In recent years, we've witnessed constant evolution in web technologies and development environments. One relatively new addition that has quickly gained popularity among developers is Deno. This modern runtime for JavaScript and TypeScript was created to address a number of issues and limitations associated with Node.js, the most widely used runtime for these languages so far. The main difference and advantage of Deno lies in its emphasis on security, which was often overlooked or inadequately addressed in Node.js.
Security First
The fundamental philosophy of Deno is that scripts should not have automatic access to the file system, network operations, or other potentially hazardous actions without explicit permission. This marks a significant shift from the practice in Node.js, where scripts can freely read from and write to the file system or open network connections. Deno requires these permissions to be explicitly granted when running a script, leading to greater control over what scripts can and cannot do.
TypeScript Integration
Another key difference is that Deno works directly with TypeScript without the need for additional transpilation. This simplifies the development process because TypeScript brings static typing to the dynamically typed world of JavaScript, allowing errors to be caught even before the code is executed. In Node.js, using TypeScript requires the code to be transpiled first, adding an extra step to the development process.
Standard Library and Dependencies
Deno offers a rich standard library that is meticulously maintained and strictly typed, in contrast to the Node.js ecosystem where developers often rely on third-party packages. While in Node.js, dependency management is based on NPM and node_modules, Deno introduces a new way of managing dependencies using URL imports. This means dependencies are fetched and cached upon the first run of the script, eliminating the need to maintain a node_modules folder.
Support for Modern Web Standards
Deno aims to closely adhere to web standards. It provides global objects like fetch for network requests, which are already standard in web browsers. This commitment to standards simplifies the development of cross-platform applications and allows developers to use the same API both on the server and in the browser.
Deno represents a significant step forward in the development of runtime environments for JavaScript and TypeScript. With its focus on security, seamless TypeScript integration, efficient dependency management, and support for modern web standards, Deno offers developers a modern and secure environment for application development. As Deno is still relatively new, it will be interesting to see how it evolves and what impact it will have on future web projects.
