bun

What is bun?

Bun is a fast all-in-one JavaScript runtime, bundler, transpiler, and package manager. It aims to provide a comprehensive toolset for modern JavaScript development, focusing on performance and developer experience.

What are bun's main functionalities?

JavaScript Runtime

Bun can execute JavaScript code directly, similar to Node.js. This makes it suitable for running scripts and building server-side applications.

console.log('Hello, Bun!');

Bundler

Bun can bundle JavaScript and TypeScript files, optimizing them for production. This command takes an entry file and outputs the bundled code to a specified directory.

bun build src/index.js --outdir dist

Transpiler

Bun can transpile TypeScript to JavaScript, making it easier to work with modern JavaScript features while maintaining compatibility with older environments.

bun transpile src/index.ts --outdir dist

Package Manager

Bun includes a package manager that can install dependencies from the npm registry. This command installs the React library into your project.

bun install react

Other packages similar to bun

node

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. It is widely used for building server-side applications and has a vast ecosystem of packages. Compared to Bun, Node.js is more mature and has broader community support, but it may not be as fast in certain scenarios.

webpack

Webpack is a popular module bundler for JavaScript applications. It allows developers to bundle JavaScript files for usage in a browser. While Webpack is highly configurable and powerful, it can be complex to set up compared to Bun's simpler bundling process.

esbuild

Esbuild is an extremely fast JavaScript bundler and minifier. It is known for its speed and efficiency, making it a strong competitor to Bun in terms of performance. However, Esbuild focuses primarily on bundling and minification, whereas Bun offers a broader range of features.

typescript

TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript that adds static types. While Bun can transpile TypeScript to JavaScript, TypeScript itself is a language and compiler that provides type safety and modern JavaScript features. Bun's transpiler feature is similar but integrated into its all-in-one toolset.

npm

Npm is the default package manager for Node.js. It is used to install, share, and manage dependencies in JavaScript projects. Bun's package manager aims to be faster and more efficient, but npm has a larger ecosystem and is more widely adopted.

README

bun

We've all pondered, "But what do I do with it?" The answer is universal: Wrap it in a bun! bun wraps a series of streams into a single stream.Duplex-compliant unit.

A Possible And Likely Scenario

Say you have an existing module with an implentation like this

// my-transport.js
encryptor.pipe(compressor).pipe(socket).pipe(decompressor).pipe(decryptor);

Totally believable, right? Now each time someone wants to use your module, you have to do something like this

// too much work!
client.pipe(encryptor)
      .pipe(compressor)
      .pipe(socket)
      .pipe(decompressor)
      .pipe(decryptor)
      .pipe(client);

Gross! Puke! This is horribly inconvenient and ugly for the end user! Let's look at a better solution

// defined in my-transport.js
var bun = require("bun");
module.service = function(socket) {
  return bun([encryptor, compressor, socket, decompressor, decryptor]);
});

// used in client
var transport = require("./my-transport");
client.pipe(transport.service(socket)).pipe(client);

Hot cross buns! bun is amazing!

Example

var  stream = require("stream"),
     bun    = require("bun");

// stream generator
var createStream = function createStream(id) {
  var s = new stream.Transform({encoding: "utf8"});
  s._transform = function _transform(str, encoding, done) {
    this.push("(" + id + " " + str + ")");
    done();
  };
  return s;
};

// create some streams
var streams = ["G", "O", "D"].map(function(id) {
  return createStream(id);
});

// wrap the streams in a bun!
var hotdog = bun(streams);

// connect hotdog to stdout
hotdog.pipe(process.stdout);

// use the hotdog
hotdog.write("in a bun"); // (D (O (G in a bun)))

Buns are convenient, edible, and keep your hands clean! Use bun!

API

bun

var service = bun(streams, [options]);

• streams - An array of stream objects.
• options - An object specifying options. (options are optional)

Options:

• bubbleErrors - Bubble "error" events from wrapped streams up to the outer stream, giving you an easy way to aggregate and react to all the errors emitted by them in one place. Default is true.

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