8 ms·

Ask HN: Is their any large scale, real life Node.js app?

36 points by techvibe 15y ago

EwanToo 15y ago
Plurk's comet functionality is the main one people point to http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1088699 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1088699 Joyent also maintain a list on Github of companies using it https://github.com/joyent/node/wiki/Projects,-Applications,-and-Companies-Using-Node https://github.com/joyent/node/wiki/Projects,-Applications,-...
- pewpew 15y ago
  plurk switched back to java http://amix.dk/blog/post/19577 http://amix.dk/blog/post/19577
  - Khao 15y ago
    Plurk used Node for 8 months in production environment and they seemed overall pleased with the project. They also did their project on Node 0.1.33 and we are now at v. 0.4.8 so I'm sure while this post serves as a fair warning that it might not be perfect for any project, Node is still very good.
    - nathanhammond 15y ago
      At Typewire we too started on Node and moved to Java (using Netty for NIO). I really truly love JS and wanted it to work, but the throughput on Node for open connections just wasn't where we needed it to be. The best use case I can come up with is using node, socket.io, and knockout to quickly build a shared-state application (so long as there is a way to reconcile communication latency, which is why a declarative library like knockout is a good thing). I'm trying to come up with a good problem to solve with that tech stack for this year's Node Knockout. In short, I agree, Node lends itself nicely to a particular subset of problems, but a lot of the places where it is presumed to shine (speed/real-time/code reuse) others are moving in to follow its lead.
robinwarren 15y ago
I don't know if it's deployed yet but Jason Roberts of techzing (Great Podcast btw, here: http://techzinglive.com/ http://techzinglive.com/ ) has been talking about a node.js rewrite of the backend for car hire service Uber (http://www.uber.com/ http://www.uber.com/) Would that that count?
- rkalla 15y ago
  (ASIDE) Really appreciate the heads up on techzing -- been looking for a podcast to add to Java Posse and Mixergy for over a year and never been happy with Podcast discovery in iTunes. Just added TechZ and can't stop hitting "GET" reading through all the past episodes.
  - robinwarren 15y ago
    no problem, they're great and deserve the publicity. I'm a possee fan too. A couple other podcasts I rate highly are: drunk and retired (sadly too infrequent nowadays http://drunkandretired.com/thepodcast/ http://drunkandretired.com/thepodcast/) Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders (originally heard of this via Joe from the posse I think http://ecorner.stanford.edu/podcasts.html http://ecorner.stanford.edu/podcasts.html)
nphase 15y ago
Node is in production at SimpleGeo, IIRC.
pokoleo 15y ago
I heard somewhere that Facebook uses Node for recording stats. (Can't dig up the story though :S)
- peterhunt 15y ago
  lies
- DrJ 15y ago
  http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2011/05/nodejs-at-facebook.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2011/05/nodejs-at-facebook... I remember there was HN item about this when it came out, but tl;dr of the article that I got was, some people want to use Node.js but performance + stability is what FaceBook wants, and something that isn't prevalent in Node (yet?) I wait for the day when NodeJS breaks backward compatability
  - crcastle 15y ago
    node.js breaks backward compatibility every time it increments the x in its 0.x.y version number.
- crcastle 15y ago
  gilt.com uses (or used) node.js for real-time web analytics. Hummingbird was the first project that got me really excited about node.js. http://projects.nuttnet.net/hummingbird/ http://projects.nuttnet.net/hummingbird/
iancanderson 15y ago
Ask HN: What are the correct usages of their, there, and they're?
- rkalla 15y ago
  (OT, but trying to be helpful for non-native speakers) their - possessive/ownership. "Their dog bit me!" "Their car is a mess!" there - place/position. "Put the toys over there." they're - contraction of "they are". "They are my best friends!" == "They're my best friends!"
rcavezza 15y ago
proxlet.com - it handles millions of twitter requests each day.
thirtysixred 15y ago
Etsy is using node.js for aggregating stats: https://github.com/etsy/statsd https://github.com/etsy/statsd
streeter 15y ago
Learnboost (http://learnboost.com/ http://learnboost.com/) is using Node.js and is an active contributor to node projects on Github (https://github.com/learnboost https://github.com/learnboost).
smoove 15y ago
http://transloadit.com/ http://transloadit.com/ uses node.js
ignifero 15y ago
I have another question: Is there something that we can only do with Node.js?
- DrJ 15y ago
  is there anything only one language can do? I believe both answers is a no. I think we should be asking 'is there something that is best done with node'
  - dumbphone 15y ago
    So what's done best with Node?
    - DrJ 15y ago
      Asynchronous Event Based Web Servers? :X
      - dumbphone 15y ago
        Sure, alright, but that's supposed to mean faster servers and a smaller footprint, and since one or two people here mentioned that Node doesn't really live up to that, my question is: What does Node offer me in terms of speed and footprint that, say, nginx doesn't?
      - ignifero 15y ago
        ... which are used to build web pages sent through a synchronous, request-response protocol that is HTTP. I understand asynchronous events are used in GUI design, where you have actual asynchronous sources (e.g. mouse), but what are the benefits for a web page?
- Raphael 15y ago
  It would be foolhardy to answer your question, as someone would inevitably respond with another language that can do it. I will say that NodeJS has inspired me to get off my ass and code a basic CRUD site, which could get me started and lead to more interesting features. Sure, could have used Python or anything else, but this is how it's going for now. I choose to drink this particular Kool-Aid for now.
dannyr 15y ago
Storify.com
serichsen 15y ago
"Their"? Whose?
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
techvibe 15y ago
Sorry for the spelling mistake. I meant there and not their. This can happen, when English is your third language (grown up in Afghanistan, living in Germany) and you don't use English every day. Why it is not possible to edit this post/question? Thanks also for your replies.
tlb 15y ago
Anybots uses it to control all its robots.
grep 15y ago
http://bouncely.com http://bouncely.com uses Node.js for processing Amazon SES bounce emails.
dumbphone 15y ago
Anyone know which framework the sites mentioned by the commenters use? Geddy? Express?
- techwraith 15y ago
  Express has a much bigger following and is still being maintained. Storify and Learnboost both use it.
matan_a 15y ago
I know that Voxer (http://www.voxer.com http://www.voxer.com) uses it and are happy with it: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/01/the_rise_and_rise_of_node_dot_js/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/01/the_rise_and_rise_of...
frr149 15y ago
Since we're at it, is there any good book on node.js?
- focusaurus 15y ago
  This links to an in-progress book and many online tutorials. http://www.readwriteweb.com/hack/2011/04/6-free-e-books-on-nodejs.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/hack/2011/04/6-free-e-books-on-n...
pkulak 15y ago
Showyou has to pull in about half a million videos a day from various social networks and that's done with Node. It makes a good web Crawler.
dterra 15y ago
www.streamerapp.com is a large scale, real life node.js app now on Private beta.

