I don't think so. More like webdev-centric (everything nowdays uses random build and test tools that are not necessarily in Node - sometimes it's Python, the other day it's Ruby...), but then again while working in an Erlang shop some time ago I went through two different build tools (one of them was made for Ruby libraries, btw.). And don't get me started about Java.
It gets an enormous pass because programmers love programmer culture, and it's open. (Exactly like the lackluster Linux of the nineties being immune to criticism due to openness).
You know what a great workflow is? Vim, C, and a Makefile. C offers a far more conceptually complete model that isn't forced client/server. The C compiler does basic checks on my code (revelatory, for sure), and the Makefile, as horrible as the syntax is, can be added later.
If I'm teaching someone, they can open something like gedit, type some code in, and run gcc manually. Boom! A program to run!
