Deno is a new runtime (like Node.js) that aims to provide a productive and secure scripting environment for JavaScript and TypeScript.
It has been created by Ryal Dahl, the original creator of Node.js, to be a secure environment for the modern JavaScript/TypeScript developer, incorporating the recent advances in JavaScript of the last years. It’s funny that the name “Deno” is a play on “Node”.
Deno 1.0 was launched on May 13, 2020, exactly 2 years after its initial launch, on May 13, 2018.
Deno Key Aspects
It is built on top of the V8 engine, the Rust language, and TypeScript. Deno code is executed in a secure sandbox by default. Scripts cannot access the hard drive, or open network connections, for example.
TypeScript is a first class citizen in Deno. It’s supported without additional tooling. The runtime standard modules are all written in TypeScript. The deno types command provides type declarations for everything provided by Deno.
One of the most interesting (controversial?) aspects is that it doesn’t use NPM. Instead, it uses modules referenced as URLs or file paths. Of course, this means it doesn’t require a package.json either.
Another key aspect is that it uses ES module importing style and doesn’t support the CommonJS module specification, the require() syntax, popular in Node.js.
Learn about Deno
Deno appears to be a nice runtime worth exploring to write utility scripts that have traditionally been written with bash or Python.
You can learn more about Deno at its site https://deno.land/ or check its GitHub repository https://github.com/denoland/deno
There are already some apps written for Deno and one of the things that devs adopting Deno are happy about is the native TypeScript support and how up to date coding for it feels, as opposed to coding for Node.js. What do you think? It’s Deno a new fad or the real thing? Is there life beyond not using NPM?
