Node: build: refactor vcbuild.bat

[refack]

• Version: master
• Platform: Windows
• Subsystem: build

I want to refactor/rewrite vcbuild.bat. The options are:

1. JScript via cscript
   Pros: Looks like javascript. Built into Windows
   Cons: Might get deprecated. ES3-- syntax.
2. Powershell
   Pros: Prefered by Microsoft. Fully structured scripting language. OSS and portable
   Cons: New language
3. Python
   Pros: on par with other tools
   Cons: increases dependency on python as a requirement for building node

Please voice your opinion. We can do a facebook style poll:
🎉 for JScript
👍 for Powershell
😄for python
😕for just tweaking the batch file

Ref: cscript future?

[refack]

/cc @nodejs/platform-windows @nodejs/build

[jbergstroem]

I'm with @joaocgreis's future vote :)

[refack]

Seems like there's consensus for Powershell...
(I might make a JScript one for fun...)

[joaocgreis]

The cons of Python doesn't look very relevant to me: in node-gyp it would be nice to remove it as a dependency (for users compiling modules), but here we're not getting rid of it so fast. PowerShell is not a bad option either, if more people prefer it I'm also ok with it.

The main thing is: can you really make it more concise, keeping the same syntax, and test it well? There's a lot of logic built into it that we can't discard, and to end up with something equally complex but in another language doesn't make much sense to me. Something simpler and easier to change would be welcome though.

If you can, while developing, make one commit that translates vcbuild to python/powershell exactly, and any changes in separate commits on top of it. This would make reviewing much easier and we can squash when landing. Thanks for your effort on this!

[refack]

The main thing is: can you really make it more concise, keeping the same syntax, and test it well? There's a lot of logic built into it that we can't discard, and to end up with something equally complex but in another language doesn't make much sense to me. Something simpler and easier to change would be welcome though.

Powershell is at least a structured language, and has better dev tools from the ISE to Powershell for VSCode
As for testing, should be managable, since it's output are just calls to other tools, I don't have to actually test to final output, just that the calls are the same.

If you can, while developing, make one commit that translates vcbuild to python/powershell exactly, and any changes in separate commits on top of it. This would make reviewing much easier and we can squash when landing. Thanks for your effort on this!

I'll take a crack at it

[refack]

The cons of Python doesn't look very relevant to me: in node-gyp it would be nice to remove it as a dependency (for users compiling modules), but here we're not getting rid of it so fast. PowerShell is not a bad option either, if more people prefer it I'm also ok with it.

My initial intuition was python, then @gibfahn made me think of JScript over cscript. Didn't imagine the popular vote would be Powershell, but that's cool as well.

[refack]

P.S. vote for https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEABKL-6738

[vsemozhetbyt]

A strange idea: https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/12425#issuecomment-294298202

[gdams]

I'm definitely pro using powershell here...

[Trott]

@refack Same question as the other PR: Still in progress? Should this remain open? Removing discuss label but feel free to put it back if you think it should stay.

[gibfahn]

Still in progress? Should this remain open?

I think the discussion is done, we know what needs to be done, it just needs someone to put the time in and raise a PR.

Still worth doing though, so worth leaving open.

[pd4d10]

Powershell +1. If no one takes this I would like to give it a try.

[jasnell]

There's been no activity here in a long time and it's not clear if it's moving forward. Refactoring the windows build, however, is still a good thing to do. Closing, but I've added this to the Futures project board so that it doesn't get lost.