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Speaking JavaScript
book

Speaking JavaScript

by Axel Rauschmayer
February 2014
Beginner to intermediate content levelBeginner to intermediate
460 pages
8h 32m
English
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Content preview from Speaking JavaScript

Chapter 31. Module Systems and Package Managers

JavaScript does not have built-in support for modules, but the community has created impressive workarounds. To manage modules, you can use so-called package managers, which handle discovery, installation, dependency management, and more.

Module Systems

The two most important (and unfortunately incompatible) standards for JavaScript modules are:

CommonJS Modules (CJS)

The dominant incarnation of this standard is Node.js modules (Node.js modules have a few features that go beyond CJS). Its characteristics include:

  • Compact syntax
  • Designed for synchronous loading
  • Main use: server
Asynchronous Module Definition (AMD)

The most popular implementation of this standard is RequireJS. Its characteristics include:

  • Slightly more complicated syntax, enabling AMD to work without eval() or a static compilation step
  • Designed for asynchronous loading
  • Main use: browsers

Package Managers

When it comes to package managers, npm (Node Packaged Modules) is the canonical choice for Node.js. For browsers, two options are popular (among others):

  • Bower is a package manager for the Web that supports both AMD and CJS.
  • Browserify is a tool based on npm that compiles npm packages to something you can use in a browser.

Quick and Dirty Modules

For normal web development, you should use a module system such as RequireJS or Browserify. However, sometimes you just want to put together a quick hack. Then the following simple module pattern can help:

var moduleName ...
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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781449365028Errata