JavaScript has often been thought of as a toy language, used for tasks like enabling and disabling blink tags on your chihuahua’s website or making a dynamic web 2.0 todo list. While the core language has remained quirky and downright confusing at times, it has spread like a virus from the web to the server and into other aspects of your every day life. We’ll ignore the benefits and drawbacks of using JavaScript powered toasters for this precompiler and focus instead on server side development with Node.js. This precompiler will not advocate the use of Node.js for every problem ever just because it is the new hawtness. While it may be hawt, and it may look good on your resume, it is not the best solution for all problems. We will openly discuss it’s strengths and weaknesses and focus in on the type of applications that make sense for Node.js. Specifically, this session will hone in on providing real time, two way communication between web clients and server side applications. If you have ever encountered this scenario, or think you might in the future, you should definitely think about leveraging the benefits of Node.js. We’ll use a structured curriculum to guide students through introductory aspects of Node.js, eventually building a realtime web socket solution that shows off it’s true power. This precompiler assumes 0 knowledge of anything Node.js, although you may need a pair partner if you are not very familiar with the JavaScript programming language. Bring a laptop, a friend, and your brain, and walk away with a life-altering, mind-expanding experience (or at least enough Node.js knowledge to land a new job).