--- title: "One dev's journey from Node to Rust" publication: "Node Weekly" issue: 416 published_at: "2021-12-02" canonical_url: "https://nodeweekly.com/issues/416" --- Plus Node 17.2.0, QR codes, and fancy color gradient strings on the terminal. | #​416 — December 2, 2021 [Read on the Web](https://nodeweekly.com/issues/416) Node Weekly [![\](https://res.cloudinary.com/cpress/image/upload/w_1280,e_sharpen:60,e_tint:60:green/tkjtoc9yaej0k0zh1shk.jpg)](https://bert.org/2021/11/24/the-best-starting-word-in-wordle/) [The Best Starting Word in WORDLE?](https://bert.org/2021/11/24/the-best-starting-word-in-wordle/) — [WORDLE](https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/) is an online word game that’s a bit like ‘Mastermind’ but with 5 letter words. And, of course, if you’re a developer, why not use code to analyze an approach to playing it? Amusingly, I used the tip on [today’s game](https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/) and the final 5 letter word described my approach.. Bertrand Fan [Strapi v4: An Open Source Node.js Headless CMS](https://strapi.io/blog/announcing-strapi-v4) — Strapi has been around a while and has done a good job building a community around itself. A big new version is out with a new UI, Plugin API, Query Engine and more, plus a focus on refactoring the core to make it easier to extend and twist to your own ends. Here’s [the getting started tutorial](https://docs.strapi.io/developer-docs/latest/getting-started/quick-start.html#_1-install-strapi-and-create-a-new-project). Alexandre Bodin [![\](https://copm.s3.amazonaws.com/8943c76c.png)](https://www.influxdata.com/blog/data-visualization-reactjs-nivo-influxdb/?utm_source=vendor&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=2021-12-02_spnsr-nl_nivo-influxdb-blog_global&utm_content=nodeweekly) [Data Visualization Made Easy with ReactJS, Nivo and InfluxDB](https://www.influxdata.com/blog/data-visualization-reactjs-nivo-influxdb/?utm_source=vendor&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=2021-12-02_spnsr-nl_nivo-influxdb-blog_global&utm_content=nodeweekly) — Learn how you can build charts in ReactJS using Nivo and InfluxDB. InfluxData sponsor **IN BRIEF:** - GitHub Actions [now supports Node 16](https://github.com/actions/runner/releases/tag/v2.285.0) so you can use the latest syntax for those using `runner: node16` – thanks to [Gregor](https://twitter.com/gr2m/status/1466098975916781569) for noticing this. - Taking part in this year's [Advent of Code](https://adventofcode.com/)? [AoC Runner](https://github.com/caderek/aocrunner) is a Node utility to help you create and run your solutions more quickly if you want to get on the leaderboard. [Node v17.2.0 (Current) Released](https://nodejs.org/en/blog/release/v17.2.0/) — It’s [V8 9.6](https://v8.dev/blog/v8-release-96) time for Node, although it’s a pretty minor change along with everything else in this release - more of a gentle step forward than a leap. Michaël Zasso [PickBetterPack: Discover Similar Packages from `package.json` Dependencies](https://pickbetterpack.com/) — Paste a `package.json` and this tool will show you a tree-like view with similar (I'm not so sure about 'better' though..) options for each dependency listed. A mixed bag, but an interesting idea if you want a fresh perspective. PickBetterPack [24 Days From Node.js to Rust: Day 1](https://vino.dev/blog/node-to-rust-day-1-rustup/) — Like many, JavaScript developer Jarrod is taking a look at [Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/), and he’s starting to blog some notes about the process looking through a Node.js lens. Jarrod Overson 💻 Jobs [Developer Relations Lead 🚀(Remote, Work from Anywhere 🏖)](https://crystallize.com/careers/developer-relations-lead) — We're reimagining eCommerce with super fast headless commerce service for product storytellers. React, Node, GraphQL? Let's talk. Crystallize [Find Tech Jobs with Hired](https://hired.com/join/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=sponsor&utm_campaign=%28b2c%29%28l-all%29%28r-all%29%28cooper-nodeweekly%29&utm_content=find-your-next-job) — Create