallel processing in Node.js applications, which is traditionally single-threaded, by creating isolated threads that can communicate with the main thread via message passing. This helps improve performance for compute-heavy operations like data processing, image manipulation, or complex calculations.
Developers should learn and use Worker Threads when building Node.js applications that require handling CPU-bound tasks efficiently, such as video encoding, machine learning inference, or large-scale data analysis, to prevent blocking the main thread and maintain responsiveness. It is particularly useful in server-side applications where performance bottlenecks from synchronous operations can degrade user experience, enabling scalable solutions by offloading intensive work to background threads. Use cases include web servers processing multiple requests concurrently, real-time data processing pipelines, or any scenario where parallel execution can reduce overall processing time.