Ask HN: Is Node.js hyped fluff? - pearjuice
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workhere-io
Node's big advantage (some would say disadvantage) is that it uses JavaScript
(or languages that compile to JavaScript). There's a good ecosystem around it.
However, let's face it, the whole asynchronous thing is a pain - even if you
use the async library or promises or whatever. Node enthusiasts would say that
the asynchronous thing is necessary for great performance, but the reality of
it is that there are plenty of languages that outperform Node without using
asynchronous calls: Java, C++, Go, even raw PHP without a framework in some
cases (see
[http://www.techempower.com/benchmarks/#section=data-r8&hw=i7...](http://www.techempower.com/benchmarks/#section=data-r8&hw=i7&test=fortune)).
Another reality is that most sites don't even need such high-performing
languages. Instagram with its 200 million users uses Python, and Facebook used
"normal" (uncompiled) PHP up until the point when they had 500 million users.

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programminggeek
In many ways yes. There are very real downsides to the node.js programming
model and it's not necessarily faster than other tools and frameworks. Even
boring old Java Servlets outperform node equivalents in many areas.

Where node excels is if you want to write your server in JS and you don't mind
the evented nature of it.

If you don't love JS and evented code, avoid it.

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cjbprime
No. (If you want a more nuanced answer, ask a more nuanced question..)

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ejain
Hyped, yes. Fluff, no.

