Changes/NodejsLibrariesBundleByDefault

Guidance
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Stop Shipping Individual Nodejs Library Packages

Summary

For Nodejs, Fedora should only package:

• The interpreter, development headers/libraries, and the assorted tools to manage project-level installations (NPM, yarn, etc.).
• Packages that provide binaries that users would want to use in their shell.
• compiled/binary nodejs modules (for now)

Owner

• Name: Troy Dawson
• Email: tdawson@redhat.com
• Name: Stephen Gallagher
• Email: sgallagh@redhat.com
• Name: [Nodejs SIG]
• Email: nodejs@lists.fedoraproject.org

Current status

• Targeted release: Fedora 34
• Last updated: 2020-12-02
• FESCo issue: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>
• Tracker bug: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>
• Release notes tracker: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>

Detailed Description

The nodejs libraries have been approved to be bundled, and there is infrastructure in place for the bundling to work properly. Currently, it is recommended that packagers should create individual nodejs library packages instead of bundling all of the libraries into the package requiring them. This change is to make it default to bundle the nodejs libraries with the package that needs then, and retire the vast majority of nodejs library packages.

In summary, for Nodejs Fedora should only package:

• The interpreter, development headers/libraries, and the assorted tools to manage project-level installations (NPM, yarn, etc.).
• Packages that provide binaries that users would want to use in their shell.
• compiled/binary nodejs modules (for now)

Feedback

There has been a discussion on the fedora nodejs mailing list about what to do with the extreme dependency problem of the nodejs library packages. Because of the extreme inter-dependency, upgrading almost any package causes others to break. It has caused most packages to rot, un-upgraded for years. Many of the nodejs packagers are giving up and orphaning their packages, which has caused even more problems.

An initial proposal was to find all of the important nodejs library packages and bundle those, making them easier to upgrade and maintain. But there was problems with figuring out what was important, and what versions should those have. During that discussion this rather extreme solution, of getting rid of all nodejs libraries was proposed. To our surprise, it has been the best suggestion and fixes the most problems.

Benefit to Fedora

• In Fedora 33, there are many nodejs libraries that are uninstallable, causing other programs based off them, to also be uninstallable. This get's rid of that problem.
• Packages in Fedora that use nodejs libraries will be able to use the library versions that upstream has tested and approved.
• If a package in Fedora uses a nodejs library, the packager will not have to also package extra individual nodejs library packages. There have been times this has led to over 100 extra packages, each with their own package reviews and maintenance problems. This change will lower the workload on that packager, and possibly get more packages into Fedora.
• The nodejs maintainers can concentrate on nodejs itself, instead of the whole nodejs library infrastructure.
• Nodejs developers using Fedora will no longer have to worry about Fedora's global nodejs libraries causing conflicts or inconsistencies.

Scope

• Proposal owners:

We ( Troy Dawson, Stephen Gallagher, [Nodejs SIG members]) will go through the Fedora release and determine what nodejs packages Fedora should package.

For those nodejs packages we already own that we want to keep, we will implement this bundling. For those nodejs packages that we already own, that we do not want to keep, we will orphan responsibly.

For packages that currently depend on nodejs libraries that we do not own, we will work with their owners to implement nodejs library bundling.

For those nodejs libraries that we do not own, we will work with their owners to orphan them responsibly.

• Other developers:

For Fedora packagers whose package rely on nodejs libraries, please contact the [Nodejs SIG] and we will help you find the easiest way to bundle your nodejs libraries.

For Fedora nodejs library packages, look to see what depends on your library. If it looks like you can, then orphan your nodejs library. If you would like, give the [Nodejs SIG] admin to your nodejs libraries, and they will work through the process for you.

• Release engineering: #Releng issue number (a check of an impact with Release Engineering is needed)

• Policies and guidelines: N/A (not a System Wide Change)

• Trademark approval: N/A (not needed for this Change)

• Alignment with Objectives:

Upgrade/compatibility impact

As nodejs library packages are removed, we will work with the various packages that depend on them. We will help them bundle their nodejs libraries. To help people updating we will utilize the fedora-obsolete-packages. It will obsolete all the various nodejs libraries that are removed, and allow people to do updates to Fedora 34.

How To Test

• Install all nodejs libraries in Fedora 33. Try to update to Fedora 34.
• Try to install all packages that require nodejs in Fedora 34.
• Install all packages that require nodejs in Fedora 33. Try to update to Fedora 34.

User Experience

non-developer end users should not see anything different. Their nodejs binaries should continue to work.

Nodejs developers using Fedora will no longer have to worry about Fedora's global nodejs libraries causing conflicts or inconsistencies.

Dependencies

As nodejs library packages are removed, we will work with the various packages that depend on them. We will help them bundle their nodejs libraries.

Contingency Plan

Since we will be bundling the nodejs binaries, before we remove their current dependencies, we will simply stop where we are at the freeze. There will be nothing to back out.

• Contingency mechanism: N/A
• Contingency deadline: N/A
• Blocks release? N/A
• Blocks product? N/A

Documentation

N/A (not a System Wide Change)