A full version history of the mysql package with size, number of distributed files and dependency evolution.
The mysql npm package has undergone a significant evolution since its initial release in 2011. Early versions, from 0.1.0 to 0.9.6, were characterized by dependencies like gently and hashish, reflecting the nascent Node.js ecosystem at the time. These versions were maintained by Felix Geisendörfer.
A major shift occurred with the 2.x series, starting with version 2.0.0 in 2014. This generation marked a more mature driver, touting itself as a pure JavaScript implementation with an MIT license. Dependencies shifted to more established packages like bignumber.js and readable-stream, and description focused on features such a node.js driver is written in Javascript which represents milestone on the package's development.
Subsequent 2.x versions, from 2.1.0 to 2.18.1, continued this trend, refining dependencies and adding devDependencies for testing and linting, like istanbul and eslint. Later releases also included safe-buffer as added dependency. Dependency version management using tilde(~) was also a feature to note on the releases. The sqlstring package was added as a dependency with version 2.11.0. In the later versions, bignumber.js was upgraded to newer versions regularly.
The introduction of repository URL towards mysqljs/mysql marks a transition away from the original author which shows the package has now grown into a community rather than sole maintainer. These iterative updates demonstrate ongoing maintenance, adaptation to newer Node.js standards, security patches, and performance enhancements that has been part of the package.