The world of JavaScript levelled up when Ryan Dahl revealed Deno 2, a programming language that aimed to solve the problems of Node.js. Dahl is the brain behind Node.js, and in the past, he has expressed regrets that what started as a simple runtime environment no longer remained simple and easy to work with.
To solve this issue, he created Deno, which is the opposite of Node (De+No).
While explaining why Deno 2 was required, he said, “Programming should be simple and that’s why I created Node, but these days Node is hardly simple and getting Node APIs working in the browser can be frustrating. Security is also a nightmare, I mean the NPM package can access everything which is a huge concern. Demo solves all of these while being simple to use.”
A developer on Reddit shared his review of Deno, saying that he tried it for some personal projects and loved how getting started in TypeScript required very little configuration. All one has to do is create a simple file and start working in TypeScript.
“In Node, you have to install TypeScript and set up your configuration so you can build it into a dust folder or something. Not only that, if you want a Linter, you have to install ESLint and set up its configuration again. In Deno, both are included in the Deno binary without needing any configuration files,” he said.
Deno 2 developers claim that with the recent release, they are narrowing the gap between the server-side and browser-side JavaScript by adopting web standards and APIs commonly used in browsers.
It provides built-in support for features like fetch, ES Modules, and Promises while also offering native TypeScript support. This approach allows developers to write code that’s more consistent across both environments, reducing the learning curve and improving code reusability between client and server applications.
Uncomplicating JavaScript–A Bold Claim!
Deno solves many of the challenges that developers encounter in Node.js development. While Node.js is a powerful platform, its ecosystem often requires developers to piece together multiple tools and packages just to get a project running, creating unnecessary complexity and mental overhead.
Deno, on the other hand, provides a more streamlined experience with built-in features, reducing dependency bloat and eliminating the need to configure and maintain multiple tools – ultimately making development simpler and more straightforward.
A major highlight of Deno 2 is backward compatibility. Multiple developers have reported that just because Deno 1 was not backwards compatible with NPM, they refused to adapt to it but now that this problem is solved, Deno 2 might see large scale adoption.
A developer mentioned on Reddit that incrementalism is the only practical approach. He said that the ecosystem built around Node over the past fifteen years can’t be ignored. He has wanted to work with Deno for a long time, but there were a couple of libraries and SDKs critical to his workflow that weren’t compatible with it.
“This update will allow me to use those while relying on the Deno ecosystem for everything else. I suspect my situation represents the majority of devs,” he added further suggesting why Deno 2’s backward compatibility is important here.
Deno 2 vs Bun
The most important aspect of Deno 2 is probably how it competes with Bun. Multiple developers who were not happy with the first release of Deno eventually switched to Bun because of its speed, but Deno 2 changed everything.
You will find an Easter egg for this in the release video of Deno 2, where a Bun user (a woman holding a bun) is surprised to learn that she can use Next.js in Deno 2.
Tony Pujals, a JavaScript developer at GoogleCloud, mentioned that he initially found Bun.js attractive primarily because of its speed, but he now finds Deno’s developer experience better than Bun’s.
“I say this as a Node.js enthusiast and programmer since 2009, a former member of the Node.js Evangelism Working Group, and someone who focuses primarily on Node.js developer engineering relations for my day job. Node.js is stuck with past decisions regardless of how pragmatic they were at the time; Deno is a breath of fresh air, and Deno 2 is going to really shake things up,” he added.
Developers find Bun is still in its early stages and needs more development. Deno initially faced its own challenges due to its unconventional approach to package management. Although Deno’s unique system made sense to developers who deeply understood its differences from Node.js, it often confused newcomers to the platform.
A developer on Reddit mentioned that Deno has since improved by adding Node.js compatibility features, making it much more accessible. This backwards compatibility now allows developers to gradually integrate Deno into existing Node.js projects, making it a more practical choice for both new and existing applications.
After the release of Deno 2, multiple users who were already frustrated with Bun are considering a switch to Deno. A developer reported using Bun on VPS for a few applications and witnessed multiple crashes. Due to these crashes, he had to set up everything again, making him hesitant to use Bun in production for future applications.
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