AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Snipd AI
Mark Erikson joins to talk about the shift from CommonJS to ESM. They discuss the history of module patterns in JS, challenges of publishing packages and the need for standards in package publishing. The chapter also explores the ongoing relevance and benefits of CommonJS in package modernization.
Read more
AI Summary
AI Chapters
Episode notes
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- The challenges faced in modernizing node packages to support ESM, including issues with different tools and environments, mismatches between runtime behavior and TypeScript types, and complexities of the React server components environment.
- Issues app developers encounter when modernizing node packages to support ESM, such as import errors, library authors switching to ESM-only releases, and the need to maintain compatibility by reverting to previous library versions.
Deep dives
Challenges of Modernizing Node Packages to use ESM
The podcast episode discusses the challenges faced by Mark Erickson, a maintainer, in modernizing his node packages to use ESM (ECMAScript Modules). The episode highlights how JavaScript lacked a built-in way to define packages or reusable modules, unlike other languages like Java or Python. This led to the development of community-defined specs such as AMD (Asynchronous Module Definition) and CommonJS module format. Eventually, ES modules were incorporated into the ES 2015 spec. The episode explores the difficulties in handling the transition to ESM, including issues with different tools and environments, mismatches between runtime behavior and TypeScript types, and the complexities of the React server components environment. The episode also touches on the friction experienced by developers relying on libraries with different module formats and the need for documentation and standards to mitigate these challenges.
Get the Snipd
podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered
Discover
highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any
moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share
& Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover
highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode