Standard library usage [libraries.std]
Use the Nim standard library judiciously. Prefer smaller, separate packages that implement similar functionality, where available.
Pros
- Using components from the standard library increases compatibility with other Nim projects
- Fewer dependencies in general
Cons
- Large, monolithic releases make upgrading difficult - bugs, fixes and improvements are released together causing upgrade churn
- Many modules in the standard library are unmaintained and don't use state-of-the-art features of Nim
- Long lead times for getting fixes and improvements to market
- Often not tailored for specific use cases
- Stability and backwards compatibility requirements prevent fixing poor and unsafe API
Practical notes
Use the following stdlib replacements that offer safer API (allowing more issues to be detected at compile time):
- async -> chronos
- bitops -> stew/bitops2
- endians -> stew/endians2
- exceptions -> results
- io -> stew/io2
- sqlite -> nim-sqlite3-abi
- streams -> nim-faststreams