But the large number of packages available, even for seemingly trivial features, are what makes NPM popular and successful. You jest at left-pad, but there's real value in simple libraries they might only be "a few lines of code" because an app is made up of a large amount of "simple features" strung together.
Not to mention the code reuse factor.
If npm took the route of debian's verification/certification, you might end up with no libs at all!
> You jest at left-pad, but there's real value in simple libraries they might only be "a few lines of code"
Nicely said, but you omit the elephant in the room: that the dependencies have
their cost, which is quite high and is rarely matched, much less offset, by
the value of these "simple libraries".
Not to mention the code reuse factor.
If npm took the route of debian's verification/certification, you might end up with no libs at all!