How do I get Node Exports to work properly?

Question

Node Noob here...experimenting with Exports and Require...

I have a Javascript file named GoogleHomePage.js that contains this code:

var GoogleHomePage = function (){
    module.exports.Home = function () {
        var homepage = "http://www.google.com";
        browser.get(homepage);

    }
}

I then want to use require from another file named FileB.js like this:

var g = require("./GoogleHomePage.js");
g.Home();

When g.Home() is run, I get Undefined... Yet, when I look at g in the debugger, I can see that it has a function named Home...

If I type in g.Home in console window it shows me the function code...

How do I get g.Home() to execute? Is this happening because there is no g object e.g. var x = new g() or would it be var x = new GoogleHomePage()?

Answer 1

Instead of

var GoogleHomePage = function (){
    module.exports.Home = function () {
        var homepage = "http://www.google.com";
        browser.get(homepage);

    }
}

you want

module.exports = function () {
    var homepage = "http://www.google.com";
    browser.get(homepage);
}

module is a variable local to the module in question, and exports is a property of that object. The function GoogleHomePage never gets called in your code, so your assignment never runs.

When you require the module, just do

var g = require('./GoogleHomePage');
g();

The .js is unnecessary.

Answer 2

You are wrapping your export in a function and it is not going to work right. Try this instead:

GoogleHomePage.js:

module.exports = function() {
    var homepage = "http://www.google.com";
    browser.get(homepage);

}

FileB.js

var googleHomePage = require("./GoogleHomePage.js");
googleHomePage();

So export the function directly -- there is no need to wrap it in that odd var GoogleHomePage = function (){ ... } construct.

If you want to export multiple things in GoogleHomePage, you can export an object with properties like so:

GoogleHomePage.js:

module.exports = {
  Home: function() {
    var homepage = "http://www.google.com";
    browser.get(homepage);
  },

  SomethingElse: function() {
    // ...
  }
};

Then FileB.js would look like:

var googleHomePage = require("./GoogleHomePage.js");
googleHomePage.Home();

Or you could do:

var home = require("./GoogleHomePage.js").Home;
home();