I'd be interested in some of the scenarios above, but where a version of Node.js higher than the default has been installed.
For example I install nodejs v20 (F37's default Node is v18, but v20 is now available). I then run `dnf upgrade` what happens? Overall what you describe seems more familiar to me in terms of how to manage versions/multiple copies of a component on linux. One of question is if it would be possible to warn people or require a --force flag if people install EOL versions, even if it is the default for the Fedora version. I understand we always want to allow people to stick to the version that came with a Fedora/RHEL version but I think we could do more to help them avoid accidentally use an EOL verion. On Thu, Aug 25, 2022 at 12:39 PM Troy Dawson <[email protected]> wrote: > On Thu, Aug 25, 2022 at 8:48 AM Stephen Gallagher <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> tl;dr: I want to drop the Node.js modules and make Node available as >> parallel-installable interpreters (with /usr/bin/node managed by the >> alternatives subsystem). >> >> For some time now, I've been looking at ways to improve our Node.js >> story to make it more maintainable. Modules seemed like a Good Idea at >> the Time™, but it has been difficult to maintain over the years. I'd >> like to propose that we abandon Modules as our strategy and instead >> move to parallel-installable packages. I've been quietly working on a >> proof-of-concept for this for a while now and it's finally in >> good-enough shape[1] that I can share it with you. >> >> The change involves several key pieces: >> >> 1. The NPM package is no longer delivered as a subpackage of Node.js. >> We return to maintaining it as a separate package in Fedora.[2] >> 2. We ship the Node.js interpreter as `/usr/bin/node-$MAJOR` and use >> the alternatives[3] subsystem to maintain the `/usr/bin/node` symlink. >> 3. We configure the alternatives priority system such that newer >> versions of Node are preferred, with the exception of the version >> selected as the default for that Fedora release which will always be >> preferred over any other, if multiple versions are installed. >> >> Some examples: >> On Fedora 37, the `nodejs` package is not installed (F37's default Node >> is v18). >> A `dnf install nodejs` would result in the `nodejs18` package being >> installed. This package would provide `/usr/bin/node `as a symlink to >> `/usr/bin/node-18`. A user could also `dnf install nodejs16`, which >> would provide the `/usr/bin/node-16` binary. This would not change the >> symlink for `/usr/bin/node`. >> >> On Fedora 37, the `nodejs` package is not installed (F37's default Node >> is v18). >> A `dnf install nodejs16` would result in the `nodejs16` package being >> installed. This package would provide `/usr/bin/node` as a symlink to >> `/usr/bin/node-16`. A user could also install `nodejs-18`, which >> would provide the `/usr/bin/node-18` binary. Because Node.js v18 is >> the default for Fedora 37, this would result in the `/usr/bin/node` >> symlink being changed to point at `/usr/bin/node-18`. >> >> On Fedora 37, the existing `nodejs` package is installed (F37's >> default Node is v18). >> A `dnf upgrade` would result in the `nodejs-18` package being >> installed, replacing `nodejs`. This package would provide >> `/usr/bin/node `as a symlink to `/usr/bin/node-18`. A user could also >> install `nodejs-16`, which would provide the `/usr/bin/node-16` >> binary. This would not change the symlink for `/usr/bin/node`. >> >> >> >> Some benefits to this approach: >> * With parallel-install, it becomes possible to run test suites >> against multiple major versions at the same time. For example, the NPM >> package will be able[4] to run its suite against v16 and v18 to ensure >> that it is compatible with both versions. >> * The complexities of the Module build would go away. >> >> Some risks to this approach: >> * If Node.js dependencies like libuv or libnghttp2 make incompatible >> changes that cannot work with both older and newer Node.js releases, >> we will need to create compat- packages for them. >> >> >> >> [1] https://copr.fedorainfracloud.org/coprs/sgallagh/nodejs-alternatives/ >> [2] https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2075170 >> [3] >> https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/packaging-guidelines/Alternatives/ >> [4] >> https://download.copr.fedorainfracloud.org/results/sgallagh/nodejs-alternatives/fedora-37-x86_64/04759584-npm/npm.spec >> > > You've already answered everything I was going to ask about this. > I just want to say I like this plan. > > Troy > > _______________________________________________ > nodejs mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > Fedora Code of Conduct: > https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/code-of-conduct/ > List Guidelines: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines > List Archives: > https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected] > Do not reply to spam, report it: > https://pagure.io/fedora-infrastructure/new_issue >
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