Are all dependencies recommended by angular2 quickstart really necessary? - node.js

I am new to angular2 and I have never used angular1.
I have been trying this tutorial https://angular.io/guide/quickstart and
i wonder if all the recommended dependencies are really necessary because my project size gets big after 'npm install' (more than 100Mb).

You won't necessarily use all of the #angular dependencies during the Quickstart, but if you continue on with their tutorial and as your app gets more complex, you will definitely utilize them.
The other packages are necessary. They consist of typescript compilers, libraries for Observables, and more Angular 2 features. Here is a quick read for info on some of these.
If you're using angular-cli, calling ng serve will also run a series of automated tests that depend on packages.

Related

Build a custom NPM package that can be installed in all my projects

I've built a custom style "skin" on top of bootstrap that I intend to use in multiple UI projects.
Rather than copying/pasting the UI styles/components (built using sass and typescript in my current Angular 5 project), I want to build an NPM package that I can install these styles and components I've built in new projects, thus allowing updates to be done to the NPM package (maybe extending the controls within for example) without breaking the UI's using them or needing to update files within.
I've never setup an NPM project before. I've found a number of examples of how to build NPM packages, for example https://codeforgeek.com/2014/08/how-to-create-nodejs-npm-package/ but it seems to be for vanilla JS in this example. I need an example which:
Builds on a dependency, in this case bootstrap
Is to be used in Angular (I'm using version 5)
Is installable and updatable via NPM or maybe Yarn
Has anyone any top tips on achieving the above? Or any really clear guides where someone has done this before?
I realise this question is relatively broad but really I just need some pointers to get started and I will document the process further when I have a better understanding.
Thanks in advance!
So you should move your theme into a separate project. Then all you have to do is run npm init in that directory and you have a npm.
As for sharing it between projects, I would create a repo on Github for this theme npm. Push all of your changes there. Then you can reference it in the package.json of all your projects by linking to the Github repo. Here is a good Stack question about how to do that.
Finally, if you want to develop your theme locally inside one of your projects, you can use npm link. Here are he docs on that.

Is Node.js just used for dev-tooling on the front-end?

For my understanding, node.js is a javascript-engine which is running javascript-code without using a browser(window-global). You can use javascript on a server. But I saw now a lot of tutorials(react, angular, vue etc.). In every tutorial, I have to install something with npm. I can follow there are several dev-tools which I can use on my local machine to minimize my javscript-files or compile sass to css. But in the end, when I put my files on a webserver, I just have normal javascript-files, css-files etc. No node.js code in it, right?
My question is: React, angular, vue.js etc. are written in just normal javascript without node.js right? The reason why I use npm ist just to install every dependencies with one command, right?
A question more: Is there an any recommended order to learn all these frontend-development stuff? There are so much words I have to google it: angular.js, react, vue.js, vanilla.js, typescript, backbone.js, bower, grunt, webpack, yarn etc... I dont know where I start, so I look into few tutorials, but everytime I go through these tutorials, there is a new word(technology) I have to research.
I think you're getting your terminology a little muddled.
Node.js is a JavaScript runtime, built on Google Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine. However, that is not to say that Node programs are executed in a browser. They aren’t. Rather, the creator of Node (Ryan Dahl) took the V8 engine and enhanced it with various features (such as a file system API and an HTTP library) to create a program we can use to execute JavaScript on our computers.
Node comes bundled with a package manager called npm which you can use to install packages (such as React and Angular) from the npm registry. These packages are indeed written in normal JavaScript (or a language that compiles to JavaScript, such as TypeScript).
The reason why I use npm is just to install every dependencies with one command, right?
Kinda. You can certainly use npm to install dependencies. However, it does a lot more that that. For example you can use npm scripts to carry out various build tasks, or you can create a package yourself and use npm to publish it to the registry.
A question more: Is there an any recommended order to learn all these frontend-development stuff?
As with everything, it depends. What are you trying to build? It's relatively pointless to learn about Node, npm, React and Angular if you are attempting to build a simple static website. If I were you, I'd define a clear goal and set about learning the technologies you'll need to reach that goal. Saying that, if you are doing anything with front-end development, learning about npm will be a good use of your time.
Here's an article by way of further reading that explains things a little more: https://www.sitepoint.com/an-introduction-to-node-js/

Module vs. Dependency vs. Library vs. Package vs. Component

I understand that packages hold several modules, but I'm starting to get confused as to if packages and modules are dependencies. Also, libraries to me maybe seem like packages you install via NPM, Nuget, RubyGems, Bower, Homebrew, or Chocolatey. So are libraries packages? Dependencies are something you need to load within your application, to have a certain functionality, but aren't some libraries(jQuery) seen as a dependency? So yea, what are the differences between these concepts?
Libraries are just a bunch of code anyone can use. For example, React.js is a JavaScript library for building front end components.
If I decide to use this library in my app, then React will become one of the modules (aka an installed instance of the library) that my app depends on. So dependencies are pretty much all of the libraries your app depends on, in order to run the way you expect it to run.
I asked the same question you did about dependencies, and I learned that it's a matter of understanding how these terms relate to one another rather than finding isolated definitions for each of them.
Hope this helps!
Basically a package is a pack with some features which fullfills some functionality of your app.
Once you install any package using npm then the package is installed as a dependency in your app inside your package.json file along with its modules(aka libraries consist of classes) stored inside node_modules folder.
I hope its clear now.

What's the lightest way to automate .vue file compilation without webpack?

I'm working on a web application that currently uses vuejs for part of its interface. The back-end is NOT in Node, so there is currently no package.json file or any tool from the typical npm stack in this repository.
We already have a bunch of non-npm dependencies that need to be installed in order to use the repository, so my coworkers aren't too open about the idea of adding another layer of complexity. I can't blame them for that, it's the reason why I use npm scripts and not even gulp in my other projects. I'm tired of spending hours learning and configuring build tools that never end up doing what I want anyway.
But since the vue-cli tool no longer includes the build command, I'm a bit stuck. Is there really no more CLI app to build vue files at all? And if so, what would be the smart way to use vue without webpack? Template strings are not maintainable at all, and <script type="text/x-template"> don't work when you want to use multiple components from multiple files in the same page.
I realize your question says 'without webpack' but you may be interested in backpack - a CLI app i came across for building Vue.js without requiring you to write any configuration code. It is basically webpack preconfigured as a minimalistic build system for Node.js. It provides two commands, dev for live reload enabled development and build for building you project.

Is it still appropriate to use Bower to install Bootstrap instead of via NPM or NuGet?

I'm checking out tons of blogs like this one where it's explicitly stated that Bower is the preferred and recommended way install Bootstrap to my Core web app.
The recommended way to install client-side dependencies like Bootstrap in ASP.NET Core is via Bower (using bower.json, as shown above). The use of npm/NuGet are shown to demonstrate how easily Bootstrap can be added to other kinds of web applications, including earlier versions of ASP.NET.
Checking the date of the post seems to be settling as it's only a few weeks old but when I check e.g. the icon for dependencies and some other things, I'm getting the impression that the content might be actually a bit more aged than so.
I've been googlearching lately and I learned that there's a shift towards fewer-simpler-smaller approach. Especially I've discovered that NPM is often recommended for managing all the packages, including Bootstrap. (Now, just because someone says so, it doesn't automatically makes it true - we need to ask why would the one or the other approach be more advantageous.)
Question - what's the downside of using Bower to manage Bootstrap instead of installing it with NPM and omitting Bower all together?
I think that since bootstrap is a strictly front-end framework, the recommendation was to install it via bower. If you envision having server-side javascript in your project as well, then npm would be the recommended way to go now :)

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