Paul Krill
Editor at Large

Deno improves JSX transform, WebAssembly support

news
Nov 12, 20212 mins

JavaScript/TypeScript runtime also brings enhancements related to TLS, Web Streams, test permissions.

speed_digital_car_lights_vehicle_fabio ballasina unsplash
Credit: fabio ballasina

Deno 1.16, the latest version of the JavaScript/TypeScript runtime, features support for a new JSX transform and WebAssembly reference types.

The newly supported JSX transform, which is featured in the React 17 JavaScript UI library, both improves the JSX transform API and allows automatic importing of the JSX runtime library. JSX is a syntax extension for JavaScript that is often used to describe what the UI should look like.

Deno 1.16 also adds an experimental API for listening to operating system signals. The new unstable API supersedes the existing Deno.signals API, which also was unstable. Other new features and improvements in Deno 1.16:

  • WebAssembly reference types are supported, for using external references from JavaScript opaquely in WebAssembly modules.
  • Since Deno 1.13, the Error.cause property has been supported as a way to attach a cause to an error. This is useful for debugging errors that happen deep inside of an application, so developers can wrap these errors in useful information to help debug issues. In Deno 1.16, the Error.cause property will be displayed in the console when an error is thrown or logged via a console.log. This matches the behavior of Node.js 17.
  • fetch now supports fetching file URLs.
  • Handshaking TLS connections now can be done explicitly.
  • The Web Streams API now supports ReadableStreamBYOBReader and <a href="https://github.com/whatwg/streams/blob/main/writable-stream-abort-signal-explainer.md" rel="nofollow">signal</a> code.
  • The Deno.startTlscode API, for writing an SMTP driver, is now stable.
  • The per-test permissions feature introduced in Deno 1.10 is now stable.

Current users can upgrade to Deno 1.16 by running deno upgrade. Also, multiple methods are available for installing Deno for the first time. Deno 1.16 follows the October release of Deno 1.15.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

More from this author