npm plugin example

installation

npm install npm_plugin_example

description of the plugin

In the rootfloder of the project there is the main.js. From here we require the Plugins that are lying inside the Plugins folder. Inside the rootfolder there is one file right now, the jquery.helperTools.js, where the "Plugins" are bundled. Maybe it is useful to split these files. Inside this file, we have multiple Modules. The syntax of defining an npm module is

module.exports.moduleName = (function() {
	//functions
})();

Inside these modules we can declare functions and variables as usual. We also can define functions that can be accessed from another scope. Example:

//global functions. can be accessed from all modules.
function createPlugin(name) {
	return `Creating Plugin for ${name}.`
}

//...

module.exports.mathHelpers = (function() {
	//our functions and variables. These cannot be accessed from another scope
	var pluginName = 'math',
		defaults = {
			fieldA : 'js-field-a',
			fieldB : 'js-field-b',
			submit : 'js-submit'
		};

	//function for adding two numbers.
	function add(a,b) {
		return a + b;
	}

	//...

	//we can return an object where we declare variables and functions. those functions can be accessed from another scope.
	return {
		//functions always return something.
		getPlugin: function (options) {
			//Wraps the Plugin as a jQuery Plugin
			return createPlugin(pluginName);
		},
		testPlugin: function (a, b) {
			var str = `a: ${a}, b: ${b}, Add: ${add(a,b)}, multiply: ${multiply(a,b)}, sqrt1: ${sqrt(a)}, sqrt2: ${sqrt(b)}`;
			return str;
		}
	}
})();

In the main.js we can require multiple modules. We can also access the variables and functions that we returned.

//requiring the actual file
var helperTools = require('./plugins/jquery.helperTools.js'),
	//requiring the actual modules
	//Works like this: moduleName = helperTools.moduleName,
	mathHelpers = helperTools.mathHelpers,
	greetingsHelpers = helperTools.greetingsHelpers;
//access a function we defined before
console.log(mathHelpers.testPlugin(4,4)); //output: a: 4, b: 4, Add: 8, multiply: 16, sqrt1: 2, sqrt2: 2

running the plugin

npm start

testing the plugin (not implemented yet)

npm test