Update --init behavior

[nzakas]

The problem you want to solve.

The --init behavior has remained pretty consistent since it was first launched. At that point, we didn't know what options people wanted and the number of rules was very small. It seems like the current questions don't make sense for how ESLint is used today. For example, forcing people to pick a style guide doesn't make sense for everyone and sends a message that ESLint is used primarily for styling. I'd like to update the behavior of --init to better reflect current users expectations and usage.

Your take on the correct solution to problem.

These are the ways I'd like to change --init:

1. Assume ecmaVersion is 2018. We first asked which version of ECMAScript they were using when ES6 was just being implemented. At this point, I think it's fair to assume people always want the latest (they can change it in their config if not).
2. Ask how people want to use ESLint. Instead of asking if users want to configure a style guide, ask "How do you want to use ESLint?", with the following options :

• To check syntax only
• To check syntax and find problems
• To check syntax, find problems, and enforce code style

3. Ask for framework question to replace JSX/React question. Instead of asking if people are using JSX and then if they are using React, I'd create one question that asks if they are using either React (which implies JSX) or Vue (because there's a helpful plugin for Vue and it's pretty popular now).

Optional:

• Remove autoconfig option. I'm not sure how people feel about this, but I'm skeptical that this option is used all that much thanks to the popularity of shareable configs. I'm in favor of removing it if others agree but have no problem leaving it in if people feel it's still helpful.

Are you willing to submit a pull request to implement this change?

Yes.

[kaicataldo]

I like this idea a lot. My opinions on the about the points above:

1. This sounds good to me 👍

2. If users say they want to enforce code style, do we then offer them the choice of picking from a list of popular styleguide configs?

3. I like the idea of asking about what framework people are using, as that's a much more beginner-friendly question (and I think the --init option should really optimize for lowering the barrier for entry for people new to ESLint).

Edit: I missed the autoconfig option. I'd be fine with removing this, especially now that our autofixers are in a pretty good place and tools like Prettier exist.

[btmills]

1. That seems like a good default selection 👍
2. Your proposal sounds much more in line with how I perceive people actually want to approach ESLint. Especially approaching it the first time, immediately asking someone what style guide they want to use can be overwhelming. To @kaicataldo’s point, if they’ve decided they want to check style, then we could present an option for popular style guides. (Potentially out of scope, but throwing it out there: do we want to make automatically configuring the Prettier integration one of the options? It didn’t exist when --init was originally created.)
3. I like this for the same reason I like (2) - it asks people what they want to do, not how they intend to do it.

I could argue either way about removing autoconfig. I wish we had some way of knowing how much it’s used. Is its presence a maintenance burden, or does it prevent some other feature? If so, let’s get rid of it.

[nzakas]

Oh yes, sorry I wasn’t clear: if they say they want to enforce Styles, then I’d present the same options that we have now. I wouldn’t want to deal with Prettier at this point. I think trying to integrate another tool into this process is fraught with peril and maintenance headaches. Regarding autoconfig, I just don’t see a lot of mention of it online. It seems that people are generally happy to choose an already existing style guide. I don’t think it’s hurting us right now, but figured I’d bring it up for discussion.

…

On Thu, Nov 29, 2018 at 11:20 AM Brandon Mills ***@***.***> wrote: 1. That seems like a good default selection 👍 2. Your proposal sounds much more in line with how I perceive people actually want to approach ESLint. Especially approaching it the first time, immediately asking someone what style guide they want to use can be overwhelming. To @kaicataldo <https://github.com/kaicataldo>’s point, if they’ve decided they want to check style, *then* we could present an option for popular style guides. (Potentially out of scope, but throwing it out there: do we want to make automatically configuring the Prettier integration one of the options? It didn’t exist when --init was originally created.) 3. I like this for the same reason I like (2) - it asks people what they want to do, not how they intend to do it. I could argue either way about removing autoconfig. I wish we had some way of knowing how much it’s used. Is its presence a maintenance burden, or does it prevent some other feature? If so, let’s get rid of it. — You are receiving this because you authored the thread. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#11105 (comment)>, or mute the thread <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AACWkjAT48m15wRnZPagweGnV9hm_Pkaks5u0DNvgaJpZM4YppYT> .

[getify]

Is "autoconfig" the part of the tool that scans my files I point it at, and tries to figure out what I want?

[nzakas]

Yes, that's autoconfig.

…

On Thu, Nov 29, 2018 at 12:57 PM Kyle Simpson ***@***.***> wrote: Is "autoconfig" the part of the tool that scans my files I point it at, and tries to figure out what I want? — You are receiving this because you authored the thread. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#11105 (comment)>, or mute the thread <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AACWktNFvs6Zly11asAiEXDeX8C18Jdtks5u0EpRgaJpZM4YppYT> .

--

______________________________ Nicholas C. Zakas @SlickNet Author, Principles of Object-Oriented JavaScript <http://amzn.to/29Pmfrm> Author, Understanding ECMAScript 6 <http://amzn.to/29K1mIy>

[getify]

FWIW I used autoconfig on my most recent global install of eslint. Even though I gave it my files, it still turned on a bunch of style rules that violate how my code was written.

[not-an-aardvark]

@getify That seems like it shouldn't be happening. Would you mind creating a new issue for it?

I'm not extremely attached to autoconfig (it could also probably be its own tool), but I don't think it has been a significant maintenance burden recently, so I'd lean against removing it since it seems like it could be convenient for users.

[nzakas]

TSC Summary: This proposal seeks to update the --init questions to eliminate asking for ecmaVersion (assume latest, which is 2018 now), ask if you're using Vue/React, and ask if you want ESLint to enforce styles. An optional piece of this is to remove autoconfig as an option, but that is not a blocker to the rest of this proposal.

TSC Question: Shall we accept this proposal? Should autoconfig be removed as part of it or no?

[btmills]

Based on today's TSC meeting, we decided to accept the changes to the questions asked by --init, and I've move discussion about removing autoconfig into #11235.

[g-plane]

Will ESLint switch to Enquirer?