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“Node.js is one of the worst things to happen to the software industry” (2012)

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Re: “Node.js is one of the worst things to happen to the software industry” (2012)

#21

Post by vixen99 »

aerovistae wrote: post #6

What morbid nonsense. I don't think there's a single language or framework that I haven't heard this about. None of our tools are perfect, but great software has been written with all of them anyway, and lots of people have enjoyed working with those tools along the way. If you don't like a tool, switch or build a better one. Don't write long borderline-nihilistic blog posts about how everything is terrible and we're…

Reading a critical blog post, even nihilistic ones (if they are) is not obligatory. Switch reading matter and stop telling others what not to write.

Re: “Node.js is one of the worst things to happen to the software industry” (2012)

#23

Post by emilsedgh »

konschubert wrote: post #17
sanxiyn wrote: post #3

The main argument is that "of all the ways of doing concurrency, callbacks are by far the worst". I tend to agree. Now we have async/await, I think there is no problem.

But it's funny, isn't it? Callbacks were advertised as the reason why one should use node. They're a foundation of JS. Then they got covered up by promises. And now, with async await, we're back full circle towards the style of a more linear programming language such as python.

Nobody loved node because of callbacks. Node was the only ecosystem where everything was written with concurrency in mind.

Re: “Node.js is one of the worst things to happen to the software industry” (2012)

#24

Post by cmroanirgo »

noufalibrahim wrote: post #13
aerovistae wrote: post #6

What morbid nonsense. I don't think there's a single language or framework that I haven't heard this about. None of our tools are perfect, but great software has been written with all of them anyway, and lots of people have enjoyed working with those tools along the way. If you don't like a tool, switch or build a better one. Don't write long borderline-nihilistic blog posts about how everything is terrible and we're…

That's generally true. However, when the creator of a popular language/framework disses it himself, it carries a different kind of weight that can't be easily dispelled by your argument.

It doesn't read that Ryan Dahl dissed it. He dissed every language and their role in adding to the complexity of the thing that is called IT these days. And he tried to make the focus about the user of the software: as it should be!

"The only thing that matters in software is the experience of the user."

I agree.

Re: “Node.js is one of the worst things to happen to the software industry” (2012)

#26

Post by vikramkrishnan »

I don't think node.js per se is the worst thing. However, the way it is used, particularly what I believe to be a misguided attempt to do "full stack development" is really terrible. And it is not the first time that we have made this mistake. The whole Java on the client side blew up in our faces. If bosses really understood that client side and server side are two different problems with different mindsets and specializations we would not be in the world of pain that we are

Re: “Node.js is one of the worst things to happen to the software industry” (2012)

#27

Post by dozzie »

emilsedgh wrote: post #23
konschubert wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it's funny, isn't it? Callbacks were advertised as the reason why one should use node. They're a foundation of JS. Then they got covered up by promises. And now, with async await, we're back full circle towards the style of a more linear programming language such as python.

Nobody loved node because of callbacks. Node was the only ecosystem where everything was written with concurrency in mind.

> Node was the only ecosystem where everything was written with concurrency in mind.

Yes, sure, if you ignore all the other programming languages, like Erlang, which is older even than first hacked versions of JavaScript.

Re: “Node.js is one of the worst things to happen to the software industry” (2012)

#29

Post by rektide »

vikramkrishnan wrote: post #26

I don't think node.js per se is the worst thing. However, the way it is used, particularly what I believe to be a misguided attempt to do "full stack development" is really terrible. And it is not the first time that we have made this mistake. The whole Java on the client side blew up in our faces. If bosses really understood that client side and server side are two different problems with different mindsets and spec…

"However, the way it is used, particularly what I believe to be a misguided attempt to do "full stack development" is really terrible."

I'm not sure what way you believe it is being used?

Re: “Node.js is one of the worst things to happen to the software industry” (2012)

#30

Post by hungerstrike »

konschubert wrote: post #17
sanxiyn wrote: post #3

The main argument is that "of all the ways of doing concurrency, callbacks are by far the worst". I tend to agree. Now we have async/await, I think there is no problem.

But it's funny, isn't it? Callbacks were advertised as the reason why one should use node. They're a foundation of JS. Then they got covered up by promises. And now, with async await, we're back full circle towards the style of a more linear programming language such as python.

> Callbacks were advertised as the reason why one should use node. They're a foundation of JS.

Where can I see that advertisement?

I'm pretty sure that the main selling point of Node.js is and always has been that you can easily share code with the browser.

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