title: Does it make sense to build pure JavaScript based web applications (both client and server side)?
body: <p>I've always considered JavaScript as a great addition (or rather, for the last couple of years, as a must have) to the client side of any web application. Even when I started to use Mootools, which takes a big step away from DOM manipulation, and aims toward a general purpose, OO framework, I still didn't think that I would consider using JavaScript for server-side development. JavaScript belongs to the front, period - that's what I thought.</p>
  
  <p>Well, it seems like <a href="http://www.plat-forms.org/teams-2011" rel="noreferrer">according to some damn smart people</a>, I was wrong. For the first time ever, the web development platform contest called Plat_Form accepted a team that used pure JavaScript <strong>both</strong> on the server and the client side. What's more, here is what the contest organizers had to say about this:</p>
  
  <p>"<em>We had a single application of a team, Upstream Agile, that will work with JavaScript on both the server and the client side. Since this might become a major trend in coming years, we consider their participation a glimpse of the future and accept this team even though no others with this platform have applied.</em>"</p>
  
  <p>So my question is: is this really a viable concept, to build multi-tier web applications purely on JavaScript? If so, what would be the advantages of using JavaScript for both the front- and the backend?</p>
  
  <p><strong>EDIT:</strong> The link in Vanwaril's answer (<a href="http://chetansurpur.com/blog/2010/10/why-node-js-is-totally-awesome.html" rel="noreferrer">Why node.js is totally awesome</a>) reveals an interesting discussion in the comments section that worth reading through. I, for one, have decided that though using Javascript on the server side is a viable concept and might have its benefits, I would definitely not start building an enterprise application with that architecture. At least for now. This question might need to be asked again in a year, I can imagine that the answer will dramatically change in the near future.</p>