Node is a server-side JavaScript platform that is known for being well suited for Comet-style applications that utilize long-lived connections to allow applications to send messages from the server to the browser asynchronously. In fact, the beginning of the front page of nodejs.org starts out with an example of a web application that delays for a couple seconds before sending a response without any type of blocking; the code is asynchronous and efficient.

However, building a real-life real-time application involves more than just a platform that gives you asynchronous communication, there are a number of other important techniques to understand. We will look at these techniques and introduce project Tunguska that provides some helpful tools to assist in building applications. While a number of Comet projects out there attempt to provide a black box solution to Comet, Tunguska recognizes that most real-time applications involve deep integration into the application and its security, messaging, and data structures. Consequently Tunguska is a set of tools for building real-time applications rather than a closed black box that can’t easily be integrated with. Let’s look at some of these tools.