What is the difference between require('mypackage.js') and require('mypackage')?
Both these require
statements appear to work the same way:
var Mypackage = require('mypackage.js');
var Mypackage require('mypackage');
Is there a difference between them?
Solution 1:
Here is the answer:
Module.prototype.load = function(filename) {
debug('load ' + JSON.stringify(filename) +
' for module ' + JSON.stringify(this.id));
assert(!this.loaded);
this.filename = filename;
this.paths = Module._nodeModulePaths(path.dirname(filename));
var extension = path.extname(filename) || '.js';
if (!Module._extensions[extension]) extension = '.js';
Module._extensions[extension](this, filename);
this.loaded = true;
};
-
Node.JS looks to see if the given module is a core module. (e.g.
http
,fs
, etc.) Always takes the precedence in the loading modules. - If the given module is not a core module (e.g.
http
,fs
, etc.), Node.js will then begin to search for a directory named,node_modules
.
It will start in the current directory (relative to the currently-executing file in Node.JS) and then work its way up the folder hierarchy, checking each level for a node_modules folder. Once Node.JS finds thenode_modules
folder, it will then attempt to load the given module either as a (.js) JavaScript file or as a named sub-directory; if it finds the named sub-directory, it will then attempt to load the file in various ways. So, for example - If you make a request to load the module, "utils" and its a directory not a .js file then:
Node.JS will search a hierarchical directory fornode_modules
andutils
in the following ways:./node_modules/utils.js
./node_modules/utils/index.js
./node_modules/utils/package.json
- If Node.JS still can't find the file in above steps, Node.js will then start to look into the directory paths from environment variables i.e.
NODE_PATH
set on your machine(obviously set by Node.JS installer file if you are on windows) Not Found in all the above steps then, prints a stack trace to stder
E.g.:Error:
Cannot find module 'yourfile'
For more information: link is here even the cyclic require() is explained very well.