I Went 50 Versions Of React Back To Fix A Project

Tom Smykowski
2 min readJan 26, 2024
Pixabay / Pexels

Today I needed to add some features into an old project with an old React. So I had to go back 50 versions and find a solution for that specific version.

There was a library with the solution, but it worked only with the last ten versions of React.

So I’ve found an older version of that library. It occurred that it works only with old version of Node.js. So I’ve installed an older version of Node.js.

Node.js didn’t work with my Docker version, so I’ve also installed an older version of Docker.

Docker didn’t work with my operating system, so I had to install Windows XP. After installing Windows XP, it occurred it didn’t like my processor. So I’ve opened it, and resoldered an older processor I’ve found in my drawer.

So I was set up to work on that project. However, the processor didn’t want to work with my internet provider. I’ve found an old dial modem in my garage, and plugged it in, building a simulated network on Raspberry Pi.

It took a while to download all dependencies with the limited brand witch.

After 2 days of downloading, I got an error saying:

invalid dependency: cat 2.0

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Tom Smykowski

Software Engineer & Tech Editor. Top 2% on StackOverflow, 3mil views on Quora. Won Shattered Pixel Dungeon.