Prerelease test instructions

The last step in a Pull Request is to verify that a new feature or defect fix really works. 😄

How to create a local Node.js distribution (package) and test it

Artifact repositories like NPM and JFrog ("OneArtifactory") store the Node.js distributions as *.tgz "bundles. So whenever you run npm install cold-blooded-module, the Node Package Manager sends a request to an artifact registry, which responds by downloading a bundled file (in this case cold-blooded-module.tgz).

npm-pack

npm pack lets you do the same thing on your local machine. And, instead of requesting a package using HTTPS, you can request a local package with a physical file path, e.g.:

npm i /path/to/your/local/npm/pack/distribution.tgz

Step-by-step: how to verify a local Node.js distribution

Run the following instructions in a Terminal (command-line interface).

1. Clone the repo

   git clone https://github.com/commonality/archetypes-quantity.git
   cd archetypes-quantity/

2. Checkout the topic branch you want to test.

   # Example feature branch
   git checkout 10-feat-extend-object-variable

3. "Build" the distribution package.

   Run:

   npm run bundle

   Sample output:

   The last line will output the absolute path to the package, e.g.:

   Package location:
   
   /path/to/local/repo/archetypes-quantity/archetypes-quantity-1.1.0.tgz

   ---

   Click/tap to view full npm pack output...

   npm notice 
   npm notice 📦  @archetypes/[email protected]
   npm notice === Tarball Contents === 
   npm notice 1.4kB   LICENSE                         
   npm notice 21.7kB  dist/@archetypes/quantity.esm.js
   npm notice 34.9kB  dist/@archetypes/quantity.js    
   npm notice 739.7kB npm-shrinkwrap.json             
   npm notice 8.1kB   package.json                    
   npm notice 18.8kB  README.md                       
   npm notice === Tarball Details === 
   npm notice name:          @archetypes/quantity                    
   npm notice version:       1.0.0                                   
   npm notice filename:      archetypes-quantity-1.0.0.tgz           
   npm notice package size:  184.0 kB                                
   npm notice unpacked size: 824.5 kB                                
   npm notice shasum:        c743d5f8ef2d2e7790283ca4c48f516d4d687fec
   npm notice integrity:     sha512-1LISGVzU1ODki[...]deiUKukOsFSLQ==
   npm notice total files:   6                                       
   npm notice 
   archetypes-quantity-1.0.0.tgz

   ---

4. Copy the full path to the packaged module

   # This works on MacOS (bash); dunno about PowerShell
   echo "$(pwd)/$(ls *.tgz)" | pbcopy

5. Create another directory somewhere else on your hard-drive:

   mkdir -p /path/to/temp/test/directory/ && cd $_

6. Initialize with npm (the --yes argument accepts all defaults):

   npm init --yes

7. Install your local package with npm

   npm i /path/to/local/repo/archetypes-quantity/archetypes-quantity-1.1.0.tgz

8. Start a Node.js REPL

   node

9. Import/require the archetypes-quantity module

   const quantity = require('@archetypes/quantity')
   
   # OR
   
   import quantity from '@archetypes/quantity'

10. Try stuff out!