36 points by techvibe 15y ago

Plurk's comet functionality is the main one people point to http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1088699 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1088699 Joyent also maintain a list on Github of companies using it https://github.com/joyent/node/wiki/Projects,-Applications,-and-Companies-Using-Node https://github.com/joyent/node/wiki/Projects,-Applications,-...

pewpew 15y ago
plurk switched back to java http://amix.dk/blog/post/19577 http://amix.dk/blog/post/19577
- Khao 15y ago
  Plurk used Node for 8 months in production environment and they seemed overall pleased with the project. They also did their project on Node 0.1.33 and we are now at v. 0.4.8 so I'm sure while this post serves as a fair warning that it might not be perfect for any project, Node is still very good.
  - nathanhammond 15y ago
    At Typewire we too started on Node and moved to Java (using Netty for NIO). I really truly love JS and wanted it to work, but the throughput on Node for open connections just wasn't where we needed it to be. The best use case I can come up with is using node, socket.io, and knockout to quickly build a shared-state application (so long as there is a way to reconcile communication latency, which is why a declarative library like knockout is a good thing). I'm trying to come up with a good problem to solve with that tech stack for this year's Node Knockout. In short, I agree, Node lends itself nicely to a particular subset of problems, but a lot of the places where it is presumed to shine (speed/real-time/code reuse) others are moving in to follow its lead.

robinwarren 15y ago

I don't know if it's deployed yet but Jason Roberts of techzing (Great Podcast btw, here: http://techzinglive.com/ http://techzinglive.com/ ) has been talking about a node.js rewrite of the backend for car hire service Uber (http://www.uber.com/ http://www.uber.com/) Would that that count?

rkalla 15y ago
(ASIDE) Really appreciate the heads up on techzing -- been looking for a podcast to add to Java Posse and Mixergy for over a year and never been happy with Podcast discovery in iTunes. Just added TechZ and can't stop hitting "GET" reading through all the past episodes.
- robinwarren 15y ago
  no problem, they're great and deserve the publicity. I'm a possee fan too. A couple other podcasts I rate highly are: drunk and retired (sadly too infrequent nowadays http://drunkandretired.com/thepodcast/ http://drunkandretired.com/thepodcast/) Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders (originally heard of this via Joe from the posse I think http://ecorner.stanford.edu/podcasts.html http://ecorner.stanford.edu/podcasts.html)

nphase 15y ago

Node is in production at SimpleGeo, IIRC.

