Is there something in JavaScript similar to @import in CSS that allows you to include a JavaScript file inside another JavaScript file?
I have created a function that will allow you to use similar verbiage to C#/Java to include a JavaScript file. I've tested it a little bit even from inside of another JavaScript file and it seems to work. It does require jQuery though for a bit of "magic" at the end.
I put this code in a file at the root of my script directory (I named it global.js, but you can use whatever you want. Unless I'm mistaken this and jQuery should be the only required scripts on a given page. Keep in mind this is largely untested beyond some basic usage, so there may or may not be any issues with the way I've done it; use at your own risk yadda yadda I am not responsible if you screw anything up yadda yadda:
/**
* @fileoverview This file stores global functions that are required by other libraries.
*/
if (typeof(jQuery) === 'undefined') {
throw 'jQuery is required.';
}
/** Defines the base script directory that all .js files are assumed to be organized under. */
var BASE_DIR = 'js/';
/**
* Loads the specified file, outputting it to the <head> HTMLElement.
*
* This method mimics the use of using in C# or import in Java, allowing
* JavaScript files to "load" other JavaScript files that they depend on
* using a familiar syntax.
*
* This method assumes all scripts are under a directory at the root and will
* append the .js file extension automatically.
*
* @param {string} file A file path to load using C#/Java "dot" syntax.
*
* Example Usage:
* imports('core.utils.extensions');
* This will output: <script type="text/javascript" src="/js/core/utils/extensions.js"></script>
*/
function imports(file) {
var fileName = file.substr(file.lastIndexOf('.') + 1, file.length);
// Convert PascalCase name to underscore_separated_name
var regex = new RegExp(/([A-Z])/g);
if (regex.test(fileName)) {
var separated = fileName.replace(regex, ",$1").replace(',', '');
fileName = separated.replace(/[,]/g, '_');
}
// Remove the original JavaScript file name to replace with underscore version
file = file.substr(0, file.lastIndexOf('.'));
// Convert the dot syntax to directory syntax to actually load the file
if (file.indexOf('.') > 0) {
file = file.replace(/[.]/g, '/');
}
var src = BASE_DIR + file + '/' + fileName.toLowerCase() + '.js';
var script = document.createElement('script');
script.type = 'text/javascript';
script.src = src;
$('head').find('script:last').append(script);
}
The old versions of JavaScript had no import, include, or require, so many different approaches to this problem have been developed.
But recent versions of JavaScript have standards like ES6 modules to import modules, although this is not supported yet by most browsers. Many people using modules with browser applications use build and/or transpilation tools to make it practical to use new syntax with features like modules.
Note that currently, browser support for ES6 Modules is not particularly great, but it is on its way. According to this StackOverflow answer, they are supported in Chrome 61, Firefox 54(behind the dom.moduleScripts.enabled setting in about:config) and MS Edge 16, with only Safari 10.1 providing support without flags.
Thus, you will currently still need to use build and/or transpilation tools to valid JavaScript that will run in without any requirement for the user to use those browser versions or enable any flags.
Once ES6 Modules are commonplace, here is how you would go about using them:
// module.js
export function hello() {
return "Hello";
}
// main.js
import {hello} from 'module'; // or './module'
let val = hello(); // val is "Hello";
Node.js is currently using a module.exports/require system. You can use babel to transpile if you want the import syntax.
// mymodule.js
module.exports = {
hello: function() {
return "Hello";
}
}
// server.js
const myModule = require('./mymodule');
let val = myModule.hello(); // val is "Hello"
There are other ways for JavaScript to include external JavaScript contents in browsers that do not require preprocessing.
You could load an additional script with an AJAX call and then use eval to run it. This is the most straightforward way, but it is limited to your domain because of the JavaScript sandbox security model. Using eval also opens the door to bugs, hacks and security issues.
The jQuery library provides loading functionality in one line:
$.getScript("my_lovely_script.js", function() {
alert("Script loaded but not necessarily executed.");
});
You could add a script tag with the script URL into the HTML. To avoid the overhead of jQuery, this is an ideal solution.
The script can even reside on a different server. Furthermore, the browser evaluates the code. The <script> tag can be injected into either the web page <head>, or inserted just before the closing </body> tag.
Here is an example of how this could work:
function dynamicallyLoadScript(url) {
var script = document.createElement("script"); // Make a script DOM node
script.src = url; // Set it's src to the provided URL
document.head.appendChild(script); // Add it to the end of the head section of the page (could change 'head' to 'body' to add it to the end of the body section instead)
}
This function will add a new <script> tag to end of the head section of the page, where the src attribute is set to the URL which is given to the function as the first parameter.
Both of these solutions are discussed and illustrated in JavaScript Madness: Dynamic Script Loading.
Now, there is a big issue you must know about. Doing that implies that you remotely load the code. Modern web browsers will load the file and keep executing your current script because they load everything asynchronously to improve performance. (This applies to both the jQuery method and the manual dynamic script loading method.)
It means that if you use these tricks directly, you won't be able to use your newly loaded code the next line after you asked it to be loaded, because it will be still loading.
For example: my_lovely_script.js contains MySuperObject:
var js = document.createElement("script");
js.type = "text/javascript";
js.src = jsFilePath;
document.body.appendChild(js);
var s = new MySuperObject();
Error : MySuperObject is undefined
Then you reload the page hitting F5. And it works! Confusing...
So what to do about it ?
Well, you can use the hack the author suggests in the link I gave you. In summary, for people in a hurry, he uses an event to run a callback function when the script is loaded. So you can put all the code using the remote library in the callback function. For example:
function loadScript(url, callback)
{
// Adding the script tag to the head as suggested before
var head = document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0];
var script = document.createElement('script');
script.type = 'text/javascript';
script.src = url;
// Then bind the event to the callback function.
// There are several events for cross browser compatibility.
script.onreadystatechange = callback;
script.onload = callback;
// Fire the loading
head.appendChild(script);
}
Then you write the code you want to use AFTER the script is loaded in a lambda function:
var myPrettyCode = function() {
// Here, do whatever you want
};
Then you run all that:
loadScript("my_lovely_script.js", myPrettyCode);
Note that the script may execute after the DOM has loaded, or before, depending on the browser and whether you included the line script.async = false;. There's a great article on Javascript loading in general which discusses this.
As mentioned at the top of this answer, many developers now use build/transpilation tool(s) like WebPack, Babel, or Gulp in their projects, allowing them to use new syntax and support modules better, combine files, minify, etc.