Modules and dependencies

Every modern application is the result of the aggregation of several components and, as the application grows, the way we connect these components becomes a win or lose factor. It's not only a problem related to technical aspects such as extensibility, but it's also a concern with the way we perceive the system. A tangled dependency graph is a liability and it adds to the technical debt of the project; in such a situation, any change in the code aimed to either modify or extend its functionality can result in tremendous effort.

In the worst case, the components are so tightly connected together that it becomes impossible to add or change anything without refactoring or even completely rewriting entire parts of the application. This, of course, does not mean that we have to over-engineer our design starting from the very first module, but surely finding a good balance from the very beginning can make a huge difference.

Node.js provides a great tool for organizing and...