In Node.JS, how do I return an entire object from a separate .js file?

Question

In Node.JS, how do I return an entire object from a separate .js file?

I am new to Node.js and trying to figure out how to request an object from a separate file (rather than just requesting a function) but everything I try--exports,module-exports,etc--is failing.

So, for example, if I have foo.js:

    var methods = {
                   Foobar:{
                            getFoo: function(){return "foo!!";},
                            getBar: function(){return "bar!!";}
                   }
                  };
module.exports = methods;

And now I want to call a function within an object of foo.js from index.js:

var m = require('./foo');  
function fooMain(){
  return m.Foobar.getFoo();
};

How do I do this? I have tried all sorts of combinations of exports and module-exports but they seem to only work if I call a discrete function that is not part of an object.

javascript
json
node.js

Answer 1

You said that you tried exports, but your code doesn't show it. Anything that you want to be visible from outside your module must be assigned to (or otherwise be referable from) module.exports. In your case, where you have an object already, you can just assign it to module.exports:

var methods = {
    ...
};

// You must export the methods explicitly
module.exports = methods;

module.exports isn't magic, it's a normal object, and you can treat it as such. Meaning that you could have assigned your methods directly to it, as in:

module.exports.Foobar = {};
module.exports.Foobar.getFoo = function() { ... };
...

Or, as you probably know, you could event replace it with a function:

module.exports = function() { return "It's ALWAYS over 9000!!!!"; };

Only after exporting will you be able to use anything in another module.