Framework · 2010–now · Cloud Scale
Express.js
Thin routing layer on Node that became the default API sketchpad. Middleware culture in a single file.
Why Express.js stuck
Express stuck because it stays out of the way for JSON APIs and prototypes that become production anyway. Faster frameworks exist; hiring and tutorials keep it alive. Boring middleware beats clever magic for most backends.
Compare with
Related
Platform · 2009–now
Node.js
JS on the server. Unified the stack and created a package ecosystem that is both miracle and hazard.
Architecture · 2000–now
REST / HTTP APIs
Resources over RPC theater. Won the API wars by being boring enough to debug with curl.
Language · 1995–now
JavaScript
The only language that runs in every browser. Accidental monopoly turned deliberate platform.