Glossary — N
Back to glossary index · Master INDEX
Next.js
A React framework made by Vercel. Adds routing, server-side rendering, static site generation, API routes, image optimization, and a lot more on top of plain React. Currently on App Router (since Next 13), which uses a folder-based routing convention and supports React Server Components. The default choice for new React projects in 2026.
See also: Next.js, React, Vercel
Node.js
A JavaScript runtime built on Chrome’s V8 engine, originally created in 2009 to let JavaScript run outside the browser. The reason backend JavaScript exists. Anything you do with npm, building a Next.js project, or running a JS server uses Node under the hood. Versions matter — stick to the active LTS (long-term support) version, currently Node 22 in 2026.
See also: Node.js
NoSQL
A loose category of databases that don’t follow the SQL/relational model. Document stores (MongoDB, Firestore) store data as JSON-like documents. Key-value stores (Redis) just store values under keys. Graph databases (Neo4j) optimize for connected data. Each has its niche. Most web apps still default to a SQL database; NoSQL is chosen for specific reasons (scale, schema-less data, specific access patterns).
See also: SQL vs NoSQL
npm (Node Package Manager)
The default package manager that ships with Node.js, plus the public registry it downloads from (npmjs.com). You use it via the npm CLI: npm install, npm run dev, npm run build. pnpm and Yarn are popular alternatives — same package registry, different CLI behaviour, faster installs.
See also: npm & package managers
Null
JavaScript’s value meaning “intentionally absent.” Different from undefined (which usually means “not yet set”) — though in practice the two are confusingly close. null == undefined is true (loose equality); null === undefined is false (strict equality).
See also: JavaScript
← M · Glossary index · O →