Darius J Chuck
Deno: the greatest thing since sliced bread Node.js
2021-08-01 edit: to be clear I am not recommending Deno for non-experimental use here. Its maturity is far from that of Node.js at this time. It is a very interesting new JS runtime with ambitions to compete that are well-founded on a technical level in my opinion. In other words: Deno is worth to keep an eye on as an emerging technology with potential to become very relevant in the near future. It is a good bet for open-source contributors who will play a crucial role in making that happen.
In this post I would like to bring attention to Deno[W] which is a new runtime for TypeScript, created by Ryan Dahl[W], the original creator of Node.js[W].
There are many reasons why I really like this project and I believe it is a worthy successor to Node.js. Here I will highlight three general points.
Deno logo.
Source: deno.land/artwork. Author: kevinkassimo. License: MIT.
Modern
Like Node.js, Deno features a non-blocking, event-driven architecture, and is built on V8[W]. What sets Deno apart:
Seamless support for TypeScript[W].
Sandboxed by default with restricted file system and network access.
Browser-compatible
Deno aims for better compatibility with browsers. In particular:
Uses standard ES Modules instead of CommonJS.
Uses URLs for loading local or remote dependencies. Can import modules from anywhere, in particular GitHub or CDNs.
Maintains compatibility with Web APIs where possible.
Integrated and simple
Deno bets on simplicity and high integration:
Ships only a single executable file with built-in:
- Package manager.
- TypeScript compiler.
- Dependency inspector.
- Code formatter.
- Test runner with coverage tools.
- Tree-shaking and bundling.
- Tool to compile scripts to standalone binaries with cross-compilation support.
Minimal core API + large standard library with no external dependencies.
Provides public hosting for Deno modules.
More
The official Deno website is a good starting point to dig in to learn more.