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Comment by wldlyinaccurate | Hacker News Reader

I'm curious, why do people treat Node.js and JavaScript as separate? I understand that the DOM API and Node's core libraries are different, but any good programmer can pick up new libraries and frameworks in a matter of weeks.

I just find it strange that as a JavaScript developer, many recruiters (and even some companies) won't even consider me for a Node position unless I explicitly state that I have Node experience.

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I've been a frontend/gui developer my entire career, just because I know javascript does not mean I would be a good fit for a Node.js position.

There's still plenty of learning involved (having trained non-Node JS developers), especially learning "the Node way". I guess those companies are the types that needs someone last week, they're probably doing you a favor by not considering you.

There's also JavaScript developers who are only interested in front-end development, and for them it's a good way to let them know what to expect.

In reality it's not different from asking for Swing developers vs. general Java skills.

OK, I'll bite: been doing frontend development with plenty of node.js for the tooling side for a year.

What is "the Node way"?

Callback hell. ;)

I love node, btw!

Use Promises!

The Node Way is best described as: Forget Design Architecture is old Testing is forgotten JS is the only code Node today is shiny So here we stay Pretending to be developers Blagging all the pay

I can't help but see the JS-for-everything trend as the triumph of mediocrity. It feels a bit like using BASIC in the old days, only much cockier.

Someone sounds bitter... FYI testing is considered a must in Node's culture.

Directory structures, module systems, package managers, build tools, communities, learning resources, etc. Also, the DOMs API and Node's could not be any more different. Their concerns have literally nothing to do with one another. Plus, you really can't pick up a framework in a few weeks. There's a reason why people pay more for someone working in Rails for 5 years, than someone whose been using it for 2.

I don't get how any of those are the "Node way", any more than they are the "Rails way" or the "Python way", or even the "PHP way" these days.

I can only really think of two patterns I see in node.js that I don't see everywhere else: eventemitter and chaining middleware together with next() calls. Hardly something it takes 5 years to learn. ;)

> I don't get how any of those are the "Node way", any more than they are the "Rails way" or the "Python way", or even the "PHP way" these days.

Well, they're specific to Node and therefore have to be learned, to some extent.

There's also a million other things, some little some big. Little -> knowing that the first argument of a callback is an error. Big -> Understanding Streams. Medium -> the use of small modules, knowing when to break up a file into smaller modules, knowing when to break up a project into many modules, etc.

'directory/index.js' is another of those. Also, module.exports. Bigger would be like knowing that express has one hoof at the glue factory because koa is bringing mad generators.

Also, there's just some stuff you know when you're working with Node all day. Same thing with every profession and specialities. If you work in Rails all day, your'e going to know a hell of a lot more about it than me. I can't just pick up what you know in a weekend.

It doesn't matter where you see them, that's like saying that french and english are the same because they share some words. It's patterns that are particular to a certain community of developers, but of course, can come up in other languages.

This is an example of a node-ism,

if (err) { return err } console.log("KEEP GOING")

Notice how we break from an error right away. As a Node developer, you may not use the pattern, but you're definitely aware of it. Someone with just JS, and let's be honest, jQuery, is not used to returning quickly if there is an error. Decorating and animating a UI is far more forgiving.

I's not about how long it takes to learn a certain module. It's about mitigating risk in building large web apps.

Probably because most people who know JS only as a front-end developer have never had to work on the back-end. If a developer knew JS and something like python, java or ruby then sure... that's a good candidate.

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