Are g++/gcc capable of producing a single executable from node + arbitrary JavaScript files?

[guest271314]

My own sense of a single executable Node.js application is user visits a Node.js controlled site, brings their own JavaScript code, uploads the code and the Web site produces a single executable consisting of the node executable merged with the arbitrary code the user uplaods.

This is what got me to thinking about utilizing g++ to vreate a single exacutable Node.js application https://stackoverflow.com/a/12046789.

Are g++ and gcc capable of producing such a re-compiled executable?

[RaisinTen]

Are g++ and gcc capable of producing such a re-compiled executable?

Yes g++ can be used to compile node but we want to avoid recompilation (boxednode recompiles node) for building the single executable because it takes a significantly high amount of time.

[guest271314]

My thought was not to recompile node, rather to use a compiler to concatenate one or more JavaScript files to the existing node executable, and set the entry point in the same file, so that we can refer to that entry point in the same file on a shebang line pointing to the same file.

We can concatenate the files in modern browsers using Blobs, ArrayBuffer, etc. We just need a mechanism to reference the executable located before or after the prepended/appended files in the same file.

Something like

var sea = new Blob([node_executable, file, file, fileN], {type:'application/octet-stream'});

where file begins with something like

#!/offset_of_node_executable_above_in_same_file

or

#!/usr/bin/env -S node --offset-in-same-file=0-86483184

[jviotti]

@guest271314 Exactly! You are summarizing very well the expected outcome of what is being described in a more high-level fashion here: https://github.com/nodejs/single-executable/blob/6a9961fa3475d95e8734ae966336508a786003b1/notes/2022-08-05-an-overview-of-the-current-state.md.

One of the components we are working on (https://github.com/postmanlabs/postject), is the tool that enables us to inject arbitrary data to the Node.js executable. That approach builds on the idea of having the contents on a specific offset, where as instead of just randomly appending the contents, it integrates them as a proper section of the binary format for better code-signing interoperability, etc.

The component that is able to introspect on which offset to use is what we call the Bootstrapper, and its something that we hope to get into Node.js itself.