10 Months with Meteor.js

"Writing software is too hard and it takes too long. It's time for a new way to write software — especially application software. This new way should be radically simple. It should make it possible to build a prototype in a day or two, and a real production app in a few weeks."

-- from the Meteor Mission (http://www.meteor.com/about/mission)

If you've heard about this new, cool-sounding framework called Meteor.js (http://www.meteor.com/), but haven't yet had a chance to try it out (like me), then we've got the perfect meetup for you. If you haven't heard about Meteor yet, it is in their own words (http://www.meteor.com/faq) "a way of writing applications that are ready for 2013, not 1996." Meteor is based on JavaScript (and Node), and designed around "smart packages" that can run in the client or on the server. The team behind it is backed (http://www.meteor.com/blog/2012/07/25/meteors-new-112-million-development-budget) by $11 million in funding too, so it should be around for a while.

I'm very happy to introduce Phillip Jacobs and Jason Griffin, developers at TasteMade (http://www.tastemade.com/) and organizers of Austin's Meteor meetup (https://www.meetup.com/Meteor-Austin/), who will be teaching us all about Meteor based on their own real-world use.

AGENDA

7p: Bleeding Edge Update

Latest and greatest news from the world of web apps.

7:30p: 10 Months with Meteor.js

A brief intro to Meteor.js architecture. We’ll talk about its pros, cons, and how it’s different from other Javascript frameworks based on our 10 months of real world use. Topics covered include:

• Mind shift - think of the database as running in the client, pub sub is for pushing a subset of your database to the client

• Criticisms - Fibers, NPM packages

• Pros - very quick development, very little server code

• Cons - deployment, SEO

• Good resources - Eventminded (http://eventminded.com/), Atmosphere (https://atmosphere.meteor.com/), Meteor.com (http://www.meteor.com/)

9p: Iron Cactus

Everyone is welcome to meet afterwards a block over at Iron Cactus for a margarita and continued discussion!

PRESENTERS

Phillip Jacobs (@phillyqueso (https://twitter.com/phillyqueso), phillip@tastemade.com) runs the Austin Meteor meetup (https://www.meetup.com/Meteor-Austin/). Lots of experience in enterprise web applications. Now with Tastemade working on our Meteor-powered platform.

Jason Griffin (@haircuttedfreak (https://twitter.com/haircuttedfreak), jason@tastemade.com) previously worked at Pluck, Demand Media, and is now at Tastemade. Built web apps for 15 years, managed teams large and small, and built the backend that powers eHow.com, Livestrong.com, and dozens of other sites.