Switch to Node-API?

[uhop]

Some time ago I started Notes on building alternatives in the wiki where I shared my thoughts on the topic.

I suggest to skim it, but for the TL;DR crowd:

• Current problems:
  • The addon was started way before alternatives existed. It uses NaN.
    • NaN is hard to use, it changes too much ⇒ frequently an update is an uphill battle because something has changed and now C++ complains or produces endless warnings from the bowels of NaN for no apparent reasons.
    • Why update NaN? New versions of Node require new versions of NaN. Users demand supporting new Node versions.
  • The current packaging doesn't support Deno and Bun.
• Alternatives:
  • WASM — I tried the existing clone and it is not ready for the prime time: slow and unstable.
  • Node-API — apparently it is better maintained and some versions of it are supported by Bun.

So the idea is to rewrite everything for Node-API abandoning the existing codebase.

BTW, it was proposed based on the fact of "rewrite everything" to consider more alternatives:

• Use a different build system (applies to Node-API too, may require no rewriting if keeping the status quo):
  • use alternatives to node-gyp like CMake.js
  • try to use Zig to compile C++ hoping for faster code and leveraging its builtin cross-compilation
• Use a different language:
  • try to use Rust — it has a way to make Node addons

Thoughts?