Read file with fs.readFileSync and eval contents...which scope have the functions? How to access?

I recently tried to import a file into my existing node.js project. I know this should be written with a module but i include my external javascript file like this:

 eval(fs.readFileSync('public/templates/simple.js')+'')

The contents of simple.js looks like this:

if (typeof examples == 'undefined') { var examples = {}; }
if (typeof examples.simple == 'undefined') { examples.simple = {}; }


examples.simple.helloWorld = function(opt_data, opt_sb) {
 var output = opt_sb || new soy.StringBuilder();
 output.append('Hello world!');
 return opt_sb ? '' : output.toString();
};

(Yes, google closure templates).

I can now call the template file using:

examples.simple.helloWorld();

Everything is working like expected. However I'm not able to figure out what the scope of these functions is and where I could possibly access the examples object.

Everything is running in a node.js 0.8 server and like I said its working...I just dont quite know why?

Thanks for clarification.

eval() puts variables into the local scope of the place where you called it.

It's as if the eval() was replaced by the code in the string argument.

I suggest to change the content of the files to:

(function() {
    ...
    return examples;
})();

That way, you can say:

var result = eval(file);

and it will be obvious where everything is/ends up.

Note: eval() is a huge security risk; make sure you read only from trusted sources.