pokoleo 15y ago

I heard somewhere that Facebook uses Node for recording stats. (Can't dig up the story though :S)

peterhunt 15y ago
lies
DrJ 15y ago
http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2011/05/nodejs-at-facebook.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2011/05/nodejs-at-facebook... I remember there was HN item about this when it came out, but tl;dr of the article that I got was, some people want to use Node.js but performance + stability is what FaceBook wants, and something that isn't prevalent in Node (yet?) I wait for the day when NodeJS breaks backward compatability
- crcastle 15y ago
  node.js breaks backward compatibility every time it increments the x in its 0.x.y version number.
crcastle 15y ago
gilt.com uses (or used) node.js for real-time web analytics. Hummingbird was the first project that got me really excited about node.js. http://projects.nuttnet.net/hummingbird/ http://projects.nuttnet.net/hummingbird/

iancanderson 15y ago

Ask HN: What are the correct usages of their, there, and they're?

rkalla 15y ago
(OT, but trying to be helpful for non-native speakers) their - possessive/ownership. "Their dog bit me!" "Their car is a mess!" there - place/position. "Put the toys over there." they're - contraction of "they are". "They are my best friends!" == "They're my best friends!"

rcavezza 15y ago

proxlet.com - it handles millions of twitter requests each day.

thirtysixred 15y ago

Etsy is using node.js for aggregating stats: https://github.com/etsy/statsd https://github.com/etsy/statsd

streeter 15y ago

Learnboost (http://learnboost.com/ http://learnboost.com/) is using Node.js and is an active contributor to node projects on Github (https://github.com/learnboost https://github.com/learnboost).

smoove 15y ago

http://transloadit.com/ http://transloadit.com/ uses node.js

ignifero 15y ago

I have another question: Is there something that we can only do with Node.js?

DrJ 15y ago
is there anything only one language can do? I believe both answers is a no. I think we should be asking 'is there something that is best done with node'
- dumbphone 15y ago
  So what's done best with Node?
  - DrJ 15y ago
    Asynchronous Event Based Web Servers? :X
    - dumbphone 15y ago
      Sure, alright, but that's supposed to mean faster servers and a smaller footprint, and since one or two people here mentioned that Node doesn't really live up to that, my question is: What does Node offer me in terms of speed and footprint that, say, nginx doesn't?
    - ignifero 15y ago
      ... which are used to build web pages sent through a synchronous, request-response protocol that is HTTP. I understand asynchronous events are used in GUI design, where you have actual asynchronous sources (e.g. mouse), but what are the benefits for a web page?
Raphael 15y ago
It would be foolhardy to answer your question, as someone would inevitably respond with another language that can do it. I will say that NodeJS has inspired me to get off my ass and code a basic CRUD site, which could get me started and lead to more interesting features. Sure, could have used Python or anything else, but this is how it's going for now. I choose to drink this particular Kool-Aid for now.

dannyr 15y ago

Storify.com

serichsen 15y ago

"Their"? Whose?

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

techvibe 15y ago

Sorry for the spelling mistake. I meant there and not their. This can happen, when English is your third language (grown up in Afghanistan, living in Germany) and you don't use English every day. Why it is not possible to edit this post/question? Thanks also for your replies.

tlb 15y ago

Anybots uses it to control all its robots.

grep 15y ago

http://bouncely.com http://bouncely.com uses Node.js for processing Amazon SES bounce emails.

dumbphone 15y ago

Anyone know which framework the sites mentioned by the commenters use? Geddy? Express?

techwraith 15y ago
Express has a much bigger following and is still being maintained. Storify and Learnboost both use it.

matan_a 15y ago

I know that Voxer (http://www.voxer.com http://www.voxer.com) uses it and are happy with it: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/01/the_rise_and_rise_of_node_dot_js/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/01/the_rise_and_rise_of...

frr149 15y ago

Since we're at it, is there any good book on node.js?

focusaurus 15y ago
This links to an in-progress book and many online tutorials. http://www.readwriteweb.com/hack/2011/04/6-free-e-books-on-nodejs.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/hack/2011/04/6-free-e-books-on-n...

pkulak 15y ago

Showyou has to pull in about half a million videos a day from various social networks and that's done with Node. It makes a good web Crawler.

dterra 15y ago

www.streamerapp.com is a large scale, real life node.js app now on Private beta.