Node.js module.exports vs filesystem

Question

In node when I require a file, it's normally and by default an object coming from node's module exports.

So I am wondering other than the synchronously nature of module.exports and the asynchronously nature of fs what would be the other differences between retrieving a JSON file via module.exports vs the filesystem library, good/bad | pros/cons. Thanks!

scenario 1

file_1.js

module.exports = [{A-JSON}];

file_2.js

require json from ('./file_1');
console.log(json);

scenario 2

file_1.js

[{A-JSON}]

file_2.js

fs = require('fs');
fs.readFile('./file_1', function (err,data) {
  if (err) {
    return console.log(err);
  }
  console.log(data);
});

Answer 1

First you should know that require can also be used to load json files - as documented here .

So for your second scenario, just rename to file_1.json and you can use require as well.

In that case, if you use fs you will need to JSON.parse your file manually, while require will automatically do it for you.

Another difference is that the require system uses a cache, so that if you want to use the same object in another file, it will not read again from the filesystem

I think it's better to follow the standard and use require whenever it's possible.