Browserify: Use module.exports if required, otherwise expose global

Question

I'm considering adopting browserify for some of my projects, but would like to make sure that others don't have to use browserify if they want to use the (bundled) code. The obvious way to do this is to both expose the modules exports through module.exports as well as through a window. global. However, I'd rather not pollute the global namespace for those who are requireing the script.

Is it possible to detect if a script is being required? If it is, then I could do something like:

var mymodule = (function() { ... })();
if (isRequired()) {
  module.exports = mymodule;
} else {
  window.mymodule = mymodule;
}

Note that no matter what, this will be bundled beforehand, so the var mymodule won't be exposing a global. Also, currently I'm using the revealing module pattern, but would be willing to switch to something more appropriate for browserify.

What's the best way to make a module both requireable and <script src=able? Is it best to just expose a global in both circumstances?

Answer 1

There is a good article from Forbes Lindesay explaining how to do standalone builds: http://www.forbeslindesay.co.uk/post/46324645400/standalone-browserify-builds

The short version, use the standalone option:

browserify beep.js --standalone beep-boop > bundle.js

Answer 2

I'm dealing with the same problem building a library and here is a rought opinion. I think we need to separate first the audiences for a library in few categories:

1. those who use browserify and NPM
2. those who will just download a mylib.min.js and use one way or another
3. AMD (with bower?), might be the third category.

So, for 1 it is easy, you will have a your index.js module:

module.exports = function () { /* code */ }

and your package.json will have a main

"main": "index.js"

Notice I haven't add any window.xx code to index.js.

For 2 I think the best idea is to create a standalone.js

var mylib = require('./index.js');
global.window.mylib = mylib;

This is what browserify should build.

For 3 (if you care about) you can tweak standalone.js as follows:

var mylib = require('./index.js');
if (typeof global.window.define == 'function' && global.window.define.amd) {
  global.window.define('mylib', function () { return mylib; });
} else {
  global.window.mylib = mylib;
}

Answer 3

Assuming another library hasn't created a global module.exports object, you can simply check for the existence of module.exports

var mymodule = (function() { ... })();
if (module && module.exports) {
  module.exports = mymodule;
} else {
  window.mymodule = mymodule;
}

Answer 4

Why not just wrap the entire thing with a closure and pass exports as a parameter?

(function (exports) {
    // code here
    // ...
    exports.foo = bar;
})(exports || this);

This way it will also export it to WebWorker scope and other 'windowless' environments.