CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascriptnode.jstypescript
Vadorequest
Vadorequest

Reputation: 17997

TypeScript use typescript-require shared files

I use TypeScript to code my javascript file with Object Oriented Programing. I want to use the node module https://npmjs.org/package/typescript-require to require my .ts files from other files.

I want to share my files in both server and client side. (Browser) And that's very important. Note that the folder /shared/ doesn't mean shared between client and server but between Game server and Web server. I use pomelo.js as framework, that's why.

For the moment I'm not using (successfully) the typescript-require library. I do like that:

shared/lib/message.js

var Message = require('./../classes/Message');
module.exports = {

    getNewInstance: function(message, data, status){
        console.log(requireTs);// Global typescript-require instance
        console.log(Message);
        return new Message(message, data, status);
    }
};

This file need the Message.js to create new instances.

shared/classes/Message.ts

class Message{
    // Big stuff
}
try{
    module.exports = Message;
}catch(e){}

At the end of the fil I add this try/catch to add the class to the module.exports if it exists. (It works, but it's not really a good way to do it, I would like to do better) If I load the file from the browser, the module.export won't exists.

So, what I did above is working. Now if I try to use the typescript-require module, I'll change some things:

shared/lib/message.js

var Message = requireTs('./../classes/Message.ts');

I use requireTs instead of require, it's a global var. I precise I'm using .ts file.

shared/classes/Message.ts

export class Message{
    // Big stuff
}
// remove the compatibility script at the end

Now, if I try like this and if I take a look to the console server, I get requireTs is object and Message is undefined in shared/lib/message.js. I get the same if I don't use the export keyword in Message.ts. Even if I use my little script at the end I get always an error.

But there is more, I have another class name ValidatorMessage.ts which extends Message.ts, it's not working if I use the export keyword...

Did I did something wrong? I tried several other things but nothing is working, looks like the typescript-require is not able to require .ts files. Thank you for your help.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 2263

Answers (3)

Grofit
Grofit

Reputation: 18445

I am doing the same and keep having issues whichever way I try to do things... The main problems for me are:

  • I write my typescript as namespaces and components, so there is no export module with multiple file compilation you have to do a hack to add some _exporter.ts at the end to add the export for your library-output.js to be importable as a module, this would require something like:

module.exports.MyRootNamespace = MyRootNamespace

  • If you do the above it works, however then you get the issue of when you need to reference classes from other modules (such as MyRootNamespace1.SomeClass being referenced by MyRootNamespace2.SomeOtherClass) you can reference it but then it will compile it into your library-output2.js file so you end up having duplicates of classes if you are trying to re-use typescript across multiple compiled targets (like how you would have 1 solution in VS and multiple projects which have their own dll outputs)

  • Assuming you are not happy with hacking the exports and/or duplicating your references then you can just import them into the global scope, which is a hack but works... however then when you decide you want to test your code (using whatever nodejs testing framework) you will need to mock out certain things, and as the dependencies for your components may not be included via a require() call (and your module may depend upon node_modules which are not really usable with global scope hacking) and this then makes it difficult to satisfy dependencies and mock certain ones, its like an all or nothing sort of approach.

  • Finally you can try to mitigate all these problems by using a typescript framework such as appex which allows you to run your typescript directly rather than the compile into js first, and while it seems very good up front it is VERY hard to debug compilation errors, this is currently my preferred way but I have an issue where my typescript compiles fine via tsc, but just blows up with a max stack size exception on appex, and I am at the mercy of the project maintainer to fix this (I was not able to find the underlying issue). There are also not many of these sort of projects out there however they make the issue of compiling at module level/file level etc a moot point.

Ultimately I have had nothing but problems trying to wrestle with Typescript to get it to work in a way which is maintainable and testable. I also am trying to re-use some of the typescript components on the clientside however if you go down the npm hack route to get your modules included you then have to make sure your client side uses a require compatible resource/package loader. As much as I would love to just use typescript on my client and my server projects, it just does not seem to want to work in a nice way.

Upvotes: 1

Vadorequest
Vadorequest

Reputation: 17997

Solution here: Inheritance TypeScript with exported class and modules

Finally I don't use require-typescript but typescript.api instead, it works well. (You have to load lib.d.ts if you use it, else you'll get some errors on the console.

I don't have a solution to have the script on the browser yet. (Because of export keyword I have some errors client side) I think add a exports global var to avoid errors like this.

Thank you for your help Bill.

Upvotes: 0

Bill Ticehurst
Bill Ticehurst

Reputation: 1868

Looking at the typescript-require library, I see it hasn't been updated for 9 months. As it includes the lib.d.ts typing central to TypeScript (and the node.d.ts typing), and as these have progressed greatly in the past 9 months (along with needed changes due to language updates), it's probably not compatible with the latest TypeScript releases (just my assumption, I may be wrong).

Sharing modules between Node and the browser is not easy with TypeScript, as they both use very different module systems (CommonJS in Node, and typically something like RequireJS in the browser). TypeScript emits code for one or the other, depending on the --module switch given. (Note: There is a Universal Module Definition (UMD) pattern some folks use, but TypeScript doesn't support this directly).

What goals exactly are you trying to achieve, and I may be able to offer some guidance.

Upvotes: 1

Related Questions