ES6 syntax import Electron (require..) - javascript

To learn the new ES6 syntax, I've been trying to refactor some JS code.
I'm absolutely confused though by the whole import / export methods.
How do I change this require statement into ES6?
var remote = require('electron').remote
I've seen this answer but:
It doesn't work
It doesn't really seems to be much ES6-sque
Any thoughts?

It seems imports are not implemented in either Node 6 or Chrome 51 so Electron also does not support them, according to this post: https://discuss.atom.io/t/does-electron-support-es6/19366/18
And also the last electron doc doesn't use imports, they use destructuring syntax:
const { BrowserWindow } = require('electron').remote
// or
const { remote } = require('electron')
const { BrowserWindow } = remote
http://electron.atom.io/docs/api/remote/
But you can use babel with the require hook:
http://babeljs.io/docs/usage/require/
To be auto compile each required modules so you will be able to use imports.
Of course the script given to electron (the one that require babel) is not compiled so you need to make a bootstrap:
// bootwithbabel.js
require("babel-register");
require( process.argv.splice(2) );
In shell (sh):
electron bootwithbabel.js app.es
alias electrones="electron bootwithbabel.js "
electrones coron.es // ^^
Then in your app you can then write:
import electron from 'electron';
import { remote } from 'electron';
You can also import only the remote module:
import { remote } from 'electron';
But you can only import both in one statement:
import electron, { remote } from 'electron'
electron.ipcRenderer.on();
let win = new remote.BrowserWindow({width: 800, height: 600});
remote.getGlobal(name)
playground

I'm absolutely confused though by the whole import / export methods.
Mixing different module systems can indeed be confusing.
It doesn't work
const electron = require('electron');
const remote = electron.remote;
is exactly the same as what you have
var remote = require('electron').remote
If yours work, the other will as well. However, I would simply stick with yours.
It doesn't really seems to be much ES6-sque
Who cares? Node doesn't support ES6 imports and exports natively and it's not super clear how CommonJS modules should map to ES6 modules. I recommend to stick with require if you are only writing for Node anyway.
You could try to do
import electron from 'electron';
const {remote} = electron;

These days every version of Electron comes with basic typescript support. So if you use a TS or TSX file in your project -then you can use ES Import statements inside that file. Whether you use an ES module or not.
https://www.electronjs.org/blog/typescript

Related

Conditional Import of 2 objets with the same name [duplicate]

