2. Node Is JavaScript
Uses V8
- Fast dynamic JIT (beats Python, Ruby)
JavaScript is not the DOM:
- First class functions
- Lambdas
- Closures
- Dynamic
- Multi-paradigm OO (shallow hierarchies)
3. Node is Async
“When something happens, let me know”
- Callbacks
- Events
- Streams
doSomeIO(function(err, result) {
console.log(“IO complete: %s”, result)
})
foo.on(‘roboDance’, function(ev) {
console.log(“robot is dancing”)
})
4. Node is Async Everywhere
Async is not new
“Async Everywhere” is new
Entire stdlib is async
Entire module ecosystem is async
Compare to Twisted, EventMachine, etc
5. Node is Async Everywhere
Good for I/O with low overhead
Good for network software
Good for hardware (NodeBots)
Can be hard to read and handle errors
(opinion)
Terrible for CPU (e.g. SSL a weakness)
6. Node is Systems Glue
LibUV is the core of node
Cross-platform Async C library
Node is JavaScript bindings for libuv:
Timers, Filesystem, Network, Processes, etc
JavaScript easier to write than C!
7. Node is Modules
Node Package Manager (NPM)
Local By Default (unlike Python virtual env)
Very easy to use & publish modules
Great ecosystem of modules
IMHO - Single best thing about Node
8. Node is Modules
Interesting uses of NPM modules:
LevelDB
Plug new features into your database!
level-replicate, map-reduce, jsonquery-
engine …
VoxelJS
Plug new features into your virtual world!
9. Node is New
Lot’s of interesting ideas, experimentation
Some great, some not so great
Hard to handle errors (hint: use domains!)
Hard to debug, monitor (no JMX)
Things improving, but keep this in mind...
10. Node is New
Questions about scale / performance?
Others have been there:
- Voxer talks (debugging, dtrace)
- Mozilla blog posts
- Walmart Labs
- LinkedIn
- Many more
11. Node is Fun!
Easy to write, use & share code
JavaScript fun once you learn it
Lots of interesting ideas
Makes front-end browser code fun too
12. Thanks & Shameless Plug
My company FrozenRidge.co helps with
JS/Node, MongoDB, DevOps and Continuous
Deployment.
We make StriderCD.com - Open Source
Continuous Deployment Platform in Node.js
niallo@frozenridge.co
@niallohiggins on Twitter
