Worker threads enable parallel JavaScript execution for CPU-intensive tasks. Here's how to use them effectively.
Basic Worker Thread
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Separate Worker File
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Worker Thread Pool
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Shared Memory with SharedArrayBuffer
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Atomics for Synchronization
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Transferable Objects
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CPU-Intensive Task Examples
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Error Handling
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Best Practices
When to Use:
✓ CPU-intensive computations
✓ Image/video processing
✓ Large data parsing
✓ Cryptographic operations
Design:
✓ Use worker pools for reuse
✓ Transfer large data, don't copy
✓ Use SharedArrayBuffer carefully
✓ Handle errors and timeouts
Performance:
✓ Limit worker count to CPU cores
✓ Balance work distribution
✓ Minimize message passing
✓ Use Atomics for synchronization
Avoid:
✗ I/O-bound tasks in workers
✗ Creating workers for small tasks
✗ Sharing complex objects
✗ Race conditions without Atomics
Conclusion
Worker threads enable true parallelism for CPU-intensive tasks in Node.js. Use them for computations that would block the event loop. Implement worker pools for efficiency, SharedArrayBuffer for shared memory, and Atomics for synchronization. Remember that workers are best for CPU-bound work, not I/O operations.