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I've made a lot of Node.js research for a couple of weeks. I can see Node.js is extremely powerful but I have some missing points in my mind for making a full functional website.

What I know:

  • There are good frameworks for Node.js like Express, Sails, Meteor, Compound, Tower etc...
  • Nosql databases fit better to Node. I found MongoDB and the module Mongoose superior among others.

What I'm missing and asking:

Node.js frameworks have templating engines like Handlebars, ejs etc.. And you can pass data like this if I'm right... But is that enough?

I really didn't understand front-end part of a Node.js website. Lets say I'm using express with a mongodb database. Do I need javascript MVC frameworks at the front-end? If I don't what is the app skeleton?

Can somebody explain me ingredients of a full Node.js website with a what to use, where to use list?

Thanks!

Travis Webb
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Xelom
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  • this faq might help: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2353818/how-do-i-get-started-with-node-js – booyaa Mar 25 '13 at 12:29
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    I voted to close the question. Besides the FAQ I'm going to say you should just try anyone of the libraries. To many people get in decision paralysis. Just pick something, try it and then post real code questions. If your looking for Javascript Frontend examples see: http://addyosmani.github.com/todomvc/ – Adam Gent Mar 25 '13 at 14:11

2 Answers2

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This question will probably be closed soon since it's way to ambiguous, but here are some pointers:

Node.js frameworks have templating engines like Handlebars, ejs etc.. And you can pass data like this if I'm right... But is that enough?

It depends on your app. That's enough for some but not for others.

I really didn't understand front-end part of a Node.js website. Lets say I'm using express with a mongodb database. Do I need javascript MVC frameworks at the front-end? If I don't what is the app skeleton?

The front-end part is the same as if you were using any other back-end language (say Ruby, PHP, .NET.) There is nothing inherently different in the front-end just because you use Node.js in the back-end.

It is common to see people doing more "real time" web sites with Node.js because some of the libraries (like Socket.io) make it so easy but that only applies if you are doing real time web sites (are you?)

Can somebody explain me ingredients of a full Node.js website with a what to use, where to use list?

There is no one list of ingredients to use. You can mix and match depending on what your needs are.

If I were you I would start simple. Pick a small set of libraries/modules, build your app end to end, get a feeling for it, and go from there.

Hector Correa
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  • To make it clearer I want to give some examples. I got an idea about front-end javascript MVC frameworks ideal for single page apps. Like mailbox or so. If you want to make an e-commerce website or a blog website do you need front-end mvc frameworks or can you handle it with template engines plus socket.io? – Xelom Mar 25 '13 at 12:58
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I really didn't understand front-end part of a Node.js website. Lets say I'm using express with a mongodb database. Do I need javascript MVC frameworks at the front-end? If I don't what is the app skeleton?

I assume you have some web development background.

  • Do you you need a JavaScript MVC framework when you writting websites with PHP/Python/Rails/Whatever?

Node.js is server side technology, therefore nearly the same rules apply as for all other server side technologies.

TheHippo
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  • Thanks for pointing out. I think main problem is this. I am a Silverlight/ASP.NET developer with MSSQL, Oracle and DB2 databases. I didn't use any Javascript MVC framework. Jquery was enough for my developed websites. – Xelom Mar 25 '13 at 14:17