I'm not the OP, but I've built a little bit of software [0][1] in Deno. I don't know if I'd do it again. Thoughts, in no particular order:
- Big plus: the built-in stdlib is strong (coming from Node; it's not as strong as Python or even Ruby, but I'll take what I can get). The stdlib is also pretty "good Unix citizen" focused--it's very easy to build an ergonomic command-line application.
- Theoretical plus: the capabilities-based security model is smart and cool.
- In-reality minus: you end up passing most `--allow` flags anyway for anything that isn't trivial. It could scope down to specific modules if you are a tryhard, but I am not sufficiently a tryhard, and this really should just be within the capability of Deno to figure out and recommend for you.
- Moderate plus: `deno compile` being built in is nice, and it is easier than the Node `pkg` library from Vercel.
- Small minus: The set of targets for `deno compile` is limited, though, and (for reasons that are both reasonable and unfortunate) it spits out truckasaurus-sized executables, which is a bummer.
- Enormous, world-stopping minus: dependency management. It's bad, and it's not easy to get around. "Just put all your deps in a TypeScript file and export it" is not the amazing solution that its adherents want you to think it is. The developer experience of upgrades is annoying and unpleasant and `deno-upgrade` helps but makes your project feel out-of-control. (Import maps don't really help, it's just another road into the same unpleasantness and since they don't work if you're writing a library I don't think you should ever use them at all; just stay consistent between applications or libraries.)
- Whiny minus: VScode support is pretty bad. It exists, but it's not great, and there's a weird lag to dependency management that I never figured out.
- Real minus: the Deno VScode stuff freaks out when you use a Node project, even if you set `deno.enabled: false` in your .vscode/settings.json file.
There are definite, real benefits to some of what Deno does. But I just don't see why I'd continue to use it over Just Continuing To Use Node.
