When comparing Sails.js vs Derby, the Slant community recommends Sails.js for most people. In the question“What are the best full-stack Node.js frameworks?” Sails.js is ranked 3rd while Derby is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose Sails.js is:
Sails.js is built with a focus on building real time communication apps such as chat or multiplayer games, so naturally it has Socket.io extremely well supported.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Transparent support for Socket.io
Sails.js is built with a focus on building real time communication apps such as chat or multiplayer games, so naturally it has Socket.io extremely well supported.
Pro MVC architecture
This could be a huge plus, if you prefer to build your apps using the Model View Controller architecture. Using Sails.js you'll find the task of separating the business logic from the user interface and keeping the interactions between them in a separate layer, extremely easy.
Pro JSON API generated for free
Exposes public JSON API for free. No additional routing to be defined. Makes it pretty easy to access data from anywhere.
Pro ORM that can be plugged into any database, or even custom web service
Sails.js uses Waterline ORM at its backend which means you can store your data in any datastore that you like; all you have to do is make a change to the Waterline adapter, this will allow you to store your data in MySQL/Redis or any other kind of database.
Pro So easy to deploy and lift
Pro Great documentation and structure
Clear documentation and easy to understand. The file structure gives you a way to understand where you can start to develop when you encounter a new Sails project
Pro Real time communication between server and client
Derby enables the client and server to sync models across the board in real-time.
Pro Views are rendered on the server
Derby renders it's client-side views on the server. This means that there's no "delay" in serving the content to the browser when the user requests it. It's also very helpful for SEO purposes.
Pro Same code can be run on the client and server
The same code can be run on both the server and the client, because Derby is a full-stack JavaScript-everywhere platform.
Cons
Con Poor ORM
The built-in Waterline is not well designed and is not suitable for production environments. Populating more than 1 level deep is a nightmare, there is no transaction support, new features/bug fixes are not implemented anywhere near a timely manner (the most requested feature 'deep populate' has been lingering in their github issues list for over a year and a half now).
Con Small community
Derby seems to have a small community of followers, at least compared to other Node full-stack frameworks. So it could be difficult for a beginner to find examples or help if they get stuck somewhere in their development.