The Evolution of JavaScript Build Tools
Over the years, the JavaScript ecosystem has witnessed significant advancements in build tools, transforming the way developers work with JavaScript packages and modules. From Google Closure Tools to the latest innovations, build time, speed, customization, configuration, and extensibility have seen remarkable improvements.
Prerequisites
To follow along, you’ll need:
- Node.js 10x or higher
- Yarn/npm 5.2 or higher installed on your PC
- Basic knowledge of JavaScript and how build tools work
Rollup.js: The Module Bundler
Rollup.js, a module bundler, compiles small pieces of code into larger, more complex libraries or applications. Since its first release in December 2018, Rollup has become the standard for building JavaScript packages and modules, adopted by numerous organizations and individual developers worldwide.
Pros of Using Rollup.js
- Fast builds
- Easy to learn and publish JavaScript packages
- Code-splitting
- Less configuration compared to Webpack
- Perfect for JavaScript libraries
- Plugins for better builds and customizations
- Smaller bundle size and clean code
- Awesome support for ES Modules
Cons of Using Rollup.js
- No out-of-the-box support for async/await
Getting Started with Rollup.js
To get started, install Rollup globally by running the command npm install -g rollup or locally for a particular project using npm install rollup or yarn add rollup. Then, use the command rollup -c to compile your code.
Parcel: The Zero-Configuration Bundler
Parcel, a web application bundler, is known for its developer experience. Released in 2019, Parcel is fast, requiring zero configuration, unlike Rollup.js and Webpack. It’s essentially a plug-and-play bundler, currently in version 2, beta 1.
Pros of Using Parcel
- Blazingly fast builds
- Awesome developer experience
- Zero configuration
- Plugin support
- Custom plugins support
- Multi-core processing
- Support for low-level languages like Rust and WASM
- Hot Module Replacement (HMR) support out of the box
- Support for code-splitting out of the box
Cons of Using Parcel
- Issues with using latest ES7 features
- High complexity with extra plugins for Babel
Getting Started with Parcel
Install Parcel by running npm install parcel or yarn add parcel. Then, bundle your project using the command parcel index.html.
Snowpack: The Modern Frontend Build Tool
Snowpack, a modern frontend build tool, replaces heavier bundlers like Webpack or Parcel in your development workflow. Its best feature is skipping the bundling process in development, making development fast.
Features of Snowpack
- O(1) build times
- No bundling in production
- Lightning-fast builds
- Hot Module Replacement support
- Out-of-the-box support for TypeScript, JSX, CSS Modules, and more
- Simple tooling
- App templates for developers
Cons of Using Snowpack
- No in-built production bundler
Getting Started with Snowpack
Install Snowpack by running npm install snowpack or yarn add snowpack. Then, start the development server using the command snowpack dev.
esbuild: The Next-Gen JavaScript Bundler
esbuild, an extremely fast next-gen JavaScript bundler and minifier, packages up JavaScript and TypeScript code for distribution on the web. Written in Go, it’s extremely fast and lighter than other bundlers.
Features of esbuild
- Extremely fast builds
- Loaders for TypeScript, JavaScript, and JSON
- Minification
- Code-splitting support
- Bundling
- Tree-Shaking
- Support for various output formats
- Source map generation
- Transpilation of JSX and newer JS syntax down to ES6
Cons of Using esbuild
- Still experimental
- No HRM
Getting Started with esbuild
Install esbuild by running npm install esbuild or yarn add esbuild. Then, use the command esbuild input.js --outfile=output.js to bundle your code.
Packem: The Pre-Compiled JavaScript Bundler
Packem, a pre-compiled JavaScript bundler, is primarily implemented in Rust. It can also compile other file types like YAML/TOML.
Pros of Using Packem
- 2x faster than Parcel
- Lightweight and efficient build outputs
- Easy configuration
- YML for data structuring
- Code-splitting support with dynamic imports
- Plugins for a better development experience
Cons of Using Packem
- Verbose API
- Low adoption rate
Getting Started with Packem
Install Packem by running npm install packem or yarn add packem. Then, create a .packemrc file in the root folder of your project to configure Packem.
As we move forward, we can expect build tools to continue having faster builds, better customizations, and zero-prototyping and configurations. With the rise of Rust-based tools, the future of JavaScript build tools looks promising.