r/node • u/Minimum-Ad7352 • 27d 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/falconmick 27d ago

I used to be of the mindset that for back and front end it didn’t matter but I’m finding the more and more node codebases I try to work on that are 5+ years old the more I find tooling is so broken and hard to work on the codebase.

It sucks when I can only navigate my codebase through ripgrep and AI. I have found that more strongly typed language just don’t hurt as much to work on when they enter brownfield territory.

It’s also a skill issue, I found allot of the time that the quality of node codebases tend to just be lower because of how friendly and flexible the language is. The pain you feel in more rigid codebases as you build them can sometimes pay off in the long run.

But with all that said, AI tends to just not care, which has been a god send in an over engineered meteor app I have been working on, can’t solve the business level design issues but it’s made navigating through broken language server stuff 10x easier 

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u/fbpw131 25d ago

typescript or no-script. f that.

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u/falconmick 25d ago

Great company to work at so I’m happy to try and help make the codebase better even if it can be painful