Fix, document, and update npm dependencies; fix Bezier-rs demos not b…

…uilding

Closes #1853

frontend/README.md

@@ -26,11 +26,11 @@ Wraps the editor backend codebase (`/editor`) and provides a JS-centric API for
 
 ## npm ecosystem packages: `package.json`
 
-While we don't use Node.js as a JS-based server, we do have to rely on its wide ecosystem of packages for our build system toolchain. If you're just getting started, make sure to install the latest LTS copy of Node.js and then run `cd frontend && npm install` to install these packages on your system. Our project's philosophy on third-party packages is to keep our dependency tree as light as possible, so adding anything new to our `package.json` should have overwhelming justification. Most of the packages are just development tooling (TypeScript, Vite, ESLint, Prettier, wasm-pack, and [Sass](https://sass-lang.com/)) that run in your console during the build process.
+While we don't use Node.js as a JS-based server, we do have to rely on its wide ecosystem of packages for our build system toolchain. If you're just getting started, make sure to install the latest LTS copy of Node.js. Our project's philosophy on third-party packages is to keep our dependency tree as light as possible, so adding anything new to our `package.json` should have overwhelming justification. Most of the packages are just development tooling (TypeScript, Vite, ESLint, Prettier, wasm-pack, and [Sass](https://sass-lang.com/)) that run in your console during the build process.
 
 ## npm package installed versions: `package-lock.json`
 
-Specifies the exact versions of packages installed in the npm dependency tree. While `package.json` specifies which packages to install and their minimum/maximum acceptable version numbers, `package-lock.json` represents the exact versions of each dependency and sub-dependency. Running `npm install` will grab these exact versions to ensure you are using the same packages as everyone else working on Graphite. `npm update` will modify `package-lock.json` to specify newer versions of any updated (sub-)dependencies and download those, as long as they don't exceed the maximum version allowed in `package.json`. To check for newer versions that exceed the max version, run `npm outdated` to see a list. Unless you know why you are doing it, try to avoid committing updates to `package-lock.json` by mistake if your code changes don't pertain to package updates. And never manually modify the file.
+Specifies the exact versions of packages installed in the npm dependency tree. While `package.json` specifies which packages to install and their minimum/maximum acceptable version numbers, `package-lock.json` represents the exact versions of each dependency and sub-dependency. Running `npm ci` will grab these exact versions to ensure you are using the same packages as everyone else working on Graphite. `npm update` will modify `package-lock.json` to specify newer versions of any updated (sub-)dependencies and download those, as long as they don't exceed the maximum version allowed in `package.json`. To check for newer versions that exceed the max version, run `npm outdated` to see a list. Unless you know why you are doing it, try to avoid committing updates to `package-lock.json` by mistake if your code changes don't pertain to package updates. And never manually modify the file.
 
 ## TypeScript configurations: `tsconfig.json`
 

frontend/package-installer.js

@@ -19,10 +19,17 @@ const isInstallNeeded = () => {
 // Run `npm ci` if needed and update the install timestamp
 if (isInstallNeeded()) {
 	try {
+		// eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+		console.log("Installing npm packages...");
+
 		// Check if packages are up to date, doing so quickly by using `npm ci`, preferring local cached packages, and skipping the package audit and other checks
 		execSync("npm ci --prefer-offline --no-audit --no-fund", { stdio: "inherit" });
+
 		// Touch the install timestamp file
 		writeFileSync(INSTALL_TIMESTAMP_FILE, "");
+
+		// eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+		console.log("Finished installing npm packages.");
 	} catch (error) {
 		// eslint-disable-next-line no-console
 		console.error("Failed to install npm packages. Please run `npm install` from the `/frontend` directory.");