Node.js has released version 18 (v18.0.0). This will replace version 17. This is the release candidate for the next LTS (Long-term Support) version. The current LTS version is 16.
Version 18 will remain as the ‘Current’ release and after 6 months it will be promoted to LTS (Long-term Support). So in October 2020, this will be promoted to LTS. The code name for this version will be ‘Hydrogen’. This LTS version will be suported til April, 2025.
Check the released changes here: https://github.com/nodejs/node/releases/tag/v18.0.0
Read the announcement blog post here: https://nodejs.org/en/blog/announcements/v18-release-announce/
Here are the highlights of this release:
- V8 JS engine is updated to version 10.1.
- fetch is not enabled globally by default. [Experimental]
- Implementation of Web Strams API. [Experimental]
- Blob API is available on a global scope.
- BroadcastChannel API is available on a global scope.
- New test runner module. [Experimental]