[tgriesser]

If you've not done a lot of javascript, then your first priority before considering doing a framework like node.js should be to learn javascript, correctly.

Read "Javascript: The Good Parts" and then continue on to any of the recommended books/readings from there (Javascript Patterns, High Performance Javascript).

jQuery is great for DOM manipulation and XHR, but it hides a lot of the implementation details from the developer, and it'll be frustrating if you try to do anything advanced in javascript without fully appreciating the language.

So, you should be able to explain and fully comprehend:

  - Variable Scope
  - Object.prototype
  - .call, .apply, and .bind
  - Closures/Lexical Scope
  - Anonymous functions
  - Function Hoisting

Once you get down most of that, then you can consider using javascript as a primary language. Otherwise you'll be very frustrated. I'd personally recommend getting comfortable with something like jQuery + backbone.js with your current stack before diving into 100% javascript.

Also, don't worry much about scale, worry more about building something and then identifying the bottlenecks later to scale.

[robomartin]

I probably have dozens of languages under my belt (not keeping count) so learning a new language isn't a problem. As they say: "'been there, 'done that".

In other words, I am not the kind that will stay away from a product just because the language is new to me or I don't have a ton of experience using it. In the end, if you've been around programming for a while there really aren't very many new concepts that one couldn't pick-up quickly enough.

The first time I had to implement a genetic solver in Objective-C I was new to the language. Sure, it took a little longer to optimize it, but I knew what I had to do and it was just a matter of fitting it to the language. No big deal. At least that's how I think, valid or not.

Good books are the key. I've had "Javascript: The Good Parts" on my list for a while. Pulling the trigger today. I did go through the Sitepoint books about a year ago.

In thinking about it it seems like the most sensible bit of advice is to let Meteor mature before jumping in. I think I am going to stick with the existing game-plan until then. There will be plenty of front-end Javascript/JQuery/Backbone to write. This should pave the way to considering Meteor later on.

[edwardtrunk]

2nd that!!! Create a small 100% javascript client side application and don't use any libraries or frameworks, and implement using MVC approach. Going thru an exercise like this will really help out when working with the frameworks and give you a nice background with Javascript. One of the things that can be a bit confusing for folks new to Javascript is how OO and Inheritance is done. I would recommend this book: Pro Javascript Design Patterns and http://howtonode.org/object-graphs this 3 part tutorial