Posted by Janko Mivšek on Dec 16, 2012; 12:01pm
URL: https://forum.world.st/Why-we-need-a-NodeJS-application-server-tp4659443.html

Hi guys,

It seems that JavaScript guys are slowly coming to conclusion that they
need something like Aida/Web :) Well, after more client-side features
will come to Aida too. Aida is namely not just a web framework but
complete application server. Here is the article:

http://panyasan.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/why-we-need-a-nodejs-application-server-or-writing-boilerplate-considered-harmful/

As you see Aida has most features from his proposal, except persistence
and cloud support.

Here are most interesting parts of his article:

...
There is, however, one big issue that holds me back from starting to
work on any of those ideas: the lack of the right end-to-end stack
including a decent application server for NodeJS, which will free me
from having to worry about boilerplate code for things like
authentication, user management, access control, etc.
...
I shouldn’t spend my time worrying about how to store passwords
securely, or how to synchronize data between the client and the server,
or how exactly model data is persisted in what database.
...
I think such a platform would not only save thousands (or more) of hours
of developers’ time. This time could then be invested instead in solving
the application-specific problems in thorough and creative ways.
...
There is a wealth of JavaScript frameworks on the client and on the
server side, but, as far as I can see, no such thing as an “application
server” known from the Java world yet exists.
...
I see a number of features and characteristics of such an application
server:

- It should not assume any particular rendering model on the client
  (DOM-templating vs. widget objects)
- It should also not force a different programming model on developers
  (like Opa or Meteor), but let you code in plain old asynchronous
  javascript...
- It should have an integrated API for client and server.
- It should provide a static HTTP server, REST routing, and
  bidirectional, realtime messaging and broadcasting (such as
  Socket.io).
- It should offer async startup/plugin/configuration system like
  Cloud9′s Architect.
- It should provide an out-of-the box system and API for user & group
  management, registration, access control, Password storage/retrieval
  /update etc, preferrably with a set of built-in templates that can be
  used for managing the most generic configuration tasks. With this, a
  pluggable system to use third-party authentication providers.
- It should also provide an integrated system of data modeling and
  persistence. I really do not care about database technology. I simply
  want to store, edit and retrieve my model data.
- It could also have a toolset that would allow you to deploy your
  application instantly to a cloud provider such as Heroku or Nodejitsu


--
Janko Mivšek
Aida/Web
Smalltalk Web Application Server
http://www.aidaweb.si
_______________________________________________
Aida mailing list
[hidden email]
http://lists.aidaweb.si/mailman/listinfo/aida