Node & Node Modules

Follow along with code examples here!

Table of Contents:

Slides

Overview

In this lesson we'll learn the history of Node and the fundamentals of using Node Modules to build JavaScript scripts.

Key Terms

Node is a "JavaScript runtime environment" which is just a fancy way to say it is a program for running JavaScript.
A module is an exported chunk of code (typically a function or a set of functions) that can be used across our project.
In a Node project, a file exports a module by assigning a value to module.exports
A file can export a module in two ways:
- It can export one value/function (a single "default export")
- It can export many values/functions (a group of "named exports")
A module can be imported with the require(filename) function.
Modules can be downloaded from the Node Package Manager (NPM) online registry
When a module is downloaded, it is called a dependency
package.json is a file with meta-data about a Node project including dependencies and configuration.
JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is a file format for representing data in an JavaScript-Object-like notation with key:value pairs.
Developer dependencies are dependencies used by the developer(s) who created the package but aren't needed by the users of the package. They are not added to the node_modules folder of the user.

What is Node?

JavaScript started out as a language that could only be executed by a browser.
In 2009, Node was invented to allow programmers to run JavaScript on their own computers without a browser, opening the door for fullstack JavaScript development.
Node is a "JavaScript runtime environment" which is just a fancy way to say it is a program for running JavaScript.
To run a JavaScript program, we use the command node <file_name>

If you use the node command on its own, you will open the Node Read Evaluate Print Loop (REPL) program.

Exporting and Importing Node Modules

Consider the simple JavaScript program below. It declares a few functions for calculating data about a circle with a given radius and then prints them out.

index.js

// functions for circle stuff
const LAZY_PI = 3.14;

const getArea = (radius) => {
  return LAZY_PI * radius * radius;
}

const getDiameter = (radius) => {
  return radius * 2;
}

const getCircumference = (radius) => {
  return LAZY_PI * radius * 2;
}

// function for printing stuff. It is a "wrapper" for the console.log function
const print = (input) => {
  console.log(input);
}

// The main function just runs all of the other functions
const main = () => {
  const radius = 5;
  const area = getArea(radius);
  print(`the area of a circle with radius ${radius} is ${area}`);

  const diameter = getDiameter(radius);
  print(`the diameter of a circle with radius ${radius} is ${diameter}`);

  const circumference = getCircumference(radius);
  print(`the circumference of a circle with radius ${radius} is ${circumference}`);
}

main();

Notice that the main function just uses the other functions.
JavaScript projects are rarely built entirely in one file like this. Instead, code is separated into multiple files that share code with each other.
These shared pieces of code are called modules. A module is an exported chunk of code (typically a function or a set of functions) that can be used across our project.
- For example, a file can create a function and then export it.
- Meanwhile, another file can import that function and use it.
Modules help with organization and separation of concerns but require more files!

Separation of Concerns is a fundamental principle of software engineering. It emphasizes the importance of organizing our code into distinct functions and modules that each serve a singular and specific purpose. However, when put together, those individual pieces work in harmony.

Exporting with `module.exports` (CommonJS)

In a Node project, a file exports a module by assigning a value/function to module.exports.

print.js

const print = (input) => {
  console.log(input)
}
module.exports = print;

When module.exports is assigned a single value/function, we call that a default export.
You will also commonly see module.exports be assigned to an object containing multiple values/functions. These are called named exports:

circle-helpers.js

const LAZY_PI = 3.14;

const getArea = (radius) => {
  return LAZY_PI * radius * radius;
}
const getDiameter = (radius) => {
  return radius * 2;
}
const getCircumference = (radius) => {
  return LAZY_PI * radius * 2;
}

module.exports = {
  LAZY_PI,
  getArea,
  getDiameter,
  getCircumference
};

Importing with `require()` (CommonJS)

To import a value/function exported from another file, use the require(filepath) function and provide a filepath argument.

index.js

// The variable name here is up to you since only the value is exported, not the variable.
const print = require('./print.js');
  
// circleHelpers is what we'll call the object that is exported
const circleHelpers = require('./circle-helpers.js');

const main = () => {
  const radius = 5;
  
  // the getArea method is INSIDE of the circleHelpers object so we use dot notation
  const area = circleHelpers.getArea(radius);

  // print was the default export of print.js so we can just invoke it.
  print(`the area of a circle with radius ${radius} is ${area}`);

  //... the rest of the code ...
}

main();

Destructuring

If the exported value is an object, we typically will destructure the object immediately upon importing it:

index.js

// With destructuring, we create a variable for each named export.
const { getArea, getDiameter, getCircumference } = require('./circle-helpers.js');

const main = () => {
  const radius = 5;
  
  // We can just invoke getArea now without digging through an object.
  const area = getArea(radius);
  print(`the area of a circle with radius ${radius} is ${area}`);

  //... the rest of the code ...
}

main();

Node Package Manager (NPM)

Modules can be downloaded from the Node Package Manager (NPM) online registry.
When you download a package, it is called a dependency.
Visit https://www.npmjs.com/ to explore available packages. Start by searching up the "prompt-sync" package.

Installing and Using Dependencies from NPM

To install any module from npmjs, use the npm install (or npm i) command in your Terminal:

npm i prompt-sync # installs the prompt-sync package

Now, you should see a node_modules/ folder with a prompt-sync/ folder inside. Open up the prompt-sync/index.js file to see the module that is exported!
To use the package in our own program, use require() again, this time with just the name of the module.

5-prompt-sync/index.js

// with modules in node_modules, we only need to provide the name:
const prompt = require('prompt-sync')();

// we don't need to provide the full relative path (although we can)
const prompt = require('./node_modules/prompt-sync')();

For prompt-sync, the exported module is not the prompt function itself, but instead a create function which lets the programmer configure how they want prompt to work (see node_modules/prompt-sync/index.js)

This is a common pattern for modules.

