{"action":"created","issue":{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/iojs/io.js/issues/631","labels_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/iojs/io.js/issues/631/labels{/name}","comments_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/iojs/io.js/issues/631/comments","events_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/iojs/io.js/issues/631/events","html_url":"https://github.com/iojs/io.js/issues/631","id":55700947,"number":631,"title":"Node.js and io.js should not break each other (no, they shouldn't)","user":{"login":"caitp","id":2294695,"avatar_url":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/2294695?v=3","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/caitp","html_url":"https://github.com/caitp","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/caitp/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/caitp/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/caitp/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/caitp/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/caitp/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/caitp/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/caitp/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/caitp/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/caitp/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false},"labels":[],"state":"open","locked":false,"assignee":null,"milestone":null,"comments":9,"created_at":"2015-01-28T01:21:51Z","updated_at":"2015-01-28T03:22:38Z","closed_at":null,"body":"Based on twitter conversation, the main pain point seems to be io.js symlinking \"node\" to \"iojs\" during installation, thus breaking local development environments for Node.js applications/services, which is a problem for people who need to keep node.js working properly, but still want to play with iojs.\r\n\r\nSO, some proposed solutions include my idea of a \"default JS shell application\" which makes sense for win32 and macs, but is harder to do for various linux distributions. This doesn't help with experimentation-on-the-side that much, and is complicated. Another variation on this theme is defining a standard environment variable which would point to the \"js shell binary\" --- so this could be `$NODEJS` or `$JSSHELL` or whatever.\r\n\r\nIt should be possible to deliver fixit installers which work for Node.js as well as io.js to set up the default shell variable for people, and maybe someone could land a way to set up a default shell variable into Node installers, as well as into io.js installers, to make this easy for people without an extra, unrelated setup tool.\r\n\r\nThe pros: Allows experimenting with io.js without breaking your production Node stuff (and vice versa, I guess). Also offers a nice way around the debian nodejs binary issue without symlinking or aliasing.\r\n\r\nThe cons: could take community some time to warm to the idea of having to use a shell variable to figure out which binary to use.\r\n\r\nNode contributors could possibly help come to a compromise that allows both to operate side by side, without requiring vagrant or docker or vmware or nvm or any other massive pain in the arse"},"comment":{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/iojs/io.js/issues/comments/71774803","html_url":"https://github.com/iojs/io.js/issues/631#issuecomment-71774803","issue_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/iojs/io.js/issues/631","id":71774803,"user":{"login":"rlidwka","id":999113,"avatar_url":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/999113?v=3","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/rlidwka","html_url":"https://github.com/rlidwka","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/rlidwka/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/rlidwka/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/rlidwka/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/rlidwka/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/rlidwka/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/rlidwka/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/rlidwka/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/rlidwka/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/rlidwka/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false},"created_at":"2015-01-28T03:22:38Z","updated_at":"2015-01-28T03:22:38Z","body":"> No, it should not! Not if it results in breaking a working node installation, which it very well might.\r\n\r\n`nodejs-0.11` already breaks a working `nodejs-0.10` installation. People who want both to be installed at the same time use `nvm`.\r\n\r\nSame thing here."}}