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Why is a Java guy so excited about Node.js and JavaScript?
Shouldn’t someone who worked 10+ years in the Java SE team at Sun Microsystems bleed Java bytecodes and be instantiating abstract interfaces until the last breath? For this former Java SE team member, learning the Node.js platform in 2011 was a breath of fresh air. After being laid off from Sun in January 2009 (just prior to the Oracle buyout), I learned about and became hooked on Node.js.
Just how hooked? Since 2010, I have written extensively about Node.js programming. Namely, four editions of Node.js Web Development, plus other books and numerous tutorial blog posts on Node.js programming. That’s a LOT of time explaining Node.js and advancements in the JavaScript language.
While working for Sun Microsystems I believed in All Things Java. I presented sessions at JavaONE, co-developed the java.awt.Robot class, ran the Mustang Regressions Contest (the bug finding contest for the Java 1.6 release), helped to launch the “Distributions License for Java” that was the pre-OpenJDK answer for Linux distributions to distribute JDK builds, and later played a small role in launching the OpenJDK project. Along the way I landed a blog on java.net (a now-defunct website), writing 1–2 times a week for about 6 years discussing events in the Java ecosystem. A big topic was defending Java against those predicting Java’s death.
