maybe require('buffer') could show a message #6891

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1. bnoordhuis commented on May 20, 2016

   

   bnoordhuis

   on May 20, 2016

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   Maybe node could display a warning message if someone tries to require buffer like i did

   Node has no (reliable) way to determine how the return value of require('buffer') is used.

   maybe it could throw an error as if it was not an existing package ?

   That would be a breaking change and rather disruptive to the ecosystem, so the chances of that happening are low.

   What might be an option is to change lib/buffer.js so that it does:

   Buffer.Buffer = Buffer;
   Buffer.SlowBuffer = SlowBuffer;
   // etc.
   module.exports = Buffer;

   But personally, I don't think that's much of an improvement.
2. bnoordhuis

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   bufferIssues and PRs related to the buffer subsystem.Issues and PRs related to the buffer subsystem.

   feature requestIssues requesting new Node.js features.Issues requesting new Node.js features.

   on May 20, 2016
3. ChALkeR commented on May 20, 2016

   

   ChALkeR

   on May 20, 2016

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   @mh-cbon Why should it throw? buffer is an existing module, it's documented, and there is no way it's going to throw an error now. Moreover, require('buffer') is the documented way to get buffer.INSPECT_MAX_BYTES: https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#buffer_buffer_inspect_max_bytes and buffer.kMaxLength: https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#buffer_class_method_buffer_alloc_size_fill_encoding.

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4. mh-cbon commented on May 20, 2016

   

   mh-cbon

   on May 20, 2016

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   :s I see, makes sense, thanks for information.

   So i was thinking, maybe that sentence, at the beginning of the doc page about Buffer, is misleading

   The Buffer class is a global within Node.js, making it unlikely that one would need to ever use require('buffer').

   As require('buffer') is in fact a totally different thing of Buffer.

   As a doc reader I d say it should stop right after the coma.
5. mh-cbon

   closed this as completedon May 20, 2016
6. ChALkeR commented on May 20, 2016

   

   ChALkeR

   on May 20, 2016

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   @mh-cbon Perhaps that should look like this instead:

   The Buffer class is a global within Node.js, making it unlikely that one would need to ever use require('buffer').Buffer.

   But I'm not sure. /cc @nodejs/documentation

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7. addaleax

   added a commit that references this issue on May 24, 2016

   doc: clarify buffer class

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8. Fishrock123

   added a commit that references this issue on May 30, 2016

   doc: clarify buffer class

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9. rvagg

   added a commit that references this issue on Jun 2, 2016

   doc: clarify buffer class

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10. MylesBorins

    added a commit that references this issue on Jun 3, 2016

    doc: clarify buffer class

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