Recognizing the prominence of mixed environments, Red Hat looks to bridge Node.js and Java.

The company is using the Node package manager to develop connectors linking Node.js to ActiveMQ, the Java messaging service, said Rich Sharples, senior director for product management at the Red Hat app platforms business group.

"Customers are going to have both [Node.js and Java]," said Sharples, in an interview at the Node.js Interactive conference in Portland on Tuesday. Users, he explained, could develop new platforms for mobile or the Internet of things, or API gateways using Node.js that would connect via an API layer to existing back-end systems, many of which will be Java-based. Red Hat believes it can drive some of this integration.

Both Java and Node.js are being run on Linux, said Sharples, a 20-year Java devotee. "I'm a Java bigot, but I'd say that Node.js is one of the few technologies to come along that's really got me excited." Node.js, or simply Node, is displacing platforms like PHP and perhaps even Java, and Sharples sees Python and Ruby impacted by Nodel. "People will make different choices now," with Node.js available, he said. Java users Netflix and PayPal talked about their embrace of Node.js in 2014.

When Red Hat acquired FeedHenry, an MBaaS platform that leverages Node, it considered how to join Java and Node, said Sharples. Red Hat already has JBoss Java middleware technology under its belt, and it supports both Node and Java on its OpenShift PaaS cloud. The company also serves on the board of directors of the Node.js Foundation, which oversees development of Node.