# Let's talk about Moment.js

Moment.js has been my go-to for many years. When I started learning and building websites, jQuery and moment.js were a god-send but over the years moment.js has gotten difficult to ship in my newer projects.

Now, don't get me wrong. It's a great library but it has a huge problem. JavaScript's native `Date` class offers very little to what I need in terms of functionality and so I relied on `momentjs` for all this time.

The problem is `momentjs` has been [deprecated](https://momentjs.com/docs/#/-project-status/) for a while. I didn't know about this until I stumbled upon it while searching for API reference in the documentation.

Now, let's talk alternatives - we have many including ones recommended by Moment.js

# My answer?

I started using `date-fns` for smaller projects. I know its not a "drop-in" replacement but the learning curve isn't *that* bad in my opinion\*.\*

## ..there was one more!

As recommended by Momentjs, for a brief time I gave another library a shot - Luxon. Check out Luxon project's [website](https://moment.github.io/luxon/#/install?id=basic-browser-setup) for more details.

> It is authored by [Isaac Cambron](https://github.com/icambron), a long-time contributor to Moment.
> 
> \--  
> Moment.js docs

Just like moment.js, it shares a similar drawback - higher bundle size. There is an open issue (as of writing) on project's repo ([link](https://github.com/moment/luxon/issues/703)) which has some solutions but I didn't want to meddle with that.

I just want to build my app!!! I wanted something that's lightweight and flexible. In the end, I started using `date-fns` in more projects.

Speaking of bundle size, `date-fns` has a [webpack section in their docs](https://date-fns.org/v3.0.0/docs/webpack) to reduce the build size (if you're interested).

## date-fns - Quick Start

Let's get cracking with `date-fns`.

> Note: I am using date-fns v3.0.0 on the snippets below.

```javascript
// helloworld.js

import { format, compareAsc } from "date-fns";

const formattedDate = format(new Date(), 'dd-MM-yyyy');
console.log(formattedDate);
// Output: '18-12-2023'
```

```javascript
// difference in days
import { differenceInDays } from "date-fns";

const date = new Date();

// Did you know Month starts with 0 in JS's `Date`?
const dateDec1 = new Date(2023, 11, 1);
const diffDays = differenceInDays(date, dateDec1);

console.log(diffDays);
// Output: 17
```

There are other handy helper functions like `differenceInBusinessDays` , `differenceInHours`, etc. Be sure to check the [documentation](https://date-fns.org/v3.0.0/docs/differenceInBusinessDays) for more info.

# The future?

If you're wondering why are we still thinking of third-party libraries for such an important feature, I have some good news!

[Temporal](https://tc39.es/proposal-temporal/docs/index.html) is a *work-in-progress* specification started 2 years ago and can be considered a much needed enhancement over `Date` .

It was originally drafted in 2017 and has received Stage 3 status back in 2021.

> Since it is only stage 3, it is considered experimental and not **recommended for production usage just yet.**
> 
> If you'd like to report bugs, feel free to give it a try!  
> GitHub Link: [https://github.com/tc39/proposal-temporal](https://github.com/tc39/proposal-temporal)

## Temporal - Quick Start

Let's create an NPM project. *You will need Node.JS v14 or later.*

```bash
# Setup a folder to try the APIs
$ mkdir temporal-research
$ cd temporal-research
$ npm init -y

# Install the polyfill (requires Node v14 or later)
$ npm install @js-temporal/polyfill
```

Let's print the current date and time in ISO format.

```javascript
// index.js 
// running on Node v18

// Import Temporal
const { Temporal } = require("@js-temporal/polyfill");
// Get current time/date.
const now = Temporal.Now.instant().toString();
console.log('Temporal: ' + now);
// Output: "Temporal: 2023-09-29T13:47:49.625269601Z"

// I got curious comparing it with `Date` so here you go :)
console.log('Date: ' + new Date().toISOString());
// Output: "Date: 2023-09-29T13:47:49.630Z"
```

# Conclusion

I hope you've learned something new here.

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You can also @ me on Mastodon [here](http://social.linux.pizza/@shanmukhateja).

Bye for now.