es6-module-transpiler-brunch

Adds ES6 module syntax to Brunch based on Square's es6-module-transpiler.

ES6 Module Transpiler is an experimental compiler that allows you to write your JavaScript using a subset of the current ES6 module syntax, and compile it into AMD or CommonJS modules.

Usage

Install the plugin via npm with npm install --save es6-module-transpiler-brunch.

Or, do manual install:

• Add "es6-module-transpiler-brunch": "x.y.z" to package.json of your brunch app.
• If you want to use git version of plugin, add "es6-module-transpiler-brunch": "git+ssh://[e-mail]:gcollazo/es6-module-transpiler-brunch.git".

Supported ES6 Module Syntax

Again, this syntax is in flux and is closely tracking the module work being done by TC39.

Named Exports

There are two types of exports. Named exports like the following:

// foobar.js
var foo = "foo", bar = "bar";
 
export { foo, bar };

This module has two named exports, foo and bar.

You can also write this form as:

// foobar.js
export var foo = "foo";
export var bar = "bar";

Either way, another module can then import your exports like so:"

import { foo, bar } from "foobar";
 
console.log(foo);  // "foo"

Default Exports

You can also export a default export. For example, an ES6ified jQuery might look like this:

// jquery.js
var jQuery = function() {};
 
jQuery.prototype = {
  // ...
};
 
export default = jQuery;

Then, an app that uses jQuery could import it with:

import $ from "jquery";

The default export of the "jquery" module is now aliased to $.

A default export makes the most sense as a module's "main" export, like the jQuery object in jQuery. You can use default and named exports in parallel.

Other Syntax

module

Whereas the import keyword imports specific identifiers from a module, the module keyword creates an object that contains all of a module's exports:

module foobar from "foobar";
console.log(foobar.foo);  // "foo"

In ES6, this created object is read-only, so don't treat it like a mutable namespace!

import "foo";

A "bare import" that doesn't import any identifiers is useful for executing side effects in a module. For example:

// alerter.js
alert("alert! alert!");
 
// alertee.js
import "alerter";  // will pop up alert box

How the plugin works

The plugin will take all files ending in *.js under the app directory and pass them through the es6-module-transpiler and compiled as CommonJS modules.

Plugin Config

The plugin has two configuration options you can add to your project's config.coffee: match which is a regex used to decide what files to compile and debug which will console.log debugging info when the plugin runs.

exports.config = 
  es6ModuleTranspiler:
    match: /^app/
    debug: yes