Node.js - use of module.exports as a constructor

Question

According to the Node.js manual:

If you want the root of your module\'s export to be a function (such as a constructor) or if you want to export a c

Answer 1

In my opinion, some of the node.js examples are quite contrived.

You might expect to see something more like this in the real world

// square.js
function Square(width) {

  if (!(this instanceof Square)) {
    return new Square(width);
  }

  this.width = width;
};

Square.prototype.area = function area() {
  return Math.pow(this.width, 2);
};

module.exports = Square;

Usage

var Square = require("./square");

// you can use `new` keyword
var s = new Square(5);
s.area(); // 25

// or you can skip it!
var s2 = Square(10);
s2.area(); // 100

---

For the ES6 people

class Square {
  constructor(width) {
    this.width = width;
  }
  area() {
    return Math.pow(this.width, 2);
  }
}

export default Square;

Using it in ES6

import Square from "./square";
// ...

When using a class, you must use the new keyword to instatiate it. Everything else stays the same.