javascriptnode.jsvisual-studio-codejsdoc

How to "import" a typedef from one file to another in JSDoc using VS Code?


Let's say I have a file named "File1.js". In this file, I export an object of objects and I give each object a typedef, like so.

/**
 * My typedef for each object.
 * @typedef {Object} MyObject1
 * @property {String} username Your username
 * @property {String} realname Your real name.
 * @property {boolean} isUnique Are you unique as a person?
 */
module.exports = {
  /**
   * Person One!
   * @type {MyObject1}
   */
  myperson: {
    username: 'TheDragonSlayer',
    realname: 'George',
    isUnique: true
  },
  /**
   * Person Two!
   * @type {MyObject1}
   */
  myperson2: {
    username: 'BobMagee',
    realname: 'Bob',
    isUnique: false
  }
}

Now, in a file named "File2.js", I reference this object in a constructor and set it to a new MyObject1.

const persons = require('./File1.js');

class File2 {
  constructor(options = {}) {
    /**
     * The person for this file.
     * @type {MyObject1}
     */
    this.person = options.person ? persons[options.person] : persons.myperson2;
  }
}

module.exports = File2;

I use Visual Studio Code to develop, so by pressing Ctrl+Space I get IntelliSense. Within file one and while I'm making the person objects, IntelliSense tells me that username is a string, realname is a string, and isUnique is a boolean. But, when I go into file2 and reference the newly made person via this.person, when typing this.person.username it does not come up with the expected result of "Username: String".

Is it possible to use the typedef MyObject1 in File2 in vanilla Node.js, or am I out of luck?

Edit: With some more information, I was able to find answers with @export and @import for TypeScript, as well as a tag of sorts that I tried as well. All of which to no avail. I also tried marking File1.js as a @module, and doing module:mymodule~MyMethod, but every time I did that it'd just mark this.person as a NodeModule instead of the method itself.


Solution

  • Typescript 5.5 introduced @import syntax. So you can use ESM like syntax in JSdoc like you'ld do In Typescript.

    From your example, it becomes:

    const persons = require('./File1.js');
    /** @import { MyObject1 } from './File1.js' */
    
    class File2 {
      constructor(options = {}) {
        /**
         * The person for this file.
         * @type {MyObject1}
         */
        this.person = options.person ? persons[options.person] : persons.myperson2;
      }
    }
    
    module.exports = File2;