Questions for Node.js survey

[rvagg]

There is a question in this year's Node.js Survey about version management (I think inherited from last year's survey):

What Node.js version manager do you use?

1. nvm
2. Nodist
3. N
4. Homebrew
5. I don’t use one
6. Other (can be multiple)

Does this provide enough interesting information for the efforts here, would you like this question adjusted and do you want to make a case for additional question(s) on the survey that might inform the work going on here or tell the TSC something important about version management.

[Trott]

Tiny nits:

• I believe it is styled n and not N. https://github.com/tj/n
• Similarly, nodist rather than Nodist. https://github.com/marcelklehr/nodist

[ljharb]

@rvagg Ideally this is a multiple choice question, since people may use more than one. It'd also be awesome to get a free-text area where people can answer "why" they prefer some over the others.

[jasongin]

Should we add nodenv, nave, nodebrew, and nvm-windows? (Or are people expected to confuse it with "nvm"?)

And, I'm not sure homebrew qualifies as a "version manager", since it doesn't enable installing multiple and switching between versions, does it?

[ljharb]

Alternatively, perhaps a better heading is "What tool(s) do you use to install and/or manage multiple versions of node.js?"

[wilmoore]

...I'm not sure homebrew qualifies as a "version manager", since it doesn't enable installing multiple and switching between versions, does it?

It's not an ideal version manager; however, people use it as such anyway. I've seen workflows with brew switch and brew unlink. This of course does not provide per-project switching.

[coreybutler]

If the question is going to be multiple choice, I second @ljharb's point about folks using multiple answers.

On Windows, understanding nvm-windows vs nodist usage would offer alot of value, as does having nvm listed side by side with n. One of the discussions we've been having focuses on a difference in UX preferences. nvm-windows and nodist differ in this regard, similar to n and nvm. Informal conversations with people show a pretty equal split in UX preferences... I would love to have some real numbers to better understand that.

While I suppose "Other" might cover this, it might be nice to know how many people are using Docker for version management. Taking a look at Docker Hub shows several million downloads. Obviously it's used outside the desktop alot, but with the open beta release of Docker for Windows/macOS a few months ago, I've been seeing alot of users leveraging Docker on their local development environments. I, for one, would like to know if this trend has any merit or if it's still too bleeding edge for most folks.

[hackygolucky]

Thanks for the feedback! The miscapitalized letters were autocorrect fighting us in the editor. I had to delete that about three times though I know very well which ones should be. I'd be rich for every dollar I'd get when npm gets corrected. Funtimes. I've also unfortunately run into a few folks recently while teaching NodeTogether who were using homebrew as a sort of version manager, which I quickly tried to fix for them and share alternatives.

This question will be a checkbox list with multiple selections as valid.

The current list:

• nvm
• nvm-windows
• nodist
• n
• apt-get
• homebrew
• Docker
• nodenv
• nodebrew
• nave
• I don’t use one
• Other (can be multiple)

[ljharb]

You may wish to sort them either alphabetically or "randomly for each survey taker", since it doesn't seem to be sorted by popularity atm either, and that's likely to be the fairest approach.