Node.js: A brief history of cjs, bundlers, and esm

Web Application Bundler JS Build Tools Assets Bundler

Webpack Landing Page
1

Webpack

Webpack is a module bundler. Its main purpose is to bundle JavaScript files for usage in a browser, yet it is also capable of transforming, bundling, or packaging just about any resource or asset.
Pricing:
- Open Source
Npm packages dramatically sped up the productivity of developers by being able to leverage other developers' work. However, it had a major disadvantage: cjs was not compatible with web browsers. To solve this problem, the concept of bundlers was born. Browserify was the first bundler which essentially worked by traversing an entry point and "bundling" all the require()-ed code into a single .js file compatible with web browsers. As time went on, other bundlers with additional features and differentiators were introduced. Most notably webpack, parcel, rollup, esbuild and vite (in chronological order).

#Web Application Bundler #JS Build Tools #Module Bundler 248 social mentions
Vite Landing Page
2

Vite

Next Generation Frontend Tooling
Pricing:
- Open Source
Npm packages dramatically sped up the productivity of developers by being able to leverage other developers' work. However, it had a major disadvantage: cjs was not compatible with web browsers. To solve this problem, the concept of bundlers was born. Browserify was the first bundler which essentially worked by traversing an entry point and "bundling" all the require()-ed code into a single .js file compatible with web browsers. As time went on, other bundlers with additional features and differentiators were introduced. Most notably webpack, parcel, rollup, esbuild and vite (in chronological order).

#Software Development #Web Frameworks #Developer Tools 474 social mentions
Typescript Landing Page
3

Typescript

TypeScript allows developers to compile a superset of JavaScript to plain JavaScript on any browser, host, or operating system.
Pricing:
- Open Source
Over time, esm became widely adopted by developers thanks to bundlers and languages like TypeScript since they are capable of transforming esm syntax into cjs.

#Programming Language #OOP #Generic Programming Language 27 social mentions
rollup.js Landing Page
4

rollup.js

Rollup is a module bundler for JavaScript which compiles small pieces of code into a larger piece such as application.
Pricing:
- Open Source
Npm packages dramatically sped up the productivity of developers by being able to leverage other developers' work. However, it had a major disadvantage: cjs was not compatible with web browsers. To solve this problem, the concept of bundlers was born. Browserify was the first bundler which essentially worked by traversing an entry point and "bundling" all the require()-ed code into a single .js file compatible with web browsers. As time went on, other bundlers with additional features and differentiators were introduced. Most notably webpack, parcel, rollup, esbuild and vite (in chronological order).

#JS Build Tools #Web Application Bundler #Front End Package Manager 64 social mentions
Parcel Landing Page
5

Parcel

Blazing fast, zero configuration web application bundler
Pricing:
- Open Source
Npm packages dramatically sped up the productivity of developers by being able to leverage other developers' work. However, it had a major disadvantage: cjs was not compatible with web browsers. To solve this problem, the concept of bundlers was born. Browserify was the first bundler which essentially worked by traversing an entry point and "bundling" all the require()-ed code into a single .js file compatible with web browsers. As time went on, other bundlers with additional features and differentiators were introduced. Most notably webpack, parcel, rollup, esbuild and vite (in chronological order).

#Web Application Bundler #Assets Bundler #JS Build Tools 113 social mentions
esbuild Landing Page
6

esbuild

An extremely fast JavaScript bundler and minifier
Pricing:
- Open Source
Npm packages dramatically sped up the productivity of developers by being able to leverage other developers' work. However, it had a major disadvantage: cjs was not compatible with web browsers. To solve this problem, the concept of bundlers was born. Browserify was the first bundler which essentially worked by traversing an entry point and "bundling" all the require()-ed code into a single .js file compatible with web browsers. As time went on, other bundlers with additional features and differentiators were introduced. Most notably webpack, parcel, rollup, esbuild and vite (in chronological order).

#JS Build Tools #Web Application Bundler #Project Management 148 social mentions
Browserify Landing Page
7

Browserify

Browserify lets you require('modules') in the browser by bundling up all of your dependencies.
Pricing:
- Open Source
Npm packages dramatically sped up the productivity of developers by being able to leverage other developers' work. However, it had a major disadvantage: cjs was not compatible with web browsers. To solve this problem, the concept of bundlers was born. Browserify was the first bundler which essentially worked by traversing an entry point and "bundling" all the require()-ed code into a single .js file compatible with web browsers. As time went on, other bundlers with additional features and differentiators were introduced. Most notably webpack, parcel, rollup, esbuild and vite (in chronological order).

#JS Build Tools #Module Bundler #Web Application Bundler 23 social mentions