update OED build system

[huss]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

OED currently uses Webpack to build the software bundle. While it functions correctly and works fairly well, there are newer systems with advantages. @hyperupcall put effort into converting OED to Vite but did not have the time to finish the work. That effort is in closed PR #1262. Some of the positive additions from using Vite were it was significantly faster and allowed for hot reloading of a web browser to see code changes without manually reloading.

Describe the solution you'd like

OED would like to see a migration to a newer bundling system. The obvious path is to complete the effort to convert to Vite. OED is open to other ideas if someone wants to propose one.

Describe alternatives you've considered

Webpack is still working so OED can continue to use it for now.

Additional context

None

[MatthewTran22]

could I give this a try?

[Chocopepero]

@MatthewTran22 Speaking for @huss because he's traveling at the moment. Please go ahead and work on the issue. Feel free to reach out to myself or Steve if any help is needed. Thank you.

[hyperupcall]

@MatthewTran22 Let me know if you have any question about the initial PR!

[MatthewTran22]

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I believe I have the Vite configuration set up. Right now, I am mainly running into compatibility issues; some packages relied on WebPack to be the build system. For example, one issue right now is mismatching import and export modules. Right now, objects like TimeInterval are exporting with CommonJS, and the client is importing with ESM. Webpack fixes the mismatch internally, but Vite doesn't.

@huss, For what I'm addressing, is it ok if I open up issues that address these configuration bugs before submitting a PR for the build system migration? Or would you rather I keep all the changes under one PR? This is mainly because I'm not too sure how many bugs will need to be handled, so I don't want to accidentally submit one large PR

[huss]

@MatthewTran22 Thank you for your continued efforts and for reaching out. The bottom line is that Vite cannot be merged into OED until it correctly builds for development and production. Thus, if you put in a PR now it can be reviewed but not merged until it works successfully. Given this, I think it may be best to have a single PR with Vite working even if it takes longer and has more changes. Note it would be fine for it to be a draft if you want to open it sooner and indicate more work is needed.

If you prefer separate PRs then the current work will be held until the new work is done and merged into development. Then that would be merged into the PR to verify all works correctly. This will work as long as the future changes don't break Webpack since it would still be used at that point.

I hope this helps & makes sense. I'm happy to discuss more or hear other ideas.