I need to do something like:
if (condition) {
import something from 'something';
}
// ...
if (something) {
something.doStuff();
}
The above code does not compile; it throws SyntaxError: ... 'import' and 'export' may only appear at the top level.
I tried using System.import as shown here, but I don't know where System comes from. Is it an ES6 proposal that didn't end up being accepted? The link to "programmatic API" from that article dumps me to a deprecated docs page.
We do have dynamic imports proposal now with ECMA. This is in stage 3. This is also available as babel-preset.
Following is way to do conditional rendering as per your case.
if (condition) {
import('something')
.then((something) => {
console.log(something.something);
});
}
This basically returns a promise. Resolution of promise is expected to have the module. The proposal also have other features like multiple dynamic imports, default imports, js file import etc. You can find more information about dynamic imports here.
If you'd like, you could use require. This is a way to have a conditional require statement.
let something = null;
let other = null;
if (condition) {
something = require('something');
other = require('something').other;
}
if (something && other) {
something.doStuff();
other.doOtherStuff();
}
You can't import conditionally, but you can do the opposite: export something conditionally. It depends on your use case, so this work around might not be for you.
You can do:
api.js
import mockAPI from './mockAPI'
import realAPI from './realAPI'
const exportedAPI = shouldUseMock ? mockAPI : realAPI
export default exportedAPI
apiConsumer.js
import API from './api'
...
I use that to mock analytics libs like mixpanel, etc... because I can't have multiple builds or our frontend currently. Not the most elegant, but works. I just have a few 'if' here and there depending on the environment because in the case of mixpanel, it needs initialization.
2020 Update
You can now call the import keyword as a function (i.e. import()) to load a module at runtime. It returns a Promise that resolves to an object with the module exports.
Example:
const mymodule = await import('modulename');
const foo = mymodule.default; // Default export
const bar = mymodule.bar; // Named export
or:
import('modulename')
.then(mymodule => {
const foo = mymodule.default; // Default export
const bar = mymodule.bar; // Named export
});
See Dynamic Imports on MDN
Looks like the answer is that, as of now, you can't.
http://exploringjs.com/es6/ch_modules.html#sec_module-loader-api
I think the intent is to enable static analysis as much as possible, and conditionally imported modules break that. Also worth mentioning -- I'm using Babel, and I'm guessing that System is not supported by Babel because the module loader API didn't become an ES6 standard.
Import and Export Conditionally in JS
const value = (
await import(`${condtion ? `./file1.js` : `./file2.js`}`)
).default
export default value
Important difference if you use dynamic import Webpack mode eager:
if (normalCondition) {
// this will be included to bundle, whether you use it or not
import(...);
}
if (process.env.SOMETHING === 'true') {
// this will not be included to bundle, if SOMETHING is not 'true'
import(...);
}
require() is a way to import some module on the run time and it equally qualifies for static analysis like import if used with string literal paths. This is required by bundler to pick dependencies for the bundle.
const defaultOne = require('path/to/component').default;
const NamedOne = require('path/to/component').theName;
For dynamic module resolution with complete static analysis support, first index modules in an indexer(index.js) and import indexer in host module.
// index.js
export { default as ModuleOne } from 'path/to/module/one';
export { default as ModuleTwo } from 'path/to/module/two';
export { SomeNamedModule } from 'path/to/named/module';
// host.js
import * as indexer from 'index';
const moduleName = 'ModuleOne';
const Module = require(indexer[moduleName]);
obscuring it in an eval worked for me, hiding it from the static analyzer ...
if (typeof __CLI__ !== 'undefined') {
eval("require('fs');")
}
Conditional imports could also be achieved with a ternary and require()s:
const logger = DEBUG ? require('dev-logger') : require('logger');
This example was taken from the ES Lint global-require docs: https://eslint.org/docs/rules/global-require
I was able to achieve this using an immediately-invoked function and require statement.
const something = (() => (
condition ? require('something') : null
))();
if(something) {
something.doStuff();
}
Look at this example for clear understanding of how dynamic import works.
Dynamic Module Imports Example
To have Basic Understanding of importing and exporting Modules.
JavaScript modules Github
Javascript Modules MDN
No, you can't!
However, having bumped into that issue should make you rethink on how you organize your code.
Before ES6 modules, we had CommonJS modules which used the require() syntax. These modules were "dynamic", meaning that we could import new modules based on conditions in our code. - source: https://bitsofco.de/what-is-tree-shaking/
I guess one of the reasons they dropped that support on ES6 onward is the fact that compiling it would be very difficult or impossible.
One can go through the below link to learn more about dynamic imports
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Statements/import#dynamic_imports
I know this is not what the question is asking for, but here is my approach to use mocks when using vite. I'm sure we can do the same with webpack and others.
Suppose we have two libraries with same interface: link.js and link-mock.js, then:
In my vite.config.js
export default defineConfig(({ command, mode }) => {
const cfg = {/* ... */}
if (process.env.VITE_MOCK == 1) {
cfg.resolve.alias["./link"] = "./link-mock"; // magic is here!
}
return cfg;
}
code:
import { link } from "./link";
in console we call:
# to use the real link.js
npm run vite
# to use the mock link-mock.js
VITE_MOCK=1 npm run vite
or
package.json script
{
....
"scripts": {
"dev": "vite",
"dev-mock": "VITE_MOCK=1 vite"
}
}

