Gulp Tutorial - Part 18 Useful NPM Tips

http://robertdunaway.github.io

http://mashupjs.github.io

The Mashup is a learning tool that serves as a seed project for line-of-business applications. It’s goal is a shortened learning curve for building modern business applications and the reduction of technical debt.

This tutorial and more can be found in

Gulp - Quick guide to getting up and running today

Gulp Tutorial - Part 18

Useful NPM Tips

COMMANDS CHEAT SHEET

Find outdated modules

npm outdated -–depth=0
npm outdated –-json -–depth=0

Installing a package

npm install grunt-contrib-uglify@* --save-dev

Updating local packages

When someone has added modules since your last check-in just run.
npm update

POWERSHELL (PRIMER)

Windows users can use either the Command Prompt or PowerShell.

PowerShell is pre-installed on Windows 8 or newer installations.

From Start: Search programs and files type “powershell”. Select “powershell.exe”.

SYNTAX

Powershell Command Syntax:

application action –flags arguments

For help with any application add the –h or –help flags for additional instructions.

The tab key autocompletes your statement.

ADDING AND REMOVING FILES

To create a new item use the ni command. This might not seem useful with Visual Studio 2013 because any file added must also be added to your project file. Visual Studio 2015 does not have a project file needing updates. Instead a Glob pattern is used to determine what files should and should not be included in the project. That being the case, suddenly, ni makes more sense.

Adding files

ni newjsfile.js -type file
new-item newjsfile.js –type file

Removing files

ri newjsfile.js or remove-item newjsfile.js

INSTALLING NODEJS AND NPM PACKAGES

Install NodeJS from:
https://nodejs.org/

Install NPM packages with the following syntax
npm install [global option –g] [package-name] [options]

Example: (You need to install Gulp both locally and globally)

npm install gulp --save-dev
npm install gulp –g

https://docs.npmjs.com/getting-started/installing-npm-packages-locally

NPM VERSION UPDATES

There are multiple options for keeping NPM packages up to date. The approach you choose might depend on your development workflow and automated testing solution, i.e., if you have good automated testing, it might be safe to allow the latest versions. If not, you might want to choose a more deliberate approach to NPM versioning.

VERSION UPDATES: OPTION 1 – USING NODE TOOLS

Check to see which NPM packages are out of date

Display colored rows
npm outdated -–depth=0

Display in json which includes current, wanted, latest version numbers
npm outdated –-json -–depth=0

Note: Not all your packages will be displayed. Only the outdated packages will be displayed.

Note: If you modify the command to include “-g” then you’ll get a list of your outdated global packages.

To update packages one at a time

npm install [package-name]@* [save?]
npm install grunt-contrib-uglify@* --save-dev

VERSION UPDATES: OPTION 2 – USING NPM-CHECK-UPDATES

Using the npm-check-updates package, you can keep all your packages updated.
https://www.npmjs.com/package/npm-check-updates
npm install -g npm-check-updates

Then execute the following command to see what packages can be updated.
npm-check-updates

To upgrade all your packages

npm-check-updates –u [-g option for global packages]

Now your package.json is updated.

Then execute an NPM install to update the package installations.

npm install [-g option for global packages]

NPM VERSIONING SEMANTICS

https://docs.npmjs.com/misc/semver
http://semver.org/

Source code for this tutorial

Start the tutorial using this code base:

https://github.com/MashupJS/gulp-tutorial

A completed tutorial can be found here:

https://github.com/MashupJS/gulp-tutorial-end-result

This tutorial and more can be found in

Gulp - Quick guide to getting up and running today