[ $davids.sh ] — david shekunts blog

🧩 Node Programming

# [ $davids.sh ] · message #150

🧩 Node Programming

**Node programming – languages/systems that allow you to visually assemble code logic from blocks, instead of text.

This has been used for a long time in animation and effects creation, but has barely made its way into backend programming.

One of the most modern and interesting projects in this environment is https://n8n.io

One of the oldest and most proven (even by me) is https://nodered.org

Having tried similar systems, I can confidently say that writing code in this way is inconvenient, so their main goal is to assemble sets of logical blocks, allowing people who don't know how to program (managers, analysts, marketers, devops, etc.) to assemble certain chains from these blocks, necessary for their business tasks

That's why similar projects are extremely interesting when you need to give your colleagues the opportunity to create something on their own

  • @ NP · # 277

    It's also great for R&D when you don't want to spend time writing good code but need to sketch out a pipeline visually.

  • @ [ $davids.sh ] · # 278

    I tried doing something simple and would say it’s convenient for R&D involving a lot of integration (taking something from somewhere and sending it to some service).

    But conditionally, if CRUD or some business processes over data in the database based on triggers are needed, I still write it faster and better with code.

    Again, maybe it’s due to habit.

  • @ NP · # 279

    I'm working on a large Node-RED project (~10 tabs, ~500 nodes already). It's convenient for making quick changes, not so great for debugging, and code reuse is definitely a weak point. Good for pipelines though)

  • @ [ $davids.sh ] · # 280

    Oh, that's actually cool! Can I write to you sometime with questions on this topic?