module export in ts file is not a module error

I have a config.ts and I do
module.exports = { something: 123 }
when I import like import { something } from './config.ts' I got error of config.ts' is not a module, what's the issue? my typescript is configured rightly and it's working in other places.
If you're using import { something } from './config.ts', you're using JavaScript modules, but your code in config.ts is using CommonJS modules. Some bundlers and such may let you mix them, but it's best not to.
To make config.ts a JavaScript module compatible with that import declaration (which expects a named export called something), change it to:
export const something = 123;
Or, of course, to use config.ts via CommonJS, your code using it would be:
const { something } = require("./config.ts");
...but given the error you're getting, I think your project is set up to use JavaScript modules (import/export), which here in almost 2021 is probably best (now that we have dynamic import to handle the cases where static modules don't quite do the job).

What is the correct way to export a constant in ES6?

I'm trying to break my entry file into components but I'm not sure how to make the constant available to the import. This is what I've tried so far and both seem to work:
export const ConnectedRange = connectRange(Range);
exports.ConnectedRange = connectRange(Range);
I've seen the latter used in some npm packages but sure what to use?
Thanks
As you pointed ES6 modules
export const CONNECT_RANGE = connectRange(Range);
And when you want to consume it
import { CONNECT_RANGE } from './myModule';
export const ConnectedRange = connectRange(Range);
Is the ES modules syntax.
exports.ConnectedRange = connectRange(Range);
Is the commonJS syntax.
I would recommend using the ES modules syntax, and compiling to common JS if the environment you run your code on does not support ES modules.
With considering all the above answers,
you can also export your constant as well as a module in ES6:
module.exports = yourConstant;
and call it from your file:
import yourConstant (JavaScript)
require yourConstant (Node JS)

How to import nested objects in ES6

Simple question, I'm trying to use electron and I need to get the remote object on the client.
Doing
const {BrowserWindow} = require('electron').remote; // Works
But
import {BrowserWindow} from 'electron/remote' // Does not work
New to ES6 classes just unsure why this is not working. Thanks.
You can only import from modules. electron/remote is not a module, but remote is part of the module electron, so you can write :
import remote from "electron";
And then you can do :
const {BrowserWindow} = remote;
But your first code works fine !
You can read more on import statement here
Hope this helps
I think you're supposed to use it like this:
import {remote} from 'electron'
// do something with remote.BrowserWindow

How can I conditionally import an ES6 module?

