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If you've spent any appreciable amount of time on Hacker News, you'd know that there has been pretty big hype behind Node.js. If you don't see it, you're not p

If you've spent any appreciable amount of time on Hacker News, you'd know that there has been pretty big hype behind Node.js. If you don't see it, you're not paying attention. Anecdotally, I work with a lot of fairly inexperienced developers with my clients, and I honestly can't tell you how many times they've suggested we "rewrite (x) in Node.js because it's faster" or "let's switch this to Redis" with no real reason behind it. When one digs down, we eventually arrive at "I read a blog post that said it was real fast and stuff." I like Node a lot. I think it solves some hard problems, but just like NoSQL, TDD, and a bevy of other things, they're not silver bullets even if they're painted like one.

huggyface 15y ago
If you've spent any appreciable amount of time on Hacker News, you'd know that there has been pretty big hype behind Node.js A considerable percentage of HN's visitors deal in exactly the realm that node.js serves: that gooey layer between browser and back-end systems. This is like complaining that coffee enthusiasts are interested in burr grinders when it's entirely unsuitable for chipping tree branches. There is no surprise that many HNers find node.js interesting and exciting.
- jeremymcanally 15y ago
  Sure, like I said, it solves some really hard problems and makes some architectures easier to execute on. But frankly, about 20-30% (probably made up percentage alert :)) of the stuff I people using Node.js for on HN is really just tech wankery. There's no real reason to be using Node.js for it, even though they will tell you that it's the only thing that worked for that possible problem! Likewise, another 10-20% is people converting working code from a perfectly suitable technology to Node.js because it's the new cool thing. It's not that either of these cases is "wrong." They know their problems better than I do. But I've been doing web development for about 10 years, I've seen this cycle a few times, and I know that every new tech has ridiculous adherents that do that stuff (e.g., Rails went through the same cycle except for "productivity reasons"). Everything looks like an old and busted nail when you have a new and shiny hammer I guess.
grannyg00se 15y ago
"When one digs down, we eventually arrive at "I read a blog post that said it was real fast and stuff."" That doesn't show that there was too much hype. That just shows there is enough popularity for an inexperienced developer to find it on their radar. If it was overly hyped, you'd find a lot of experienced developers blogging about how they were horribly mislead and that node doesn't do what it advertises.
- 0x0 15y ago
  And then you get blogposts like this: http://teddziuba.com/2011/10/node-js-is-cancer.html http://teddziuba.com/2011/10/node-js-is-cancer.html
  - grannyg00se 15y ago
    Which amounts to "I don't like javascript, I don't like things that don't work the way I like to work, and I love strawmen."
InclinedPlane 15y ago
A lot of buzz about Node shouldn't be confused with a lot of "hype". If people are talking about something a lot and using it for very specific projects that's very different from people evangelizing it as a silver bullet solution for everything.
- sausagefeet 15y ago
  A lot of buzz can qualify has "hype" in my opinion. Node has gotten a lot of attention over the past year, just like Erlang got a few years before and Haskell in there too. The only difference people actually started using Node.
moe 15y ago
or "let's switch this to Redis" Don't throw node and redis in the same bucket please.
- democracy 15y ago
  And why not? Both are trying to solve a problem 99% of developers do not have.
rehack 15y ago
I endorse your view. Its puzzling to see how in a very silly manner, so many people just want to be "fashionable" when it comes to use of tech. The FB engineer in his interview (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3527419 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3527419) says it just about right that "Technology is a great servant but a terrible master"!

huggyface 15y ago

If you've spent any appreciable amount of time on Hacker News, you'd know that there has been pretty big hype behind Node.js A considerable percentage of HN's visitors deal in exactly the realm that node.js serves: that gooey layer between browser and back-end systems. This is like complaining that coffee enthusiasts are interested in burr grinders when it's entirely unsuitable for chipping tree branches. There is no surprise that many HNers find node.js interesting and exciting.

jeremymcanally 15y ago
Sure, like I said, it solves some really hard problems and makes some architectures easier to execute on. But frankly, about 20-30% (probably made up percentage alert :)) of the stuff I people using Node.js for on HN is really just tech wankery. There's no real reason to be using Node.js for it, even though they will tell you that it's the only thing that worked for that possible problem! Likewise, another 10-20% is people converting working code from a perfectly suitable technology to Node.js because it's the new cool thing. It's not that either of these cases is "wrong." They know their problems better than I do. But I've been doing web development for about 10 years, I've seen this cycle a few times, and I know that every new tech has ridiculous adherents that do that stuff (e.g., Rails went through the same cycle except for "productivity reasons"). Everything looks like an old and busted nail when you have a new and shiny hammer I guess.

grannyg00se 15y ago

"When one digs down, we eventually arrive at "I read a blog post that said it was real fast and stuff."" That doesn't show that there was too much hype. That just shows there is enough popularity for an inexperienced developer to find it on their radar. If it was overly hyped, you'd find a lot of experienced developers blogging about how they were horribly mislead and that node doesn't do what it advertises.

0x0 15y ago
And then you get blogposts like this: http://teddziuba.com/2011/10/node-js-is-cancer.html http://teddziuba.com/2011/10/node-js-is-cancer.html
- grannyg00se 15y ago
  Which amounts to "I don't like javascript, I don't like things that don't work the way I like to work, and I love strawmen."

InclinedPlane 15y ago

A lot of buzz about Node shouldn't be confused with a lot of "hype". If people are talking about something a lot and using it for very specific projects that's very different from people evangelizing it as a silver bullet solution for everything.

sausagefeet 15y ago
A lot of buzz can qualify has "hype" in my opinion. Node has gotten a lot of attention over the past year, just like Erlang got a few years before and Haskell in there too. The only difference people actually started using Node.

moe 15y ago

or "let's switch this to Redis" Don't throw node and redis in the same bucket please.

democracy 15y ago
And why not? Both are trying to solve a problem 99% of developers do not have.

rehack 15y ago

I endorse your view. Its puzzling to see how in a very silly manner, so many people just want to be "fashionable" when it comes to use of tech. The FB engineer in his interview (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3527419 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3527419) says it just about right that "Technology is a great servant but a terrible master"!