Fix build related issues

[ayushmanchhabra]

I'll use this issue to track changes made to #1049 to fix build process related errors.

• Allow installation of node_modules on Node 14
• Fix test configuration
• Fix desktop builds
• Update dependencies
• Figure out way to reliably host desktop binaries

p.s.: @juliandescottes and @bcharbonnier, I sent you guys an email from ayushmxn@outlook.com. There is a chance it could have gone into your spam so just wanted to give you a heads up here. Anyways, hopefully chat soon.

[ayushmanchhabra]

While trying to build the desktop application, this error shows up. I'm not yet sure if this is the cause though.

>> TypeError: os.tmpDir is not a function
Warning: Task "nwjs:windows" not found.

I looked into it and this error is resolved in nw-builder v3.4.0 but the grunt plugin uses v3.1.1. The code hasn't been updated in 6 years and there is an open PR to update dependencies. For now I'll try using the fork.

Update: The forked package solves the issue.

[ayushmanchhabra]

I was also thinking about how to distribute desktop builds. According to this Stack Overflow discussion, we could "publish" the builds on every release? I personally haven't tried it yet. Another way could be to host the executables on the website itself or use something like Sourceforge?

Update:

I vote to attach the desktop binaries under the release notes.