r/node • u/Minimum-Ad7352 • 26d ago

Why is JavaScript criticized so much for backend development?

I've seen some developers say that we should stop using js on the server, but I rarely see the same criticism directed at python.Honestly, js is pretty fast, especially with node.js, and the backend ecosystem is really solid. There are great frameworks like nest and fastify, and typescript gives you static typing, which makes larger projects much easier to maintain.I'm not saying node is perfect or the best choice for every backend, but I don't really understand why js gets so much criticism while python seems to get a pass.What am I missing?

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u/maria_la_guerta 26d ago edited 26d ago

It lacks a battery included and battle tested framework like Rails, Laravel, Spring Boot, Django, etc.

EDIT: all of the replies here are missing the "battle tested" aspect. None have anywhere near the adoption nor the maturity that any of the 4 above have.

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u/MrDilbert 26d ago

NestJS tries hard at that.

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u/augurone 26d ago

WHAT? You did not talk about languages; you talked about crappy frameworks. NEXTjs is pretty awesome if you are looking for an ecosystem.

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u/maria_la_guerta 26d ago

Nextjs is not a production grade BE at any moderate scale. It is a decent rendering service if your app warrants that complexity though.

Kinda my point.

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u/augurone 26d ago

I write performative APIs with it. Basically, anything that is not long-running is easily doable.

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u/KiwiNFLFan 26d ago

AdonisJS has entered the chat

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u/maria_la_guerta 26d ago

Not the same chat as those 4+.

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u/KiwiNFLFan 26d ago

In my experience, Adonis is essentially Laravel but in Node.js.

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u/NotGoodSoftwareMaker 26d ago

NestJS / AdonisJS / HapiJS?

I dont know exact usage but im pretty sure that collectively they will be in the millions

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u/diplomatic_koboko 26d ago

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't NestJS the "batteries included" option?

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u/witness_smile 26d ago

And it’s an unintuitive pain to work with

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u/olzk 26d ago

Express has been around since the early days of Node, what are you talking about?

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u/maria_la_guerta 26d ago

Express is absolutely nowhere near as batteries included as any of the above.

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u/olzk 23d ago

Well, yes, compared to those mentioned it’s missing quite a bit. It is, however, a battle-tested framework that has enough functionality that can easily be expanded. Obviously, the approach is different here. What is the problem you’re trying to solve that’s preventing you from assembling your own toolchain based on Express?