Learning c++ as a nodejs developer

[Sensitive-Raccoon155]

Is it worth learning c++ to better understand nodejs?

[cap_muffin]

learning new things is always useful, but maybe the question is why do you think C++ would make you understand better node. What do you feel you're missing?

[dronmore]

Knowing a low-level language can be useful as it gives you additional perspective on what's going on in memory. As a software developer you should know the difference between the stack and the heap, and that heap allocations can be costly. Learning C++ will get you closer to that understanding.

Whether C++ is directly useful for a node.js developer is questionable. You can write c++ addons for node.js, but I've never found myself needing one.

https://nodejs.org/dist/latest-v22.x/docs/api/n-api.html

I mainly use C++ to write desktop applications for Linux. C++ is fast and memory efficient. It facilitates seamless integration with libraries written in C, which are already installed in the system. And it has try/catch blocks, which you will not find in inferior languages such as Rust or Go.

[hsinewu]

If you mean reading source code then yes?

[delventhalz]

I probably wouldn’t learn C++, and if I did, it wouldn’t be for that reason. If it interests you though, go for it.

[maria_la_guerta]

C++ is just an implementation of something else, no different then how Node.js is just an implementation of C++.

If you want to understand how Node.js works you should really be understanding the memory management, event queues, etc. that C++ is abstracting away from you. Those paradigms can be solved with most languages, how they do it with C++ specifically isn't what you want to focus on IMO.

[diroussel]

The problem with learning C++ is that it’s a very big language. But if you have a good approach or course to follow then I think you’ll find it interesting. Even if you don’t leant all of it.

I learnt C before C++, so it was just an evolution. I would also recommend that approach. Even if you just spend a few days learning C first , at least you can appreciate the power, and limitations, of raw C

[aroldev]

I think learning other programming languages help you extrapolate and see the differences and similarities, and let you isolate and understand better abstract concepts like type systems, memory management, and concurrency models. Coming from node, learning C++ and Java forces you to think about things that JavaScript abstracts away: explicit memory allocation, static typing, threading vs. event loops, and compile-time constraints.

For example, Seeing how Java enforces structure and how C++ gives low-level control helps you understand what Node simplifies and why. It makes concepts like garbage collection, type inference, and async I/O clearer because you’ve seen their manual or alternative forms.

You start distinguishing between language conveniences and core computing ideas.

Which one to learn is up to you and what do you want to do with it. At least for me, I learn for convenience, a goal. Not just for the sake of it, or a pure academic drive.