I've got my doubts about Node.js, since it seems like rather a one-trick pony. But it is a good trick. Node.js deserves credit for calling attention to an unde

I've got my doubts about Node.js, since it seems like rather a one-trick pony. But it is a good trick. Node.js deserves credit for calling attention to an underappreciated design pattern that has a lot to offer in certain circumstances. (Personally I think the .NET team hit the nail more squarely on the head with TPL, a pony that can do that trick as well as many others. But .NET doesn't have the sex appeal it takes to be a spokesmodel so meh.) Javascript isn't my favorite language, or the most performant one. But as a "Lisp with C syntax", on a semantic level it's much better suited to the higher-order programming techniques that the pattern requires than most other popular Web languages are. Ruby also has the right features, but it isn't exactly the poster child for high-performance computing either. Might as well flip a coin, because either way opinionated folks with blood pressure conditions will call you an idiot.