Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by z3t4 3801 days ago
"Require" is the reason why we now have a module for just about anything in Node.JS. I even think Kevin Dangoor or whoever invented it should get the Nobel prize. But then the ES committee choose to use paradigms from year 1970. I cry every time someone use import instead of require in JS because they miss out why globals are bad, modularity is good, and the JS API philosophy (super simple objects with (prototype) methods).
1 comments
tlrobinson 3801 days ago
I'm not sure I understand. ES6 modules are basically equivalent to "require". `import foo from "foo";` is the same as `var foo = require("foo");`

Yes, it was Kevin Dangoor who started the CommonJS (originally "ServerJS") project and led many of the discussions. Kris Kowal and many others were instrumental as well. This is probably the pivotal mailing list thread for what became CommonJS modules: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/commonjs/Gr72Bc8Twzc

I may have written the first implementation... https://github.com/tlrobinson/narwhal/commit/f960f7902fb9099... (RIP Narwhal!)

link
z3t4 3800 days ago
The main technical difference is that you can not have scoped imports. The main impact though, is that many will use a hammer on screws, meaning; people used to "other tools", can now do so (ES6: import, class, etc). While require teaches you to use the electrical screwdriver.
link
tlrobinson 3800 days ago
Are you saying you can't do function-scoped imports ("require" inside a function)? I rarely see that used and it's not available in any other language I can think of.
link
z3t4 3800 days ago
Yes. It makes things so much simpler. Your program do not have to be complex! It can exist entirely of functions that do not depend on their outer scope. You can basically change everything around them and the function will still work the same. And you do not have to look outside the function to understand what it does. You only have to know about the standard objects witch in JavaScript (ES5) is Math, Date, JSON and Error. Everything else is "required" when needed.
link
tlrobinson 3800 days ago
That's still true but on the module level. If your module is so large that it's hard to keep track of the imports/requires then you should probably split the module up.

I really don't think require-ing within individual functions is a common or good practice. Can you point me to an open source project that does that?

link
z3t4 3799 days ago
A module is already scoped in node.js. It would be nice to have scoped require in the browser too, instead of just global import.

Splitting up a program, or module, into (more) modules does not make it simpler, rather contrary, it makes it more complex! Unless it's a fully decoupled abstraction reusable in other projects.

An example of require-ing within individual functions: A function to send notifications to e-mail or SMS ... It makes more sense to require the SMTP or SMS module in those functions, then somewhere else.

link