a profile on Hired to connect with hiring managers at growing startups and Fortune 500 companies. It's free for job-seekers. Hired [![\](https://res.cloudinary.com/cpress/image/upload/w_1280,e_sharpen:60/n1xuzngai79omrdwkjay.jpg)](https://taoofmac.com/space/blog/2021/12/01/1920) [Building a 'Now Playing' Display with Node-RED](https://taoofmac.com/space/blog/2021/12/01/1920) — Rui wanted to use a Raspberry Pi and LCD screen on his desk to show a ‘now playing’ screen for his media center. Python made up most of the code but Node’s [Node-RED](https://nodered.org/) low-code system provided the glue. Rui Carmo [Observability Won't Replace Monitoring (Because It Shouldn't)](https://go.lightstep.com/register-observability-replace-monitoring-co?utm_campaign=node&utm_source=cooper&utm_medium=Email) Lightstep sponsor [Using Node to Build a Slack Bot for HubSpot](https://fusebit.io/blog/slack-bot-hubspot-integration/) — Comes from Fusebit whose integration platform is used to join the parts together. Liz Parody [Volta vs. `nvm` for JavaScript Tooling](https://sirre.al/2021/02/12/volta-vs-nvm-for-managing-javascript-tooling/) Jon Surrell 🛠 Code & Tools [![\](https://res.cloudinary.com/cpress/image/upload/w_1280,e_sharpen:60/urv2rc0q6o3rgcwy3dl1.jpg)](https://github.com/bokub/gradient-string) [gradient-string: Beautiful Color Gradients in Terminal Output](https://github.com/bokub/gradient-string) — Finding that merely colorizing your program’s text output is too old school? Now you can step up to gradients instead. Don’t ask why, but it does look nice and I've seen a few CLI tools use it to wow users. Boris K [Kysely: A Type-Safe SQL Query Builder for TypeScript](https://www.jakso.me/blog/kysely-a-type-safe-sql-query-builder-for-typescript) — Aims to make it difficult to write invalid SQL with results being always correctly typed, no matter how complex the query. Sami Koskimäki [node-qrcode 1.5.0: Generate QR Codes from Node](https://github.com/soldair/node-qrcode) — QR codes are 2D barcodes that can store arbitrary data (like URLs, say). They can be scanned by mobile devices easily so you might want to generate them within an app. Ryan Day [Sourcegraph Makes It Easier to Find and Fix Things Across All of Your Code, Faster](https://about.sourcegraph.com/blog/release-anxiety/?utm_campaign=techdebt-ddg-tofu-q42021&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=node-weekly) Sourcegraph sponsor [DOCX 7.2: A Declarative API to Generate .docx Files](https://docx.js.org/) — `.docx` files are more commonly known as modern Microsoft Word documents. [GitHub repo](https://github.com/dolanmiu/docx). Dolan [Polly 6.0: Record, Replay, and Stub HTTP Interactions](https://github.com/Netflix/pollyjs) — Works in both Node and the browser and gives you a lot of control over recording, replaying and intercepting HTTP requests. We mentioned 5.2 just last week but 6.0 is out now [with breaking changes](https://github.com/Netflix/pollyjs/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#600-2021-11-30). Netflix, Inc. [Dann.js 2.4: A Neural Network Library for JavaScript](https://dannjs.org/) — The aim is ease of use so it’s good to use for experimentation and playing around. [GitHub repo](https://github.com/matiasvlevi/Dann). Matias Vazquez-Levi [better-sqlite3 7.4.5: A Simple, Fast SQLite3 Library for Node](https://github.com/JoshuaWise/better-sqlite3) Joshua Wise **Got a new email?** You can [change your address here](https://nodeweekly.com/edit_subscription/*|UID|*). --- **Bored of us?** [Click here to stop getting Node Weekly](https://nodeweekly.com/leave/*|UID|*). --- **Got a link for us?** Reply and tell us. We can't include everything but we'll look at anything you send. Thanks! --- **Want to sponsor?** Email `[kristina@cooperpress.com](mailto:kristina@cooperpress.com)` for details. --- Published by Cooper Press Ltd. Fairfield Enterprise Centre, Louth, LN11 0LS, United Kingdom [Stop getting this newsletter.](https://nodeweekly.com/leave/*|UID|*)