If I plan to use Node, is it a mistake to go directly to the CoffeeScript platform, for example, Zappa?

Question

I have not used a lot of JavaScript since the early 00s, and I'm starting to see that my current application is well suited for Node.js. But as a ruby ​​developer, coffeescript looks like it will be more of my forte. But I'm worried that if I go straight to an infrastructure like Zappa without spending a single time on the bare bones of Node.js, there will be some holes in my understanding. Is this really fear?

Answer 1

To a certain extent, yes. Zappa is a very new structure in a very active development. I wrote the application in it in July, and since then two incompatible updates have passed in the infrastructure. In such an environment, it is often useful to understand what infrastructure does behind the scenes.

Also, since the coffee script allows mixing in JavaScript libraries (and Zappa itself does this), their documentation will provide examples in JavaScript - so you can speak JavaScript freely.

On the other hand, the experience with Node is not so important in itself, since Node provides a fairly minimal API, which for the most part is well abstracted by Express.js (also a component of Zappa). Most of what you need to know about Node can be found in the afternoon.

TL DR Ignorant coffee and JS could very well be a problem without knowing Node not so much.

Answer 2

If “Ruby developer” means “Rails developer,” Zappa might be the shortest step for you. It provides a lot of “magic” like Rails does. This is good in some ways (less code is required to run a regular web application), and bad in others (it can be difficult to understand what happens, for example, where a specific HTTP header is specified).

So, is it possible to be a good Rails developer without knowing the Ruby core HTTP or Rack libraries? Of course. And in a similar way, you can probably be a good Zappa developer without learning a lot about the Node HTTP or Connect / Express library. I expect this to become more relevant as Zappa matures and its documentation expands.