Node.js Foundation Acquires Express Framework From IBM—for Free!

Gravity waves being discovered and now this in the same month!  One of the most popular frameworks today for Node.js has had its ownership taken over by the Node.js Foundation as an incubation project.

The Express framework (and its components) had been maintained by StrongLoop which IBM purchased this past September.  TheNewStack and MarketWired are reporting that IBM is contributing the code in an effort to help diversify the contributor base given the framework's widespread popularity.

Mikeal Rogers, a community manager with the Node.js Foundation, had the following to say:

"Express will function as it’s own separate entity; similar to how the Node.js Foundation supports Node.js through open governance with a technical steering committee, mentors, and contributors that will in effect support the framework."

For developers and organizations, this change of ownership should help allay fears that the direction of development taken by the Express framework will be dominated by a single entity or vendor.  Both feature sets, times to fix, and release schedules become much more transparent as well.

In a sea of similar Node.js-based frameworks, this move would seem to add not only welcomed legitimacy to Express but also a more concrete starting point for those looking to make a decision as to which Node.js server framework to actually use (a quick look at NodeFramework.com is a good sampling of the number of choices available to developers).

Have a look here for a litany of examples of how to use the various Express components, as well as here for an example Express-based application.