Node.js is a platform built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime for easily building fast, scalable network applications. Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient, perfect for data-intensive real-time applications that run across distributed devices.
Node.js contains a built-in HTTP server library, making it possible to run a web server without the use of external software, such as Apache or Lighttpd, and allowing more control of how the web server works.
Node.js was created by Ryan Dahl starting in 2009. Its development and maintenance is sponsored by Joyent.
Useful Node.js Tutorials, Tools and Resources
Node Express Boilerplate
https://github.com/mape/node-express-boilerplate
Node-express-boilerplate gives the developer a clean slate to start with while bundling enough useful features to remove all those redundant tasks that can derail a project before it even really gets started.
Features
Bundling socket.io and integrating with the express session store so data can be shared
Providing premade hooks to authenticate users via facebook/twitter/github
An assetmanager that concatenates/mangles/compresses your CSS/JS assets to be as small and fast to deliver as possible, as well as cache busting using MD5 hashes
Auto updates of the browser (inline/refresh) as soon as CSS/JS/template-files are changed in order to remove all those annoying...