NodeJS using redis - installing with hiredis vs without?

Question

I'm integrating redis into my NodeJS server app, and I'm trying to figure out whether or not to install node_redis with the hiredis command. I assume that the option to install it wouldn't have been made available if it wasn't useful in some way or another. At the same time, the github page for node_redis (https://github.com/mranney/node_redis) makes it clear that upgrading to newer versions of nodeJS can cause problems with the hiredis option added.

Could somebody lay out the unwritten pros and cons of adding the hiredis vs not? How much of a performance increase is there in going with the C library?

Answer 1

For production I would seriously consider using hiredis parser because it performs better. For testing you do not need it. Then when you deploy new version to the server you just recompile hiredis. That is not such a big deal. Also when you have proper tests in play you would notice when something is wrong with redis/hiredis(or any place else).