What does this mean for the Node community at large?
I recently had the pleasure of checking out the NodeUp podcasts. A large portion of the first episode is dedicated to enforcing the notion that Node is a new language, and that it will take decades to catch up to the maturity that Python and Perl provide as platforms.
Opening up a subprocess, or having an `os` module which works in Windows, for example, all seemed like daunting tasks that took other languages decades to perfect.
While I'm sure Node can catch up quickly, partly because Javascript is fast to write, and partly because of the trailblazing that other languages have already done (among other reasons, I'm sure), I can't help but think that the loss of the original author's momentum behind the project will cause Node to suffer.
Python has had Guido as the BDFL for over 20 years. Larry Wall is firmly entrenched in the church of Perl. Having one voice shepherding the direction of the language has had tremendous influence on both languages. I can't help but think that node.js is in a similar situation.
> Having one voice shepherding the direction of the language has had tremendous influence on both languages. I can't help but think that node.js is in a similar situation.
Not really. Node.js isn't a language that needs direction; ECMAScript is a separate standard with its own drivers. Node isn't even an implementation of a language, and V8 has its own community directing it.
Node is a small core with pretty simple principles. The rest (the most important part, I'd argue) is a thriving third-party community, and that's something the loss of any single developer won't change.
The difference is that node.js is just an environment for an already established language to run on. Ryan accomplished a lot of great stuff with node, and Isaac will do the same. JavaScript != Node.
I recently had the pleasure of checking out the NodeUp podcasts. A large portion of the first episode is dedicated to enforcing the notion that Node is a new language, and that it will take decades to catch up to the maturity that Python and Perl provide as platforms.
Opening up a subprocess, or having an `os` module which works in Windows, for example, all seemed like daunting tasks that took other languages decades to perfect.
While I'm sure Node can catch up quickly, partly because Javascript is fast to write, and partly because of the trailblazing that other languages have already done (among other reasons, I'm sure), I can't help but think that the loss of the original author's momentum behind the project will cause Node to suffer.
Python has had Guido as the BDFL for over 20 years. Larry Wall is firmly entrenched in the church of Perl. Having one voice shepherding the direction of the language has had tremendous influence on both languages. I can't help but think that node.js is in a similar situation.