I have added Node.js to my Adventures

I have been exploring Node.js. Node.js is intrinsically event driven. I love that it is event driven only. There is no blocking; neither I/O blocking nor even sleep() blocking. The only way to simulate blocking is to use while (true) {}. There is also non-blocking MySQL and PostgreSQL clients.

I have had a series of Jihads concerning Computer languages over the decade. "Threads are Evil" is one such jihad. Of course that is hyperbole. Threads have a good and honorable place it the world o' computing. My beef is that they are used to compensate for blocking I/O and the usual programmer inertia about new things. Additionally, threads have several well known deficiencies. Another is the need for unsigned integers in Java.

Node.js is exceptionally fast compared to other languages. It is based on the Google V8 JavaScript interpreter.

I've liked JavaScript since I had to create a dynamic metrics graph display tool. Now I've found a series of talks by Douglas Crockford that delve into the goodness in JavaScript. The Crockford series were very illuminating for any computer programmer generally, regardless of the Javascript focus. I then realized that Douglas Crockford was the author of an Oreilly book I had purchased recently: Javascript: The good parts.