Simon Willison’s Weblog

How difficult is to to learn a language framework, like node.js?

28th September 2012

My answer to How difficult is to to learn a language framework, like node.js? on Quora

The answer varies enormously depending on the language and the framework. Some frameworks are very easy to pick up, others are harder.

Node.js is an interesting example, because there’s a LOT of stuff you need to understand in order to learn Node effectively.

If you’ve already done web programming in a language like PHP or Python you’ll have a solid understanding of at least some of the concepts (though Node’s model is radically different from something like PHP so there will still be a steep learning curve).

If you’ve never done server-side web programming at all you’re in for a shock... you’ll need to develop an understanding of the HTTP protocol, asynchronous-IO, data storage mechanisms, cookies... lots of concepts which it can take a long time to master (and which Node won’t really help you learn, since its documentation is aimed at more experienced developers).