Use ponyfill.com for linking here.
While polyfills are naughty, ponyfills are pure, just like ponies.
A polyfill is code that adds missing functionality by monkey patching an API. Unfortunately, it usually globally patches built-ins, which affects all code running in the environment. This is especially problematic when a polyfill is not fully spec compliant (which in some cases is impossible), as it could cause very hard to debug bugs and inconsistencies. Or when the spec for a new feature changes and your code depends on behavior that a module somewhere else in the dependency tree polyfills differently. In general, you should not modify API's you don't own.
A ponyfill, in contrast, doesn't monkey patch anything, but instead exports the functionality as a normal module, so you can use it locally without affecting other code.
tl;dr: Polyfills are naughty as they patch native APIs, while ponyfills are pure and don't affect the environment.
Number.isNaN ??= function (value) {
return value !== value;
};
import 'is-nan-polyfill';
Number.isNaN(5);
export default function isNaN(value) {
return value !== value;
};
import isNanPonyfill from 'is-nan-ponyfill';
isNanPonyfill(5);
Ponyfills should avoid using native APIs, because potential bugs or differences in the native APIs will make such a ponyfill less robust (therefore defeating one of its main purposes). There are important exceptions, such as when:
In such cases, it's still valuable for the ponyfill to minimize any assumptions about the underlying environment.
https://ponyfill.com
in your readme. Example.
ponyfill
to the keywords
section in package.json.To the extent possible under law, Sindre Sorhus has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this work.
Header based on work by Mary Winkler.