Node.js 4.0.0 is here, ECMAScript 6 is back

The latest upgraded version of server-side JavaScript technology integrates the two code libraries of Node.js and io,js.

Node.js, the popular server-side JavaScript platform also known as Node, has now officially reached version 4.0.0. This latest update was launched this week and incorporates ECMAScript 6 and ARM processor compatibility.

Many backers have already analyzed the details of this latest Node version, and we can see from the Node official website that this is a "stable" version that combines Node with io.js - a fork of Node - into a single code base. The new version includes version 4.5 of the V8 JavaScript engine, which "brings a series of new features to Node.js users, most notably providing many new ES6 features by default, including block scope, classes, class-typed arrays - Node's Buffer is now provided by Uint8Array - generators, promises, symbols, template strings, collections (including Map and Set, etc.) and arrow functions, which are newly available in V8 4.5," the article states.

The "***" support for ARM processors is also really good. "Our test suite must be able to pass the test of ARMv6 and ARMv7 as well as the new 64-bit ARMv8 processors. So Node.js is really ready to serve all kinds of hobbyists and ARM server users," the relevant blog post says.

Version 4.0 also brings a stable release cycle - it was the unstable release cycle that gave rise to forks such as io.js in the past - and a long-term support plan. "The version releases now follow SemVer (Semantic Version 2.0), so you can expect small patch upgrades in the coming weeks to fix bugs and add new features." Meanwhile, the support plan will launch the first LTS version in October this year. These versions will have a retention period of 18 months, and there will not be two active LTS versions in the same period.

"As with every major release, we expect Node.js v4 to face some resistance in terms of adoption," the blog post reads. "It will take some time for users to adjust to the changes, especially as addons are compiled to work with the latest V8 engine (note: here's how to fix the current compatibility issues). Fortunately, the io.js v3.x series has a large number of addon writers who are ready to write code for Node.js v4, so the Node package manager ecosystem is already gearing up for the new version."

As a fork version of Node.js launched at the end of last year, supporters of the io.js project have returned to the Node family in May this year.