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You don't see how having to know only one language, is easier/faster than having to know two languages? A lot of people are doing both front and backend work. O

You don't see how having to know only one language, is easier/faster than having to know two languages? A lot of people are doing both front and backend work. Often times it's a single person running the show. I'll tell you right now I use node for ALL my web projects, because I only have to focus on a single language. When I wear every hat managing the domain, server, databases, mail, user questions, and everything else involved in running a modern web app, one less thing to learn sounds great.

bronson 8y ago
Half my Rails apps end up with JS code executed server-side by TheRubyRacer. It's odd, but significantly better than having to keep duplicate logic in sync, some written in Ruby and some in JS.
eckza 8y ago
When the only thing you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. You’d be surprised at how well screwdrivers work on those funny-looking nails with the threads and the slotted heads. Snark aside: learning a second language is not really that hard, and will make you a better user of the first language in ways that you couldn’t possibly have predicted.
- overcast 8y ago
  I know plenty of languages, it doesn't mean I want to use more than one for a single project. I don't know what the argument is here. It's not like we're discussing why some no name language is being used, Javascript is prolific to say the least. It's backed by two of the biggest companies on the planet. As much as some wish it would, it's not going anywhere.
  - eckza 8y ago
    The argument is, "just because some of the biggest companies on the planet have started equipping their carpenters with specialized screw-hammers, doesn't mean that they wouldn't be better off using the right tool for the right job". For my part, I don't want it to go anywhere. Javascript powers some of the most interesting and exciting things in the world of software right now - but that doesn't mean that it's the best solution for every problem.
BigJono 8y ago
I don't see it. Any old idiot can learn a programming language. The difficulty doesn't come from the language, it comes from the environment and tooling.
- inimino 8y ago
  Then the environment and tooling sucks. This is a large part of what Ryan Dahl tried to solve with Node, and I think he got a lot of it right, leading to immediate popularity of the project. Most of the "infrastructure" stuff around deployment and, obviously, the JS ecosystem with all of its build tools and dependency explosions is still a mess, but it's important to keep eyes on the goal of getting rid of incidental complexity. Early Node did that well, modern typical Node development is of course another matter. Once you get rid of as much accidental complexity in the environment as you can, having one less language to use is a huge win.
- overcast 8y ago
  So what's your alternative? I don't know of any environment easier than installing Node. I type 'n latest', and yarn add/install. Done. Ruby? Laughable. PHP has a zillion dependencies. Go with all of its system paths. Java VM, no thank you.
  - BigJono 8y ago
    You completely missed the point. My point isn't that node is better or worse than any of them, my point is that if you're starting from scratch with no back-end knowledge, then the benefit of already knowing the language you're going to use on the back-end is dwarfed so heavily by the other stuff you have to learn that it's inconsequential.

bronson 8y ago

Half my Rails apps end up with JS code executed server-side by TheRubyRacer. It's odd, but significantly better than having to keep duplicate logic in sync, some written in Ruby and some in JS.

eckza 8y ago

When the only thing you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. You’d be surprised at how well screwdrivers work on those funny-looking nails with the threads and the slotted heads. Snark aside: learning a second language is not really that hard, and will make you a better user of the first language in ways that you couldn’t possibly have predicted.

overcast 8y ago
I know plenty of languages, it doesn't mean I want to use more than one for a single project. I don't know what the argument is here. It's not like we're discussing why some no name language is being used, Javascript is prolific to say the least. It's backed by two of the biggest companies on the planet. As much as some wish it would, it's not going anywhere.
- eckza 8y ago
  The argument is, "just because some of the biggest companies on the planet have started equipping their carpenters with specialized screw-hammers, doesn't mean that they wouldn't be better off using the right tool for the right job". For my part, I don't want it to go anywhere. Javascript powers some of the most interesting and exciting things in the world of software right now - but that doesn't mean that it's the best solution for every problem.

BigJono 8y ago

I don't see it. Any old idiot can learn a programming language. The difficulty doesn't come from the language, it comes from the environment and tooling.

inimino 8y ago
Then the environment and tooling sucks. This is a large part of what Ryan Dahl tried to solve with Node, and I think he got a lot of it right, leading to immediate popularity of the project. Most of the "infrastructure" stuff around deployment and, obviously, the JS ecosystem with all of its build tools and dependency explosions is still a mess, but it's important to keep eyes on the goal of getting rid of incidental complexity. Early Node did that well, modern typical Node development is of course another matter. Once you get rid of as much accidental complexity in the environment as you can, having one less language to use is a huge win.
overcast 8y ago
So what's your alternative? I don't know of any environment easier than installing Node. I type 'n latest', and yarn add/install. Done. Ruby? Laughable. PHP has a zillion dependencies. Go with all of its system paths. Java VM, no thank you.
- BigJono 8y ago
  You completely missed the point. My point isn't that node is better or worse than any of them, my point is that if you're starting from scratch with no back-end knowledge, then the benefit of already knowing the language you're going to use on the back-end is dwarfed so heavily by the other stuff you have to learn that it's inconsequential.