Make the distribution build the main NPM entry point

[mourner]

Currently our readme suggests require('mapbox-gl') for Browserify-bundled projects and require('mapbox-gl/dist/mapbox-gl.js') for all the rest.

But is there a real need to support building Mapbox GL JS from within a Browserify-bundled project? Would it be better overall to just change the main entry point in the package.json to dist/mapbox-gl-dev.js and make the workflow the same (require('mapbox-gl')) for all module systems?

This would also enable us to safely use a Yarn lockfile in the repo (#3364 ) for producing the same build and not worry about any downstream modules, and also move all dependencies into devDependencies for a lighter downstream install.

The only cons I can think of:

• Possible code duplication in downstream Browserify-bundled modules that also use some mapbox-gl dependencies like geojson-vt or earcut. Very rare and not a big deal.
• Not being able to require a specific branch/hash of mapbox-gl in a Browserify-bundled downstream module. Not a big deal as well.

Thoughts @jfirebaugh @lucaswoj @tmcw?

[lucaswoj]

I think this is a good idea.

Do you have a sense of what precedent exists for similar libraries?

Not being able to require a specific branch/hash of mapbox-gl in a Browserify-bundled downstream module. Not a big deal as well.

We could build system that ensures dist/mapbox-gl.js is up to date for every commit. A combination of a git precommit hook + a CI test should do the trick. We don't need to do this until we feel the pain of not being able to require a specific branch / hash.

[mourner]

We could build system that ensures dist/mapbox-gl.js is up to date for every commit.

We should avoid committing the build to the repo at all costs. I think it's much easier to just publish a prerelease version in case we have to require a particular version from a downstream module.

[jfirebaugh]

We should do this. Bug reports from webpack users who are doing require('mapbox-gl') is our most common support issue at the moment.

[anandthakker]

Not being able to require a specific branch/hash of mapbox-gl in a Browserify-bundled downstream module. Not a big deal as well

If we're going to make 'dist/mapbox-gl.js' the main script for the NPM package, then I'd like to advocate that we also support require('mapbox-gl/js/mapbox-gl.js') as a way to target a specific commit in a browserify build. (Alas, this would mean not moving build deps to devDependencies.)

The occasions when it's necessary to target a specific commit of a library may be infrequent, but I think they can be sort of severe or urgent: it's the kind of thing where you're fighting some subtle bug for hours trying to ship something and finally the only workaround involves temporarily forking/patching the lib you're depending on and installing your fork. It's invaluable in those cases to be able to do npm install github:myfork/mapbox-gl-js#quick-fix