EcmaScript 6 modules will not stop growing use of Node, claims chair of Technical Steering Committee
Node.js 17 is out, loaded with OpenSSL 3 and other new features, but it is not intended for use in production – and the promotion for Node.js 16 to an LTS release, expected soon, may be more important to most developers. The release cycle is based on six-monthly major versions, with only the even numbers becoming LTS (long term support) editions. The rule is that a new even-numbered release becomes LTS six months later. All releases get six months of support. This means that Node.js 17 is primarily for testing and experimentation, but also that Node.js 16 (released in April) is about to become LTS. New features in 16 included version 9.0 of the V8 JavaScript engine and prebuilt Apple silicon binaries. «We put together the LTS release process almost five years ago, it works quite well in that we’re balancing [the fact] that some people want the latest, others prefer to have things be stable… when we go LTS,» Red Hat’s Michael Dawson, chair of the Node.js Technical Steering Committee, told The Register. «We’ve hopefully shaken out any issues. Actually at Red Hat we only issue binaries for the LTS releases, and that’s what I recommend people to use in production.» Having established that Node.js 17 is not primarily intended for production use, what is new? Inclusion of OpenSSL 3.0 is a big one, Dawson told us. «It give us a path to community FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards),» said Dawson – though the OpenSSL team said last month that FIPS 140-2 validation is still in progress and «the final certificate is not expected to be issued until next year.
