Synchronous operation

[davestewart]

Hi there.

Considering using this lib to solve a couple of issues in my Alias HQ lib:

• Error! Unexpected token ] in "tsconfig.json" at position 666 davestewart/alias-hq#28
• Accessing paths from a tsconfig.json that extends another tsconfig.base.json with the alias paths davestewart/alias-hq#30

However, the async nature of this library looks like it may be incompatible.

Is there a way to make this lib synchronous, or some other workaround without having to start awaiting all follow-on functionality?

[dominikg]

Hi,

For the parse/find it is possible to add sync equivalents, the main async operations are fs that have sync equivalents.
It could be added to a subpath export tsconfck/sync.
Main issue here would be to refactor the code in a way that both async and sync operations are supported in a way that does not duplicate logic.

For parseNative/findNative it is not so easy as it would require finding a workaround for the dynamic typescript import that allows this functionality to be offered without an explicit dependency on typescript.

If you have ideas how to make that happen, i'd be happy to collaborate on a feature request PR. While i myself prefer async operations all the way i understand that there is a need for sync sometimes and it's a feature worth having in a low level tool like tsconfck.

Thanks for bringing this up.

[dominikg]

here's a quick version with sync: https://github.com/dominikg/tsconfck/tree/feat/sync

uses sync fs functions and createRequire instead of dynamic import. This would need some cleanup before it could be released though, far too much code duplication. But it works, so if you need/want this, please chime in and we can see what can be done.

Another option would be to use something like deasync to wrap the async calls with a sync wrapper.

[davestewart]

Hey there,

Thanks for getting back to me!

Our PR moved pretty quickly and it looks like we're using the native TS utils now.

But, as you said, it's pretty likely that other CLI tools would want synchronous operation.

I'd seen a similar de-async function out there which used a timeout and I did a 😬 face!

Anyway, thanks for the input, and I hope it's useful for future travellers!

Cheers,
Dave

[dominikg]

assume you mean this PR? davestewart/alias-hq#37

You are adding typescript as a dependency there and eager require it. Plus typescript itself is slower in big projects as it looks for matching files by default. tsconfck, esp without using parseNative means a lot less weight and faster results. But if that PR works for you, i'm fine :) thanks for mentioning this anyways

[davestewart]

Yeah, I'm aware there are issues with this being a larger dependency. I left a comment here as such.

Anyway, thanks again and good luck with the project!

[davestewart]

PS. Let me know if you do end up releasing a final sync version of your code.

[dominikg]

i have pushed a somewhat deduplicated version on the sync branch https://github.com/dominikg/tsconfck/tree/feat/sync but that's still too verbose and maintanance heavy for my taste.
Would need additional refactoring (in the test-suite aswell) to be more DRY.