Bund-Cake

Common errors

• Cannot find module 'bund-cake'

  cause The package has not been installed or is not resolvable in the current Node.js environment.
  fix Run `npm install bund-cake` in your project directory.

• TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'js') OR bund is not defined

  cause The `bund-cake` module was not correctly initialized with your Express app, or the `GLOBAL.bund` property was not set/is being overwritten.
  fix Ensure `GLOBAL.bund = require('bund-cake')(app)` is called early in your application setup (e.g., `app.js`) before any views attempt to use `bund.js`.

• ReferenceError: app is not defined (when initializing bund-cake)

  cause The `app` (Express application instance) variable was not in scope when `require('bund-cake')(app)` was called.
  fix Ensure `const app = express()` is called before `GLOBAL.bund = require('bund-cake')(app)` and `app` is properly passed.

Warnings

• breaking The `bund-cake` package is abandoned and its GitHub repository is inaccessible. There will be no further updates, bug fixes, security patches, or support for newer Node.js versions or JavaScript features. Using it in production is highly discouraged.
  Fix: Migrate to a modern, actively maintained bundler (e.g., Webpack, Rollup, Vite, esbuild) that supports contemporary JavaScript practices and build pipelines. Decouple bundling from the Express application lifecycle.
• gotcha Bund-Cake relies on assigning its instance to the `GLOBAL.bund` object, which is an anti-pattern in modern Node.js development. This can lead to global variable pollution and potential conflicts with other modules or environments.
  Fix: If forced to use, ensure `GLOBAL.bund` is used consistently and does not conflict with other parts of your application. Ideally, avoid packages that modify global scope directly.
• gotcha The package is tightly coupled with Express.js and older CommonJS modules. It does not support ES Modules (ESM) syntax (`import/export`) and will not work out of the box with modern JavaScript module systems.
  Fix: Use a contemporary bundler that supports both CommonJS and ESM, or rewrite modules to adhere to a consistent module system. Consider build-time bundling instead of runtime bundling for better performance and reliability.
• gotcha Bund-Cake performs runtime bundling, which can introduce performance overhead on every request in development, and potentially in production if not cached correctly. Modern build systems typically bundle at deploy-time.
  Fix: Adopt a dedicated build step using tools like Webpack, Rollup, or Vite to pre-bundle assets before deployment, significantly improving application performance and reducing server load.

Install

• npm install bund-cake npm
• yarn add bund-cake yarn
• pnpm add bund-cake pnpm

Imports

• bund
  wrong:

  import bund from 'bund-cake'

  correct:

  const bund = require('bund-cake')(app);

  Bund-Cake is designed for CommonJS environments and requires an Express `app` instance for initialization. It sets a `GLOBAL.bund` property by default, which is an anti-pattern.
• bund.js

  <%- bund.js('./path/to/script1.js', './path/to/script2.js') %>

  This function is exposed via the initialized `bund` object (typically assigned to `GLOBAL.bund`) and is intended for use within EJS or similar templating engines to inject bundled script tags.

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to integrate `bund-cake` into a minimal Express.js application using EJS templates, bundling two sample JavaScript files and injecting them into the HTML output.

const express = require('express');
const path = require('path');
const app = express();
const port = 3000;

// IMPORTANT: Bund-Cake uses GLOBAL.bund by default.
// This is an outdated and generally discouraged practice.
// In a real application, consider a wrapper or alternative.
GLOBAL.bund = require('bund-cake')(app);

// Set up EJS as the view engine
app.set('views', path.join(__dirname, 'views'));
app.set('view engine', 'ejs');

// Serve static files (where your original JS files live)
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));

// Create dummy JS files for bundling
const fs = require('fs');
const publicDir = path.join(__dirname, 'public', 'javascripts');
if (!fs.existsSync(publicDir)) fs.mkdirSync(publicDir, { recursive: true });
fs.writeFileSync(path.join(publicDir, 'annoying-popups.js'), 'console.log("Annoying popup script loaded!"); alert("Hello from annoying popups!");');
fs.writeFileSync(path.join(publicDir, 'one-weird-tip.js'), 'console.log("One weird tip script loaded!"); document.getElementById("tip").innerText = "Drink more water!";');

// A simple route that renders a view with bundled JS
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.render('index');
});

app.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Server running at http://localhost:${port}`);
  console.log('Open your browser to http://localhost:3000 to see the bundled JS.');
});

/*
// views/index.ejs
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Bund-Cake Example</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome to Bund-Cake Example</h1>
    <p>Bundled JavaScript will be injected below:</p>
    <div id="tip"></div>

    <%- bund.js('./public/javascripts/annoying-popups.js', './public/javascripts/one-weird-tip.js') %>
</body>
</html>
*/