DeprecationWarning about punycode on Node.js 21

[justmoon]

When loading the xrpl module in Node.js 21, a deprecation warning is issued.

(node:99818) [DEP0040] DeprecationWarning: The `punycode` module is deprecated. Please use a userland alternative instead.

• node-fetch@2 won't fix this issue, so cross-fetch would have to upgrade to to node-fetch@3
• cross-fetch won't upgrade to node-fetch@3 due to wanting cjs compatibility.

Possible solutions

• Switch to node-fetch@3 and remove cross-fetch. (I haven't really looked at what cross-fetch actually adds, so that might not be an option.)
• Use native Node.js fetch (available from Node.js 18+)
• Use native (or user-supplied) fetch and only load the polyfill if needed
• Include punycode npm module as a dependency and force bundler to use it
• Wait for cross-fetch to fix it (though it doesn't look like they are going to anytime soon)

Upstream issues

lquixada/cross-fetch#177
node-fetch/node-fetch#1797

Dependency tree

xrpl 3.0.0
└─┬ cross-fetch 4.0.0
  └─┬ node-fetch 2.7.0
    └── whatwg-url 5.0.0

Full stacktrace

(node:99818) [DEP0040] DeprecationWarning: The `punycode` module is deprecated. Please use a userland alternative instead.
    at node:punycode:3:9
    at BuiltinModule.compileForInternalLoader (node:internal/bootstrap/realm:398:7)
    at BuiltinModule.compileForPublicLoader (node:internal/bootstrap/realm:337:10)
    at loadBuiltinModule (node:internal/modules/helpers:104:7)
    at Function.Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:999:17)
    at Module.require (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1230:19)
    at require (node:internal/modules/helpers:179:18)
    at Object. (/opt/workspace/justmoon/dassie/node_modules/.pnpm/whatwg-url@5.0.0/node_modules/whatwg-url/lib/url-state-machine.js:2:18)
    at Module._compile (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1368:14)
    at Object.Module._extensions..js (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1426:10)
    at Module.load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1205:32)
    at Function.Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1021:12)
    at Module.require (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1230:19)
    at require (node:internal/modules/helpers:179:18)
    at Object. (/opt/workspace/justmoon/dassie/node_modules/.pnpm/whatwg-url@5.0.0/node_modules/whatwg-url/lib/URL-impl.js:2:13)
    at Module._compile (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1368:14)
    at Object.Module._extensions..js (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1426:10)
    at Module.load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1205:32)
    at Function.Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1021:12)
    at Module.require (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1230:19)
    at require (node:internal/modules/helpers:179:18)
    at Object. (/opt/workspace/justmoon/dassie/node_modules/.pnpm/whatwg-url@5.0.0/node_modules/whatwg-url/lib/URL.js:5:14)
    at Module._compile (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1368:14)
    at Object.Module._extensions..js (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1426:10)
    at Module.load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1205:32)
    at Function.Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1021:12)
    at Module.require (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1230:19)
    at require (node:internal/modules/helpers:179:18)
    at Object. (/opt/workspace/justmoon/dassie/node_modules/.pnpm/whatwg-url@5.0.0/node_modules/whatwg-url/lib/public-api.js:3:15)
    at Module._compile (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1368:14)
    at Object.Module._extensions..js (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1426:10)
    at Module.load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1205:32)
    at Function.Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1021:12)
    at Module.require (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1230:19)
    at require (node:internal/modules/helpers:179:18)
    at Object. (/opt/workspace/justmoon/dassie/node_modules/.pnpm/node-fetch@2.7.0/node_modules/node-fetch/lib/index.js:10:33)
    at Module._compile (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1368:14)
    at Object.Module._extensions..js (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1426:10)
    at Module.load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1205:32)
    at Function.Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1021:12)
    at Module.require (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1230:19)
    at require (node:internal/modules/helpers:179:18)
    at Object. (/opt/workspace/justmoon/dassie/node_modules/.pnpm/cross-fetch@4.0.0/node_modules/cross-fetch/dist/node-ponyfill.js:1:19)
    at Module._compile (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1368:14)
    at Object.Module._extensions..js (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1426:10)
    at Module.load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1205:32)
    at Function.Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1021:12)
    at Module.require (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1230:19)
    at require (node:internal/modules/helpers:179:18)
    at Object. (/opt/workspace/justmoon/dassie/node_modules/.pnpm/xrpl@3.0.0/node_modules/xrpl/src/Wallet/fundWallet.ts:1:1)
    at Module._compile (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1368:14)
    at Object.Module._extensions..js (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1426:10)
    at Module.load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1205:32)
    at Function.Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1021:12)
    at Module.require (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1230:19)
    at require (node:internal/modules/helpers:179:18)
    at Object. (/opt/workspace/justmoon/dassie/node_modules/.pnpm/xrpl@3.0.0/node_modules/xrpl/src/client/index.ts:74:1)
    at Module._compile (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1368:14)
    at Object.Module._extensions..js (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1426:10)
    at Module.load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1205:32)
    at Function.Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1021:12)
    at Module.require (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1230:19)
    at require (node:internal/modules/helpers:179:18)
    at Object. (/opt/workspace/justmoon/dassie/node_modules/.pnpm/xrpl@3.0.0/node_modules/xrpl/src/index.ts:1:1)

[justinr1234]

Removing support for node 16, which needed to be done anyway. #2678

Thanks for bringing this up and your detailed analysis!

[mvadari]

Reopening because this should only be closed when #2678 is merged.