Update to Node 17

[bt95]

Hello!

I use re2 library in a project and we want to update to Node v17, which was released in October. When trying to build the project using Node v17 this error shows up:

Thanks!

[uhop]

At least every major version Node changes ABI. Essentially its internal API changes, which requires recompilation of binary modules. re2 is a binary module based on a C++ library.

As per the error above, it is not sufficient to run a different version of Node in the same application directory, which was initialized by a different Node version. You should run npm i, which, in turn, will recompile necessary modules.

Theoretically, it can happen with pure JS code as well, but usually doesn't because:

• JS is a dynamic language and binds to APIs on the fly, unlike static C++.
• The Node team is reasonably conservative and does not change/remove JS API abruptly supporting old versions for a long time. Otherwise, JS programs would break more frequently.

So:

• Run npm i with a new version of Node.
• In some cases it helps to remove node_modules before running npm i.

[uhop]

I added a precompiled version for Node 17 in 1.17.0, which will be published shortly.

[bt95]

Thanks a lot for help and for the clear instructions provided.