Question

I’ve seen the following three code blocks as examples of the JavaScript module pattern. What are the differences, and why would I choose one pattern over the other?

Pattern 1

function Person(firstName, lastName) {
    var firstName = firstName;
    var lastName = lastName;

    this.fullName = function () {
        return firstName + ' ' + lastName;
    };

    this.changeFirstName = function (name) {
        firstName = name;
    };
};

var jordan = new Person('Jordan', 'Parmer');

Pattern 2

function person (firstName, lastName) { 
    return {
        fullName: function () {
            return firstName + ' ' + lastName;
        },

        changeFirstName: function (name) {
            firstName = name;
        }
    };
};

var jordan = person('Jordan', 'Parmer');

Pattern 3

var person_factory = (function () {
    var firstName = '';
    var lastName = '';

    var module = function() {
        return {
            set_firstName: function (name) {
                               firstName = name;
                           },
            set_lastName: function (name) {
                              lastName = name;
                          },
            fullName: function () {
                          return firstName + ' ' + lastName;
                      }

        };
    };

    return module;
})();

var jordan = person_factory();

From what I can tell, the JavaScript community generally seems to side with pattern 3 being the best. How is it any different from the first two? It seems to me all three patterns can be used to encapsulate variables and functions.

NOTE: This post doesn’t actually answer the question, and I don’t consider it a duplicate.

Answer 1

I don’t consider them module patterns but more object instantiation patterns. Personally I wouldn’t recommend any of your examples. Mainly because I think reassigning function arguments for anything else but method overloading is not good. Lets circle back and look at the two ways you can create Objects in JavaScript:

Protoypes and the new operator

This is the most common way to create Objects in JavaScript. It closely relates to Pattern 1 but attaches the function to the object prototype instead of creating a new one every time:

function Person(firstName, lastName) {
    this.firstName = firstName;
    this.lastName = lastName;
};

Person.prototype.fullName = function () {
    return this.firstName + ' ' + this.lastName;
};

Person.prototype.changeFirstName = function (name) {
    this.firstName = name;
};

var jordan = new Person('Jordan', 'Parmer');

jordan.changeFirstName('John');

Object.create and factory function

ECMAScript 5 introduced Object.create which allows a different way of instantiating Objects. Instead of using the new operator you use Object.create(obj) to set the Prototype.

var Person =  {
    fullName : function () {
        return this.firstName + ' ' + this.lastName;
    },

    changeFirstName : function (name) {
        this.firstName = name;
    }
}

var jordan = Object.create(Person);
jordan.firstName = 'Jordan';
jordan.lastName = 'Parmer';

jordan.changeFirstName('John');

As you can see, you will have to assign your properties manually. This is why it makes sense to create a factory function that does the initial property assignment for you:

function createPerson(firstName, lastName) {
    var instance = Object.create(Person);
    instance.firstName = firstName;
    instance.lastName = lastName;
    return instance;
}

var jordan = createPerson('Jordan', 'Parmer');

As always with things like this I have to refer to Understanding JavaScript OOP which is one of the best articles on JavaScript object oriented programming.

I also want to point out my own little library called UberProto that I created after researching inheritance mechanisms in JavaScript. It provides the Object.create semantics as a more convenient wrapper:

var Person = Proto.extend({
    init : function(firstName, lastName) {
        this.firstName = firstName;
        this.lastName = lastName;
    },

    fullName : function () {
        return this.firstName + ' ' + this.lastName;
    },

    changeFirstName : function (name) {
        this.firstName = name;
    }
});

var jordan = Person.create('Jordan', 'Parmer');

In the end it is not really about what “the community” seems to favour but more about understanding what the language provides to achieve a certain task (in your case creating new obejcts). From there you can decide a lot better which way you prefer.

Module patterns

It seems as if there is some confusion with module patterns and object creation. Even if it looks similar, it has different responsibilities. Since JavaScript only has function scope modules are used to encapsulate functionality (and not accidentally create global variables or name clashes etc.). The most common way is to wrap your functionality in a self-executing function:

(function(window, undefined) {
})(this);

Since it is just a function you might as well return something (your API) in the end

var Person = (function(window, undefined) {
    var MyPerson = function(firstName, lastName) {
        this.firstName = firstName;
        this.lastName = lastName;
    };

    MyPerson.prototype.fullName = function () {
        return this.firstName + ' ' + this.lastName;
    };

    MyPerson.prototype.changeFirstName = function (name) {
        this.firstName = name;
    };

    return MyPerson;
})(this);

That’s pretty much modules in JS are. They introduce a wrapping function (which is equivalent to a new scope in JavaScript) and (optionally) return an object which is the modules API.