Modules and packages are the building blocks for breaking down your application into smaller pieces. A module encapsulates some functionality, primarily JavaScript functions, while hiding implementation details and exposing an API for the module. Modules can be distributed by third parties and installed for use by our modules. An installed module is called a package.
The npm package repository is a huge library of modules that's available for all Node.js developers to use. Within that library are hundreds of thousands of packages you can be used to accelerate the development of your application.
Since modules and packages are the building blocks of your application, understanding how they work is vital to your success with Node.js. By the end of this chapter, you will have a solid grounding in both CommonJS and ES6 modules, how to structure the...
