Project Dependencies

This page seeks to document all the dependencies / tools used by our project along with the reason(s) why they are being used.

Dependency Lists

All app dependencies are pulled in via NPM package manager, see our package.json.

Per the Angular 2 dependency recommendations, our NPM dependencies are split into dependencies (core dependencies) and devDependencies (development dependencies) within the package.json configuration.

1. The dependencies section should include feature packages (e.g. Angular 2 itself) and polyfills

• Polyfills are Javascript packages that plug gaps in the browser's Javascript implementation. Angular requires certain polyfills (to support cross-browser compatibility and latest Javascript features). The polyfills that Angular 2 currently requires are listed at https://angular.io/docs/ts/latest/guide/npm-packages.html#!#polyfill-packages

2. The devDependencies section should include packages that help us develop/transpile the application. They do not need to be deployed with the production application.

Core dependencies (dependencies)

• angular2 - UI framework (obviously)
• angular2-universal-preview (Angular Universal) - Provides server-side Javascript rendering (i.e. "universal" or isomorphic javascript) for Angular 2
• angular2-websocket
• express
• jquery
• preboot - Tool that allows you to record and playback any browser events that occur while the client-side application is loading. Angular Universal uses this to control a server-rendered page and transfer state to the client-side app.
• rxjs - A polyfill for the "Observables specification" currently under approval by the committee who determines standards for the JavaScript language.
• zone.js - A polyfill for the "Zone specification" currently under approval by the committee who determines standards for the JavaScript language.

Development dependencies (devDependencies)

• bootstrap-loader
• bootstrap-sass
• bootstrap-sass-loader
• commander
• concurrently - used to run multiple npm commands concurrently on Linux, Windows and Mac
• css-loader
• file-loader
• http-proxy
• node-sass
• nodemon - used to automatically restart the server when source code changes. See also our nodemon.json for configuration.
• resolve-url-loader
• rimraf
• sass-loader
• ssl-root-cas
• style-loader
• ts-loader
• typescript - The TypeScript language server and compiler. We use the TypeScript language to build all UI components. See also our TypeScript Guidelines and our tsconfig.json configuration file.
• typings - Manager for all third-party TypeScript definitions. See also our typings.json for configuration.
• url-loader
• webpack
• webpack-dev-server
• webpack-merge
• ws