`package.json` and `node_modules`

Every dependency of a project, and its version number, will be listed in the file package.json (if the file doesn't exist, the npm i command will create it). The existence of this file turns our project into a package.
JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is a file format for representing data in an JavaScript-Object-like notation with key:value pairs.

The downloaded module will be placed in a folder called node_modules/ along with any sub-dependencies that the module itself may require.
You can see the sub-dependencies of a module by opening its own package.json file. All modules listed under "dependencies" will also be installed in node_modules/.
- In prompt-sync/package.json, we can see it has strip-ansi as a dependency.
- In strip-ansi/package.json, we can see it has ansi-regex as a dependency.

Developer Dependencies

In the prompt-sync/package.json file, you will notice that prompt-sync-history is listed under "devDependencies".
Developer dependencies are dependencies used by the developer(s) who created the package but aren't needed by the users of the package. They are not added to the node_modules folder of the user.
Try installing the nodemon module as a developer dependency using the npm i -D command:

npm i -D nodemon

You should see nodemon added to the "devDependencies" section of package.json (version numbers may vary):

{
  "dependencies": {
    "prompt-sync": "^4.2.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "nodemon": "^3.1.7"
  }
}

The nodemon module installs a new command nodemon that can be used to run a JavaScript file in "hot reload" mode. This means that any time you save a file in the project, it will re-run the file.

# runs index.js once
node index.js 

# re-runs index.js each time the file changes
nodemon index.js

Q: Why is nodemon installed as a developer dependency and not a required dependency of the project?

nodemon makes it easier to test your code but the users of the package do not strictly need its functionality. It is just a convenience.

`package.json` Scripts and `nodemon`

You can add a "scripts" section to the package.json file to make it easier to run commonly used Terminal commands.
Two common script commands to add are "start" which runs node index.js and "dev" which runs nodemon index.js

{
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node index.js",
    "dev": "nodemon index.js"
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "prompt-sync": "^4.2.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "nodemon": "^3.1.7"
  }
}

To use these commands, we can type npm run script_name. For example, npm run start or npm run dev

`npm init -y`

When working on a new Node project, it is common to set up the package.json file prior to installing any dependencies.
This can be done using the command npm init which will ask you some questions to generate a package.json file.

{
  "name": "project-name",
  "version": "0.0.1",
  "description": "Project Description",
  "main": "index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1"
  },
  "repository": {
    "type": "git",
    "url": "the repositories url"
  },
  "author": "your name",
  "license": "N/A"
}

You can also run npm init -y to skip the questions and build a package.json file using default values.

Madlib Challenge

A program is considered hard-coded if the program code must be modified in order to produce a new result.

The prompt-sync function is really useful for creating programs that will produce new results depending on the user's input.

5-prompt-sync/index.js

const prompt = require('prompt-sync')();

const name = prompt(`Hello there! What's your name? `);
console.log(`hi ${name}. My name is HAL`);

In the 6-madlib-challenge/index.js file you will find the following hard-coded program:

6-madlib-challenge/index.js

const madlib = (name, verb, quantity, item, newItem, isHappy) => {
  console.log(`There once was a man named ${name}.`);
  console.log(`Every day he would ${verb} with his ${quantity} ${item}s`);

  if (isHappy) {
    console.log(`But then, he found a ${newItem} and everything changed!`);
  } else {
    console.log(`But then, a ${newItem} took over his life and he couldn't ${verb} again!`);
  }

  console.log("The end.")
}

const main = () => {
  const name = 'Ben';
  const verb = 'run';
  const quantity = 50;
  const item = 'dog';
  const newItem = 'new car';
  const isHappy = false;

  madlib(name, verb, quantity, item, newItem, isHappy);
}

Your goal is to do the following in the 6-madlib-challenge folder:

Download the prompt-sync module using npm i prompt-sync
Import and configure the prompt function in index.js
Replace the hard-coded variables defined in the main function with values retrieved from the user via the prompt function.
Re-organize the code such that the madlib function is in its own file called madlib.js that exports madlib as the default export.

If you get stuck, you can view the solution below:

Q: Solution

index.js

const madlib = require('./madlib.js');
const prompt = require('prompt-sync')();

const main = () => {
  const name = prompt('Choose a name: ')
  const verb = prompt('Choose a verb: ')
  const quantity = prompt('Choose a quantity: ')
  const item = prompt('Choose a item: ')
  const newItem = prompt('Choose a newItem: ')
  const isHappyResponse = prompt('Choose whether the story is happy. Y or N: ')
  const isHappy = isHappyResponse.toUpperCase() === "Y"

  madlib(name, verb, quantity, item, newItem, isHappy);
}

main();

madlib.js

const madlib = (name, verb, quantity, item, newItem, isHappy) => {
  console.log(`There once was a man named ${name}.`);
  console.log(`Every day he would ${verb} with his ${quantity} ${item}s`);

  if (isHappy) {
    console.log(`But then, he found a ${newItem} and everything changed!`);
  } else {
    console.log(`But then, a ${newItem} took over his life and he couldn't ${verb} again!`);
  }

  console.log("The end.")
}

module.exports = madlib;

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Last updated 1 year ago

Slides

Overview

Key Terms

What is Node?

Exporting and Importing Node Modules

Exporting with module.exports (CommonJS)

Importing with require() (CommonJS)

Destructuring

Node Package Manager (NPM)

Installing and Using Dependencies from NPM

package.json and node_modules

Developer Dependencies

package.json Scripts and nodemon

npm init -y

Madlib Challenge

Exporting with `module.exports` (CommonJS)

Importing with `require()` (CommonJS)

`package.json` and `node_modules`

`package.json` Scripts and `nodemon`

`npm init -y`