How do you use node.js in production?

Question

Node.js

I have been experimenting with the node and different modules for a long time, but I do it for fun and have never developed anything serious for production. I'm interested in the experience of people using the node as the main tool for server-side development. At least in a nutshell - what modules do you use, what are the problems.
In other languages ​​- python, ruby, php - there are one or more such monolithic web frameworks, on the basis of which applications are written in most cases. With a node in this regard, it is rather unusual - we have many modules, each of which solves (sometimes even well) its own task, but the task of linking them together falls on the shoulders of the developer himself. Are there any "good practices" or is each application in some sense completely different from its neighbor, unlike applications, for example, on the same rails? How long is the immersion of a new developer then - does he have to explain the architecture from scratch?
There is an interesting project - Sailsjs. Something like "all in one". But it is still quite raw, it seems to me - version 0.10 with relationships between tables in the database was released quite recently.

Answer 1

I have been using a node and only a node for 2 years already to develop real projects, and I got our whole team hooked too. There are three problems in the node: modular pluralism (which everyone praises, but it's hell), error handling (it is not always possible to get a file, line and message in the stack printout), and the lack of a centralized application architecture. I am a supporter of monolithic centralized systems and totalitarianism in general, so we made our own application server: https://www.npmjs.org/package/impress

Answer 2

What do you think is a "monolithic framework"? Like a bunch of code with no special dependencies? At one time in php it was the norm because there was no normal package manager, now there is a composer and all serious frameworks claiming this role try not to reinvent the wheel if possible. Although this development culture is just getting into the minds of PHP people. Python or Ruby developers using modules are doing well. JS has its own problems with this. Either some developer will give up on supporting his module, or they don’t really care about BC ... In a word, life is a pain.
I used node.js only as a daemon (queue handlers on node.js) and as a push server (essentially the same queue handler daemon, the message queue connects the node and the main application). Doing something bold and big on it is a bad idea. Small web services are still possible. but there are some nuances when deploying.