Node.js, toy or power tool ?

Node.js is a relatively newcomer in server side platforms but has garnered the attention of both developers and businesses. We will explore if it lives up to the hype, the ecosystem, where is it a good fit and where it falls short.

Transcript

1. Node.js, toy or power tool?
   Jacksonville Code Camp, 2012
   Ovidiu Dimulescu
   @odimulescu
   speakerdeck.com/odimulescu
   

   View Slide

2. • What problem?
   • How’s Node.js helping?
   • Use cases
   • Industry support
   • Coding in Node.js
   • Ecosystem
   • Questions ?
   Agenda
   

   View Slide

3. About @odimulescu
   • Working on the Web since 1997
   •
   • Organizer for JaxMUG.com
   • Co-Organizer for Jax Big Data meetup
   

   View Slide

4. Node.js - What’s the problem?
   Fast CPUs Spinning wheels
   How do we saturate the CPU doing useful work?
   

   View Slide

5. Node.js - How’s it helping?
   • Uses event-driven, non-blocking IO
   • Enforces async throughout*
   

   View Slide

6. Multi-Threaded Servers
   *Credit: blog.cloudfoundry.com
   

   View Slide

7. Node.js - Single Thread, Event-ed
   *Credit: blog.cloudfoundry.com
   

   View Slide

8. Node.js - Concurrency
   Node.js Event Loop
   Rq1
   Rq2
   Rq1
   Rq2
   Green - Request Executing
   Red - IO wait
   

   View Slide

9. Node.js - Concurrency
   Higher Concurrency
   Same Latency
   Thread
   Node.js
   

   View Slide

10. Node.js - Been there, done that
    Event Machines
    • - Twisted
    • - EventMachine
    • - Mina, Netty, Atmosphere, vertx.io
    • - POE
    Others
    • Erlang
    • Scala / Akka
    

    View Slide

11. Node.js - But ...
    They mix async with sync and the mentality is
    towards sync in libraries, drivers etc.
    

    View Slide

12. • Proxy between different data layers
    • Soft real-time apps
    • Crawlers
    • CLI tools
    • Quick prototyping
    • Lower HW and Operational cost*
    Node.js - Use Cases
    

    View Slide

13. • Culture mismatch
    • Uses Javascript
    • Requests are CPU intensive
    • Apps relies on specific libraries / functionality
    • Transactional systems
    Node.js - Not best fit
    

    View Slide

14. Node.js - Industry Support
    

    View Slide

15. Node.js - Industry Usage
    

    View Slide

16. 1. Go to nodejs.org
    2. Download and run installer
    Node.js - Installation
    

    View Slide

17. 1. Go to nodejs.org
    2. Download and run installer
    What’s included?
    node - binary
    npm - cli package manager
    built-in support for http, net, dns
    Node.js - Installation
    

    View Slide

18. 1. Regular Installation
    2. Make it a service
    Windows - NSSM, srvany, etc.
    Unix - Distro dependent
    3. Front-end WS Integration
    IIS 7+ Integration - iisnode
    Apache - mod_proxy or mod_rewrite
    Nginx - rewrite or proxy
    HAProxy, stunnel
    Node.js - Server Installation
    

    View Slide

19. Lowest privileges
    Unix: drop to non-root via setuid / setguid
    Front with a secure Proxy
    Enable safeguards
    “use strict”
    Node.js - Considerations
    

    View Slide

20. CLI Version - helloworld.js
    console.log(“Hello world”);
    $ node helloworld.js
    Hello World
    Web Version
    Node.js - Hello World
    

    View Slide

21. Web - Router Version
    Node.js - Hello World
    

    View Slide

22. Node.js - I will call you back
    

    View Slide

23. Node.js - When, then
    

    View Slide

24. Serial independent
    Runs a series of functions one after the previous function completed
    Serial dependent
    Runs a series of functions passing previous results into next function
    Parallel fashion
    Runs a series of function in parallel
    Queue
    Runs a series of function in parallel up to desired concurrency
    Library Choices
    Async, Groupie, Step, Q, etc.
    Node.js - Flow libraries
    

    View Slide

25. Module - mymodule.js
    Node.js - Modules
    Client mymodule_client.js
    

    View Slide

26. Node.js - Modules
    require(‘mylib’) - Lookup order
    1. package.json -> ./lib/mylib.js
    2. index.js
    3. index.node
    package.json
    

    View Slide

27. • console
    • log4js
    • Winston
    • GELF - Graylog Extended Log Format
    • Windows Event Log
    ...
    Node.js - Logging
    

    View Slide

28. $ npm install node-inspector
    $ node --debug-brk myapp.js
    $ node --debug myapp.js
    debugger listening on port 5858
    $ node-inspector
    visit http://0.0.0.0:8080/debug?port=5858 to start debugging
    Debuggers
    WebKit based: Chrome
    Eclipse V8 Debugger Plugin, JetBrains WebStorm
    Other Tools
    v8-profiler, node-profiler
    nodetime.com
    Node.js - Debugging
    

    View Slide

29. Node.js - Inspector
    

    View Slide

30. Node.js - Debugging
    

    View Slide

31. Database Drivers
    MS SQL, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQLite,
    Redis, CouchDB, Hive, Riak, Cassandra
    ORMs
    sequelize, persist, LazyBoy, Model, jugglingdb, node-orm
    Transactions, Connection Pooling
    node-mysql-queues
    Node.js - DB / ORM
    

    View Slide

32. • Derby
    • Express
    • Flatiron
    • Meteor
    • Mojito
    • Tower
    ...
    Browserify - Node to Browser conversion
    Node.js - Web frameworks
    

    View Slide

33. • assert - built in
    • API Easy
    • Cucumber
    • httpmock, nock, mockery
    • NodeUnit
    • Soda
    ...
    Node.js - Testing frameworks
    

    View Slide

34. Node.js - Scaling out
    

    View Slide

35. Node.js - Scaling out
    *Credit: blog.evantahler.com
    

    View Slide

36. • Reuse existing JavaScript skill and code
    • Low resource usage
    • Performant VM (Google’s V8)
    • Active Community, Lots of resources
    • Package Manager
    • Enforces Async across
    • Quick Prototyping
    • Growing Industry support
    Node.js - Wrapping up
    

    View Slide

37. Questions ?
    Ovidiu Dimulescu
    @odimulescu
    speakerdeck.com/odimulescu
    

    View Slide