JavaScript Module Exports: Default vs. Named Exports

How to use variables functions, objects, etc. in other modules in JavaScript?

In JavaScript, when work with modules, we can export values (variables, functions, objects, etc.) from a module to be used in other modules. There are two main ways to do this: default exports and named exports.

Default Export:

A default export is the value that is considered the "main" thing that a module exports. There can only be one default export per module. When we import a default export in another module, we can give it any name we like, making it more flexible.

Named Export:

Named exports allow us to export multiple values from a module, and we give each value a specific name. This means we need to refer to these names when importing them in other modules.

The main differences

• Default exports are used to export a single "main" value from a module, while named exports allow us to export multiple values with specific names.
• Default exports allow us to import the exported value with any name in the importing module, while named exports require us to use the exact exported names when importing.
• We can have only one default export per module, but we can have multiple named exports.
• Default exports are often used for the most important or commonly used value from a module, while named exports are used for various smaller values that need to be imported independently.

So which one to use?

It depends on the structure and needs of the application. We can also use a combination of default and named exports in the same module to provide both the "main" export and additional exports.