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Dec 11, 2018
Is it less dependency, smaller package.json or not re-inventing wheel with 3rd parties/packages but bigger package.json ?
I just want to get your opinions about something that everyone has different opinion. Dependencies, especially in node applications. For most, less is better, but isn't that also leads developers to re-invent wheel? For instance a masked input component. There are plenty of them in npm registry. would you use one of them ( security etc out of scope ) or would you say, less dependency, I will build my own so I don't have to depend on a 3rd party component.
If you are for the latter then by doing that, wouldn't you re-inventing wheel by creating your own component every time you need something already has a community support behind it and already given a lot of thought and stuff.
Or on the other hand each time you want to make something different but don't want re-invent the wheel do you add a module from npm because it is more convenient and less time consuming.
What I am trying to figure out is what is acceptable and where is the limit to use or not use 3rd parties.
Responses(2)
I always get confused by the term inventing .... building a wheel != reinventing it. If you know exactly what you need and you got the time why not write it? npm does not guarantee LTS for packages.
The question is more complex than just two factors it has other concerns to factor in as well:
- How is security?
- Do I need one thing or all of it?
- Could I just copy the code I need? + tests
- Am I blackboxing or whiteboxing?
- What are the maintenance guarantees of the packages?
But often devs don't factor in those accounts, but use a more generic phrase
- Don't reinvent the wheel
Whatever that means. My idea is more along the lines of:
so I can focus on my task instead of a subproblem that someone else maybe already solved. But how this is achieved or if I can trust the others to deliver what I want and in the way I need it are different questions.
Emil Moe
Senior Data Engineer
Often I start out with something someone else has made, if it exists. When I realize this is a crucial part, then I can start developing my own version. Usually first a wrapper, which later can be extended to it's own. The rest of the code won't know when it's a wrapper or component, that's the trick here.