what is a preferred way to include bootstrap jQuery etc libs into project?

Question

I recently started using js libs and have a question regarding them.

It's possible to include their source, but then there is a problem with versions, as there are two options: add version to file name, but then all includes will have version appended to file name, which will cause trouble when you will update version. If version isn't specified in file name it's not clear what version is, but it's not that big problem, as you can go inside js source and see it's version.

Another option is to link to libraries hosting url, but it'll add additional overhead to download them and when external host will be unreachable, your site won't be able to load that library.

There seem to be maven plugins for some js libraries, but they are usually 3rd party and frequently they refer to outdated versions.

The ideal solution will be something maven-like but with official support.

Also as a comment advises it's possible to use some sort of bundling, but bundling happens after building, so it's still a question how to keep those js libs before bungling.

Please advise.

Answer 1

For many projects it is not necessary to stay at the bleeding edge of 3rd party libraries. Like for jQuery, a new version can maybe break some of the plugins you use. So you have to check and test everything first before deploying a new version.

Having the version in the filename is considered good practice though, because it prevents caching issues and allows you to cache files for a very long time (since the browser will always download a file when the filename has changed).

Regarding the issue you pointed out with the libraries hosting url, they are true so far. But you also need to consider, that when those are widely used (which they are) the library may already be cached in your browser and therefore the browser won't need to download it again. You can check out https://developers.google.com/speed/libraries/devguide for a library hosting by Google, which you can expect to be pretty reliable I guess.

All that being said, it depends on the project. If you need 100% reliability you need to host the library by yourself. If you're fine with Google's reliability, go for library hosting.

As your edit pointed out bundling: https://github.com/bower/bower check this out. It is a package manager for installing dependencies etc. on frontend projects. Should be exactly what you're looking for.