Using the router

While technically an optional plugin, I don't imagine any real-world SPAs will do without the use of the router. While SammyJS ties a URL fragment to a function, Durandal's router ties the URL directly to a module ID. The module can return either a singleton or a constructor, and will be used to bind the view using the standard composition system.

Configuring the router

Let's start configuring the router:

1. Route configuration is pretty straightforward. Here is the shell module with router configuration for the Contact application:

   define(['plugins/router', 'knockout', 'durandal/app'], 
   function (router, ko, app) {
     return {
       title: app.title,
       router: router,
       activate: function() {
   
         router.map([
           { route: '', moduleId: 'contacts/list', title: 'Contacts', nav: true },
           { route: 'contacts/new', moduleId: 'contacts/edit', title: 'New Contact', nav: true },
           { route: 'contacts/:id', moduleId: 'contacts/edit', title: 'Contact Details', nav: false...