Want to learn more about Node.js, a topic I’ve frequently written about here? If so, a friend recently pointed me to an excellent collection of Node.js-related links compiled by Stanislav Stoyanov:

My Node.js Linksheet

(UPDATE 5 Mar 2013: It seems that the site may unfortunately no longer be available. In a quick search online I was unable to find any alternative sites hosting the document.)

It’s a great collection of companies, tools, games, platforms, frameworks and more all associated with Node.js. While Joyent also maintains a list of Node.js resources, this list from Stanislav Stoyanov contains many excellent pointers for those looking to learn more and get started with Node.js.

Great work!

Citing a desire to work on research projects after three years of focused work, Node.js creator and project leader Ryan Dahl sent out a message today that he will be “ceding
my position as gatekeeper to Isaac Schlueter”. He stated:

I am still an employee at Joyent and will advise from the sidelines but I won’t be involved in the day-to-day bug fixes. Isaac has final say over what makes it into the releases. Appeals for new features, changes, and bug fixes should now be directed at him.

I’ve been a huge fan of Node.js and if you look at the tag cloud in the right sidebar you’ll see that “Node.js” stands out with the largest lettering and denoting the most posts written here. My post on “Node.js, Doctor’s Offices and Fast Food Restaurants – Understanding Event-driven Programming” remains one of the most visited posts on this blog. And I continue to routinely find new and interesting ways to work with node.js. I also learned a great bit from the various videos of Ryan’s presentations (such as this presentation).

Kudos to Ryan for creating Node.js and then taking it as far as he has. I can completely understand how after three years of rather intense work he wants and needs to pursue a different path. His departure is also a huge statement about the power of the Node.js community – and also of Joyent as a sponsor and employer of so many key Node.js developers – to continue the development of the language without the creator at the helm.

As just a random developer out there using Node.js, I certainly thank Ryan for all he’s done and wish him all the best in his new role!

UPDATE: Jolie O’Dell over at VentureBeat also has a nice post out about Ryan Dahl’s stepping down.

Node.js certainly has been getting a good bit of buzz these days. I’ve been writing about Node.js here because I personally find it interesting, but you only have to watch the Twitter search string to know that a lot of other people out there find the same fascination with Node.js.

It’s a sign of that intense interest, then, that Joyent launched a “Node.js Jobs” site this week at:

http://jobs.nodejs.org/a/jobs/find-jobs

with some initial postings from some of the startups that you might expect to be using a bleeding edge service like Node.js:

Very cool to see… and may it only help grow the pool of Node.js developers out there!

If you are wondering why so much attention is focused on Node.js these days in the online media and sites (including my own writing about Node.js), Mashable had a decent post this week called:

Why Everyone Is Talking About Node

It’s a good overview that explains much about why Node.js is so interesting to so many people. I’m not sure I agree with the author about the Ruby community being “exclusive and harsh”. I experienced nothing but helpful assistance back when I was learning Ruby. The Node.js community, though, has definitely been very welcoming to newcomers so far.

Regardless of that probably unnecessary dig, the overall article was a good overview of Node and is certainly worth a read.