chore(deps): use npm ci instead of npm-install

[MikeMcC399]

This PR replaces the use of the JavaScript action bahmutov/npm-install in several .github/workflows by a call to npm-ci.

Reasons

The JavaScript action bahmutov/npm-install relies on node16, which reached end-of-life on Sep 11, 2023. It is uncertain if there will be a new release to support node20 and it has been more than a year since any maintainer has responded to issues in this repo.

The alternative npm-ci is available for all supported versions of Node.js as part of the npm utility, which is included in all standard GitHub runner images. This is equally fast or sometimes faster than using bahmutov/npm-install.

Impact

• Removes reliance on end-of-life Node.js 16

• Removes dependency on bahmutov/npm-install

• Removes caching of npm modules. Counterintuitively, this does not lengthen the run time of any of the changed actions. In some cases (see below) dealing with cache mechanics using npm-install was taking longer than installing using npm ci without caching.

Typical run times

The following table compares the run times of:

• npm-install (cache miss)
• npm-install (cache hit)
• npm ci (no cache usage)

Workflow	npm-install cache miss	npm-install cache hit	npm ci no cache
check-dist.yml	4s	5s	2s
check-markdown.yml	4s	5s	3s
example-wait-on.yml in ping-cli	12s	3s	3s
main.yml	12s	3s	3s

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[github-actions]

🎉 This PR is included in version 6.6.0 🎉

The release is available on:

• npm package (@latest dist-tag)
• GitHub release

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