NodeJS vs Play Framework for large project

Question

I am really torn between two different stacks with which to build a large application. One the one hand there is this option:

• Node.js
  • express
  • coffee script
  • coffeekup
  • mongoose/mongodb or
  • presistencejs/mysql

• Play Framework w/ Scala
  • Anorm w/ mysql
  • or mongodb

The node.js path is appealing to me because i can write all of the server side code, views and client side code in coffeescript, which i already know. If i go down this road i am still not 100% sure which db path i would take. mongoose makes storing data quick and easy, but the lack of true relationships might be more difficult to work with given the data model i have in mind (very SQLish).

The Play Framework path is also appealing because i know the framework well when using Java, but i don't know much about Scala, so there would be a hit to productivity as i work through learning that language. The Anorm database access layer is appealing because i can write the SQL by hand which i would prefer, and have the results mapped to objects automatically, which saves a lot of effort.

I keep leaning towards node.js, but i'm not sold on the best db access layer to use. Anyone have any experience with any of this and can share some insight?

Answer 1

The stack you choose should depend upon the needs of your application. Let's look at Play vs. Node for their strengths:

Node

• Real-time applications (chat, feeds)
• Event-driven architecture
• Can perform client-server duties (e.g. serve files), but not well-suited for this
• Database management, testing tools, etc, available as additional packages

Play!

• Client-server applications (website, services)
• Share-nothing architecture
• Can perform real-time duties (e.g. Websockets), but not well-suited for this
• Database management (including migrations!), testing tools, etc, built into core

If your application more closely matches a traditional web-based model, Play is probably your best choice. If you need immediate feedback and real-time dynamic messaging, Node is the better choice.

For large traditional applications, seriously consider the Play! Framework because of the built-in unit and functional testing along with database migrations. If incorporated into the development process, these go a long way toward an end product that works as expected and is stable and error-free.

Answer 2

There are 10 major categories you should consider when comparing web frameworks:

1. Learn: getting started, ramp up, overall learning curve.
2. Develop: routing, templates, i18n, forms, json, xml, data store access, real time web.
3. Test: unit tests, functional tests, integration tests, test coverage.
4. Secure: CSRF, XSS, code injection, headers, authentication, security advisories.
5. Build: compile, run tests, preprocess static content (sass/less/CoffeScript), package.
6. Deploy: hosting, monitoring, configuration.
7. Debug: step by step debugger, profilers, logging,
8. Scale: throughput, latency, concurrency.
9. Maintain: code reuse, stability, maturity, type safety, IDEs.
10. Share: open source activity, mailing lists, popularity, plugins, commercial support, jobs.

Check out my talk Node.js vs Play Framework for a detailed breakdown of how these two frameworks compare across these 10 dimensions.