NodeJS Alternatives - Deno and Bun
NodeJS is very popular and prevalent in web development space.
I’ve never wanted to install NodeJS. And I never liked that the broader web and general development space moved towards server side JavaScript.
I’ve tried Deno in the past to be able to use TypeScript for website JavaScript development with typing, but ultimately found the additional compilation step more burdensome than helpful.
My current approach is to use and implement JavaScript, and use JSDoc annotations with type information. IDEs (can) still support typing analysis then, but there’s no tooling overhead and burdens involved.
NodeJS Alternatives
Both Deno and Bun both target NodeJS compatibility, both with their own goals of improvements and enhancements.
| Software | Note/Goals | Source | Scope | Runtime Languages | ES Modules/CommonJS | JS Engine | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NodeJS | JS/C++ | runtime, separate pkg man. | JavaScript | ES Modules, CommonJS | V8 | MIT | |
| Deno | multi-runtime, secure defaults | Rust | runtime + package management | JavaScript, TypeScript, WebAssembly | ES Modules, (compat layer) CommonJS | V8 | MIT |
| Bun | Drop-In NodeJS replacement | Zig | runtime + package management | JavaScript, TypeScript, .jsx, .tsx | ES Modules, CommonJS | JavaScriptCore | MIT |
Bun is designed as a faster, leaner, more modern replacement for Node.js.
Bun startup is supposedly 2x faster than Deno, and 4x faster than NodeJS. A gain of the JS engine that may have other trade-offs.