[mnutt]

I want to scale my app on modern, multi-core computers. I know, I'll write everything so that it all runs in a single thread!

This is the same fallacy that gets repeated every time node is mentioned. If you're scaling up past a single machine you have to figure out how to share state between multiple machines anyway, so you may as well run a process per core. Then you have a single way to share state, rather than one way between cores and another between machines.

So unless you're writing a desktop app that needs to scale up but only to all of the cores of a single machine, you're sometimes better off simplifying the state-sharing logic.

[sneak]

You can get that all basically for free using something like ZeroMQ, without all the cancer, and with bindings for a Real Language.

[mnutt]

Uh, that just proves my point that you don't need a multithreaded app to do so.

And your 'cancer' language is unhelpful. What are you afraid of? That somebody somewhere is using a bad language when a better one is available? That the NodeConf organizers reserved all of the good hotel rooms?

Why are you so angry at a programming community?

[dextorious]

Here's what I'm afraid of: that the general cs understanding and quality of the programming community is sinking down the drain.

It's not like "somebody somewhere is using a bad language when a better one is available" is not hurting CS in general.

[mnutt]

I don't think that node.js is doing either of those things. How does one quantify "sinking down the drain"? It's not zero-sum. How is Cloudkick writing services in javascript any worse or better than Cloudkick writing those services in python or java?

I think the real danger is people thinking they've learned everything there is to learn and closing their minds. Which includes telling people that "node.js is cancer". Node is letting people do all kinds of interesting things, and it isn't killing off anybody's favorite language.

[dextorious]

"""How does one quantify "sinking down the drain"? """

I'm thinking along these lines: http://www.dbdebunk.com/content2006.html