solc version outdated

[aaronzshey]

The Problem

The version of solc hardhat uses is 0.7.3, released 4 years ago.

Why should we fix it though?

When I install hardhat, I get the following warns:

npm WARN deprecated rimraf@2.7.1: Rimraf versions prior to v4 are no longer supported
npm WARN deprecated glob@7.2.0: Glob versions prior to v9 are no longer supported
npm WARN deprecated glob@8.1.0: Glob versions prior to v9 are no longer supported

Here's the output of pnpm why rimraf

devDependencies:
hardhat link:packages/hardhat-core
└─┬ solc 0.7.3
  └─┬ fs-extra 0.30.0
    └── rimraf 2.7.1

and pnpm why glob

devDependencies:
hardhat link:packages/hardhat-core
├── glob 7.2.0
├─┬ mocha 10.4.0
│ └── glob 8.1.0
└─┬ solc 0.7.3
  └─┬ fs-extra 0.30.0
    └─┬ rimraf 2.7.1
      └── glob 7.2.0

By upgrading solc from 0.7.3 to 0.8.26, we can eliminate outdated versions of glob and rimraf from the dependencies. solc 0.8.26 has 7 dependencies, while solc 0.7.3 has 9 dependencies (including the two aforementioned outdated ones)

Steps to Reproduce the Problem

1. create a new node project
2. install hardhat (npm i hardhat)
3. read following warnings

Specifications

• Hardhat Version: 2.22.5
• pnpm Version: 9.4.0
• node version: 21.2.0
• Platform: macOS 12.7.2

More Info

I have a huge pet peeve for npm warns! I'd be super happy to be assigned to this issue and work on upgrading the solc version. I'll link my fork in a second.

TL;DR:

solc is outdated; upgrading it will reduce warn messages on npm install and also hopefully reduce dependencies. quality of life pretty much.