14 DAY TRIAL // Google has jumped on the Node.js bandwagon and will be offering a Node.js runtime via its hosted Google App Engine (GAE) service, ideal for hosting high-performance Web and mobile, frontend and backend JavaScript-driven applications.
The Node.js runtime is currently a beta on its hosted managed VM platform, and an open-source SDK has not yet been announced, but no doubt it will be provided at a later stage, just as the company offers one for Java, Python, Go, and PHP.
Developers can sign up for a trial right now, and they can also consult many of the "getting started" guides that have been prepared in advance to Google's announcement.
Currently, developers can use databases such as MongoDB, Redis, and Google's own Cloud Datastore service to host their data and run their Node.js apps via any Node.js-compatible technology. Of course, support for Express, Hapi, or Facebook's Parse-server is included out of the box.
Google provides N|Solid integration for GAE's Node.js offering
In case developers encounter problems, Google is making available the Google Cloud Debugger to help them smooth out any issues and the Google Cloud Trace tool that can help users analyze app performance.
If developers need to extract more juice out of their applications, Google has also signed a special partnership with NodeSource and will be providing developers with access to NodeSource's N|Solid monitoring platform.
As usual, Google has open-sourced many tools to help developers interact with its Node.js GAE service. This includes npm modules and various debug tools, all available on Google Cloud's GitHub profile.
While Google's hosted GAE service had a rocky start, the service has become extremely reliable in recent years. Too bad many developers have already made up their mind about it and moved on to AWS.
