Unraveling the intricacies of a website template downloaded alongside a webpack ES6 project

My colleague in the office was adamant about purchasing a stunning HTML/CSS/JS external template to serve as a foundational design for our website project. This particular website is a significant endeavor that we are constructing using Laravel, SASS, and ES6 with the aid of Webpack.

The template we acquired offers a comprehensive range of features developed in SASS and ES5 JavaScript. I find it easy to work with the provided SASS and make adjustments because I also am familiar with it, but I'm encountering some difficulties with the Javascript portion.

In the initial phase, I am utilizing files from the downloaded template:

  • core.min.js
  • script.js

script.js comprises approximately 1k lines of non-minified code containing elements like this:

plugins = {
    bootstrapTooltip: $("[data-toggle='tooltip']"),
    bootstrapModalDialog: $('.modal'),
    captcha: $('.recaptcha'),
    rdNavbar: $(".rd-navbar"),
    wow: $(".wow"),
    owl: $(".owl-carousel"),
    swiper: $(".swiper-slider"),
    counter: $(".counter"),
    twitterfeed: $(".twitter"),
    isotope: $(".isotope"),
    viewAnimate: $('.view-animate'),
    selectFilter: $(".select2"),
    rdInputLabel: $(".form-label"),
    bootstrapDateTimePicker: $("[data-time-picker]"),
    customWaypoints: $('[data-custom-scroll-to]'),
    stepper: $("input[type='number']"),
    radio: $("input[type='radio']"),
    checkbox: $("input[type='checkbox']"),
    customToggle: $("[data-custom-toggle]"),
    regula: $("[data-constraints]"),
    search: $(".rd-search"),
    searchResults: $('.rd-search-results'),
    copyrightYear: $(".copyright-year"),
    materialParallax: $(".parallax-container"),
    dateCountdown: $('.DateCountdown'),
    flickrfeed: $(".flickr"),
    responsiveTabs: $(".responsive-tabs")
};

// [...]

if (plugins.copyrightYear.length) {
    plugins.copyrightYear.text(initialDate.getFullYear());
}
// [...]

core.min.js houses numerous JS dependencies, appearing like this:

/**
 * @module       jQuery Migrate
 * @author       jQuery Foundation and other contributors
 * @see          https://code.jquery.com/jquery/
 * @license      MIT
 * @version      3.0.0
 */
"undefined"==typeof jQuery.migrateMute&&(jQu[...]

/**
 * @module       jQuery Cookie Plugin
 * @see          https://github.com/carhartl/jquery-cookie
 * @license      MIT
 */
!function(e){"function"==typeof define&&de

This pattern continues with around 30 more libraries!

Proceeding into the next phase, I incorporate my own files primarily consisting of ES6 modules.

The issue arises when some of the libraries used by the template overlap with those utilized in my ES6 modules, resulting in duplicate imports (once in core.min.js, and once in the ES6 webpack bundle). For instance, jQuery is employed in script.js (via window) and in ES6 modules (via imports). Occasionally, differing versions of the same library may even be encountered!

To address this concern, I initiated the creation of a vendor.js file wherein all common libraries are imported and set within the window:

import $ from 'jquery';
import moment from 'moment';
import 'bootstrap';

window.$ = window.jQuery = $;
window.moment = moment;

However, I am apprehensive that this practice is not optimal and fails to resolve issues with certain libraries such as DataTables, which prove complicated to initialize within a globally scoped jQuery object, among others. Moreover, not all libraries can be handled in this manner, particularly those absent in npm/yarn..

I find myself uncertain on how to cope with these complexities. Is there a proficient way to manage legacy components effectively while upholding a functional ES6 structure? Or should I consider abandoning the purchased template altogether?

Answer №1

Option 1:

If you want webpack to handle imports for you, consider using global variables without the need to import them anywhere. This can be achieved through the use of ProvidePlugin.

Here's an example configuration:

plugins: [
   new webpack.ProvidePlugin({
      $: 'jquery',
      moment: 'moment',
      moduleNotInNpm: '/path/to/module/location.js/'
   });
]

By utilizing this method, webpack will bundle those modules in a unique manner.

Option 2:

One approach is to consolidate all modules into a designated root folder (e.g., custom_modules) alongside other common directories like node_modules and src. Utilize cacheGroups within your webpack configuration to create a specific chunk for these modules. Individuals requiring access to these modules will be able to download this chunk, enhancing performance as the byte sizes won't vary significantly between builds, potentially serving from user cache most of the time.

optimization: {
    splitChunks: {
        cacheGroups: {
            thirdpartylibraries: {
                test: /custom_modules|node_modules/,
                name: 'custom_modules',
            },
        }
    }
}

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