I need to do something like:
if (condition) {
import something from 'something';
}
// ...
if (something) {
something.doStuff();
}
The above code does not compile; it throws SyntaxError: ... 'import' and 'export' may only appear at the top level.
I tried using System.import as shown here, but I don't know where System comes from. Is it an ES6 proposal that didn't end up being accepted? The link to "programmatic API" from that article dumps me to a deprecated docs page.
We do have dynamic imports proposal now with ECMA. This is in stage 3. This is also available as babel-preset.
Following is way to do conditional rendering as per your case.
if (condition) {
import('something')
.then((something) => {
console.log(something.something);
});
}
This basically returns a promise. Resolution of promise is expected to have the module. The proposal also have other features like multiple dynamic imports, default imports, js file import etc. You can find more information about dynamic imports here.
If you'd like, you could use require. This is a way to have a conditional require statement.
let something = null;
let other = null;
if (condition) {
something = require('something');
other = require('something').other;
}
if (something && other) {
something.doStuff();
other.doOtherStuff();
}
You can't import conditionally, but you can do the opposite: export something conditionally. It depends on your use case, so this work around might not be for you.
You can do:
api.js
import mockAPI from './mockAPI'
import realAPI from './realAPI'
const exportedAPI = shouldUseMock ? mockAPI : realAPI
export default exportedAPI
apiConsumer.js
import API from './api'
...
I use that to mock analytics libs like mixpanel, etc... because I can't have multiple builds or our frontend currently. Not the most elegant, but works. I just have a few 'if' here and there depending on the environment because in the case of mixpanel, it needs initialization.
2020 Update
You can now call the import keyword as a function (i.e. import()) to load a module at runtime. It returns a Promise that resolves to an object with the module exports.
Example:
const mymodule = await import('modulename');
const foo = mymodule.default; // Default export
const bar = mymodule.bar; // Named export
or:
import('modulename')
.then(mymodule => {
const foo = mymodule.default; // Default export
const bar = mymodule.bar; // Named export
});
See Dynamic Imports on MDN
Looks like the answer is that, as of now, you can't.
http://exploringjs.com/es6/ch_modules.html#sec_module-loader-api
I think the intent is to enable static analysis as much as possible, and conditionally imported modules break that. Also worth mentioning -- I'm using Babel, and I'm guessing that System is not supported by Babel because the module loader API didn't become an ES6 standard.
Import and Export Conditionally in JS
const value = (
await import(`${condtion ? `./file1.js` : `./file2.js`}`)
).default
export default value
Important difference if you use dynamic import Webpack mode eager:
if (normalCondition) {
// this will be included to bundle, whether you use it or not
import(...);
}
if (process.env.SOMETHING === 'true') {
// this will not be included to bundle, if SOMETHING is not 'true'
import(...);
}
require() is a way to import some module on the run time and it equally qualifies for static analysis like import if used with string literal paths. This is required by bundler to pick dependencies for the bundle.
const defaultOne = require('path/to/component').default;
const NamedOne = require('path/to/component').theName;
For dynamic module resolution with complete static analysis support, first index modules in an indexer(index.js) and import indexer in host module.
// index.js
export { default as ModuleOne } from 'path/to/module/one';
export { default as ModuleTwo } from 'path/to/module/two';
export { SomeNamedModule } from 'path/to/named/module';
// host.js
import * as indexer from 'index';
const moduleName = 'ModuleOne';
const Module = require(indexer[moduleName]);
obscuring it in an eval worked for me, hiding it from the static analyzer ...
if (typeof __CLI__ !== 'undefined') {
eval("require('fs');")
}
Conditional imports could also be achieved with a ternary and require()s:
const logger = DEBUG ? require('dev-logger') : require('logger');
This example was taken from the ES Lint global-require docs: https://eslint.org/docs/rules/global-require
I was able to achieve this using an immediately-invoked function and require statement.
const something = (() => (
condition ? require('something') : null
))();
if(something) {
something.doStuff();
}
Look at this example for clear understanding of how dynamic import works.
Dynamic Module Imports Example
To have Basic Understanding of importing and exporting Modules.
JavaScript modules Github
Javascript Modules MDN
No, you can't!
However, having bumped into that issue should make you rethink on how you organize your code.
Before ES6 modules, we had CommonJS modules which used the require() syntax. These modules were "dynamic", meaning that we could import new modules based on conditions in our code. - source: https://bitsofco.de/what-is-tree-shaking/
I guess one of the reasons they dropped that support on ES6 onward is the fact that compiling it would be very difficult or impossible.
One can go through the below link to learn more about dynamic imports
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Statements/import#dynamic_imports
I know this is not what the question is asking for, but here is my approach to use mocks when using vite. I'm sure we can do the same with webpack and others.
Suppose we have two libraries with same interface: link.js and link-mock.js, then:
In my vite.config.js
export default defineConfig(({ command, mode }) => {
const cfg = {/* ... */}
if (process.env.VITE_MOCK == 1) {
cfg.resolve.alias["./link"] = "./link-mock"; // magic is here!
}
return cfg;
}
code:
import { link } from "./link";
in console we call:
# to use the real link.js
npm run vite
# to use the mock link-mock.js
VITE_MOCK=1 npm run vite
or
package.json script
{
....
"scripts": {
"dev": "vite",
"dev-mock": "VITE_MOCK=1 vite"
}
}

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