pluto-path

Create and bootstrap an app from files in a path or paths using the Pluto dependency injection package.

Branch	Status
Master
All

Why?

This package aims to solve two problems:

1. Bootstrapping. There are many example Express/Hapi/etc. applications where a chain of index.js files require a bunch of routes and other bits. I find this annoying. When I create a new part of my app, I want it to Just Work without extra boilerplate.
2. Testing. The key to good testing isn't writing tests: it's writing good, testable code. When unit testing, in particular, we want to test one thing at a time. But what about when our one thing uses other things? By injecting those other things, often called collaborators, we can pass mocks or fakes to our code under test.

Usage

Simplified Options

'use strict'

const path = require('path')
const plutoPath = require('pluto-path')

plutoPath(path.join(__dirname, 'my-directory')) // you can pass a single search path or array of them
  .then(function (app) {
    // `app` holds a Map from filenames to their components.
    // It's created by calling pluto's `bootstrap(...)` function.
    // Use it if you want to do interact with components after they're
    // wired together.
  })
  // Don't forget about errors!
  .catch(err => {
    console.error(err.stack) // eslint-disable-line no-console
    process.exitCode = 1
  })

Binding Types

This module will instantiate components in different ways:

Binding	Used When	Meaning
Factory Function	File exports a function, and starts with a lower-case letter.	The module's export will be called as a regular function, and the result will be bound to the file name.
Constructor	File exports a function, and starts with a capital letter	The module's export will be bound as a constructor with new, and the result will be bound to the file name.
Instance	File does not export a function	The module's export will be used as-is.

See the Pluto Documentation for more details.

Full Options

Since the default include and exclude options work for most projects and the path is often the only meaningful property, you can pass a string or array of strings for the path property instead of a full options object, as above. Alternately

Property	Description
path	string or array of absolute paths to search for files. Default: ..
include	string or array of minimatch patterns. A file in the path(s) that match at least one pattern will be require(...)'d unless the file also matches an exclusion pattern. Default: ['**/*.js', '**/*.json'].
exclude	string or array of minimatch patterns. Files in the path(s) that match at least one pattern will be excluded. Default: ['**/*Spec.js'].
extraBindings	A function given the standard pluto bind object. Use when
you'd like to specify additional options beyond what pluto-path can find on the
filesystem.

'use strict'

const path = require('path')
const plutoPath = require('pluto-path')

plutoPath({
    path: path.join(__dirname, 'my-directory'),
    include: ['**/*.js', '**/*.json'],
    exclude: ['**/*Spec.js'],
    extraBindings: (bind) => {
      bind('meaningOfLife').toInstance(42)
    }
  })
  .then(function (app) {
    // `app` holds a Map from filenames to their components.
    // It's created by calling pluto's `bootstrap(...)` function.
  })
  // Don't forget about errors!
  .catch(err => {
    console.error(err.stack) // eslint-disable-line no-console
    process.exitCode = 1
  })

Humble Opinionated Recommendations

Project Organization

There's usually two different kinds of files in an app:

1. Long-lived components, like route handlers and server configuration. These need to be run exactly once and become a part of your app. Place these in an app folder.
2. Utilities and such that don't have a life of their own, and which you don't want subject to dependency injection. Place these in a lib folder.

/
  /app        Bootstrap long-lived components
  /lib        Utilities and such you don't want to dependency-inject
  index.js    `main` file with initial bootstrapping

Instruct pluto-path to bootstrap the app folder and leave the lib folder alone. If you're not doing any fancy startup stuff and you're fine with other defaults, your index.js file might look like:

'use strict'

const path = require('path')
const plutoPath = require('pluto-path')

plutoPath(path.join(__dirname, 'app'))
  // Don't forget about errors!
  .catch(err => {
    console.error(err.stack) // eslint-disable-line no-console
    process.exitCode = 1
  })

Tests

You might notice that there's not test path, event though one of the main motivations for dependency injection is testability. Rather than use a separate test tree, I like to put my tests right next to the thing they're testing, with a Spec suffix, like:

/
  /app
    myThing.js
    myThingSpec.js

I am highly influenced by Uncle Bob's Principles of Object Oriented Design. In this case:

• Common Closure Principle: Things that change together should be packaged together.

When it comes to unit testing, a test and the thing it tests unsurprisingly tend to change together, so I like to put them next to each other. Stepping back, this makes logical sense, too: why hunt deep down through two separate directory trees just to get to the two files you want to change? Putting tests next to the code they test reduces friction when writing tests and just makes life easier.

The default arguments to pluto-path assume this kind of organization. If you want to do something else, change the include and exclude options as you see fit.