Summary of 10 Things I Regret About Node.js - Ryan Dahl - JSConf EU

00:00:00 - 00:25:00

In the YouTube video "10 Things I Regret About Node.js - Ryan Dahl - JSConf EU", Node.js creator Ryan Dahl discusses some of the decisions he made while developing the platform that he now regrets. Specifically, he talks about the difficulties of the module system and how it makes it difficult to write secure code. He also discusses how Event IO is taken for granted, and how a runtime for Node.js that is more focussed on security and privacy would be nice.

• 00:00:00 Node.js creator Ryan Dahl reflects on the platform's early days and how its focus on event-driven I/O helped it gain popularity among developers. He goes on to say that he no longer uses the platform himself, but praises it for its stability and ease of use.
• 00:05:00 Ryan Dahl regrets removing promises from Node, not using jip correctly, building packages for JSON, and not implementing BAVs for extensions.
• 00:10:00 Ryan Dahl regrets some of the decisions he made while developing Node.js, including allowing require to work with package JSON and introducing the concept of a module as a directory of files. He regrets the complexity of the module resolution algorithm and the fact that relative URLs are now required.
• 00:15:00 Ryan Dahl talks about the problems he has with Node.js, highlighting issues with the module system and how it makes it difficult to write secure code. He also discusses how Event IO is taken for granted, and how a runtime for Node.js that is more focussed on security and privacy would be nice.
• 00:20:00 Ryan Dahl regrets the following things about Node.js: that it is approachable, that it is easy to start hacking in normal JavaScript, that Dart solved the problem in a way that is satisfying many people, that Typescript took a different approach to the problem and worked completely in JavaScript, that Deno hooks into existing software, that Typescript should work out the box, that Deno can use Node's module resolution scheme and stuff, that the build process in Node is complicated, and that there are easy ways to link into high-level native code.
• 00:25:00 Ryan Dahl regrets not taking the time to properly design and test his codebase, as well as not being browser compatible. He also regrets not naming global variables better and not supporting top-level variables.