Switch from bash scripts to higher language

[viceice]

We need to decide to which higher language we switch, because we've some features which are prettey complex to implement inside bash scripts.

So Idea's / preferences?

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• Automatic runtime install of tools #101

[viceice]

We decided to use the node ecosystem and write our main code inside typescript. That way we can easily support customer tools via custom javascript files imported at runtime. Another benefit is that we can reuse renovate datasource code.

Compiling can be done with pkg so we get a single small binary.

We can probably maintain compabillity to old tools by leaving some helper shell scripts, which are called from node.

[JamieMagee]

I'm not sure it's viable right now, but Node.js is investigating making this a native feature. See:

• https://nodejs.org/docs/latest-v19.x/api/single-executable-applications.html
• https://github.com/nodejs/single-executable
• https://github.com/nodejs/postject

[viceice]

yes, but it's not working when we need other native modules.

[JamieMagee]

I threw together a proof-of-concept compiled with pkg: https://github.com/JamieMagee/containerbase-cli.

It doesn't do anything, except show how to compile to a single-file app.

[viceice]

I threw together a proof-of-concept compiled with pkg: https://github.com/JamieMagee/containerbase-cli.

It doesn't do anything, except show how to compile to a single-file app.

can we compile as esm instead of commonjs? otherwise we are again stuck from modern packages .

[JamieMagee]

I can try, but it isn't officially supported. See vercel/pkg#1291

[JamieMagee]

I managed to get ESM working 🎉

JamieMagee/containerbase-cli@4a4b080

[rarkins]

FYI I've been using pkg for https://github.com/containerbase/runinstall

[viceice]

FYI I've been using pkg for https://github.com/containerbase/runinstall

Good old plain common js 🙈 😅

[Chumper]

Just as a note, deno now supports npm packages with deno compile: denoland/deno#19005