I might say that every interpreter has a different minimum dependency level just to create a simple application. If we're talking about Node.js, there's a long list of dependencies by default.

So yes, in comparison, modern vanilla PHP with some level of developer discipline (as you mentioned) is actually quite suitable, but unfortunately not popular, for low-dependency development of web applications.

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cosmic_cheese 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The language and capabilities of the platform indeed have a lot of influence on how many packages the average project depends on.

With Swift on iOS/macOS for instance it’s not strange at all for an app to have a dependency tree consisting of only 5-10 third party packages total, and with a little discipline one can often get that number down to <5. Why? Because between the language itself, UIKit/AppKit, and SwiftUI, nearly all needs are pretty well covered.

I think it’s time to beef up both JavaScript itself as well as the platforms where it’s run (such as the browser and Node), so people don’t feel nearly as much of a need to pull in tons of dependencies.

	▲	skydhash 14 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		You can do that with node.js too. It’s the libraries themselves that tries to bring in the whole world. It’s a matter of culture.

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embedding-shape 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> If we're talking about Node.js, there's a long list of dependencies by default.

But that's not true? I initialize a project locally, there is zero dependencies by default, and like I did five years ago, I can still build backend/frontend projects with minimal set of dependencies.

What changed is what people are willing/OK with doing. Yes, it'll require more effort, obviously, but if you want things to be built properly, it usually takes more effort.

	▲	reconnecting 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Perhaps, the right wording here might be that Node.js encourages the use of npm packages even for simple tasks. I agree that in any case, it's the courage/discipline that comes before the language choice when creating low-dependency applications.