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0 pointshvidgaard5y ago0 comments

I still cannot understand why anyone would use JavaScript for server-side components. Even Python would be a better choice at that point if you could get around its multithreading limitations (and if they can build their own node, they can). Java was a well proven tech at that point.

My immediate thought is that by choosing JS, they attracted young (and cheap) developer.

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5 comments · 2 top-level

robpalmer5y ago· 3 in thread

No one should interpret a deep-dive article like this to indicate a language monoculture - we also use many other languages on the server-side including Python and a lot of C++.

hvidgaardOP5y ago

That is very true. But I still have a hard time to see the justifications of using JS on the server.

thelazydogsback5y ago

I think TS on the server is a great choice for all the reasons that make TS interesting -- esp. the expressive structural typing system which is not found in the other languages. What is missing is a better runtime that supports true shared-memory (w/o serialization overhead between workers) multi-threading (for async thread pools or true parallel workloads) like other modern servers. This would be ideal for me at the moment.

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robpalmer5y ago

I'll offer one advantage we have nowadays, which is to permit writing and atomically deploying apps that have both client and server parts - there's no need to preserve compatibility or worry about coping with independent versions.

Our platform allows you to write this all inside one project - so the ability to use a single language across both sides helps app developers maintain mental flow and reduces context-switching. It's even better now that we have TypeScript to perform instant type-checking across the client-server boundary.

Gary Bernhardt shows off similar powers in his awesome video "End-to-End TypeScript: Database, Backend, API, and Frontend": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrnBXhsr0ng

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addicted5y ago

They adopted in 2005. It was almost certainly the opposite then.

This predated node, and was just about the time GMail came into the picture.

It’s almost certain finding actual developers (As opposed to web designers with a sprinkling of JS knowledge) with JS experience was extremely difficult then, so it’s not likely to be a reason at all.

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