How to integrate/use any NPM dependency in Eclipse Dirigible project

[ThuF]

We have the following scenario - NPM dependency is needed for certain functionality (e.g. contentful-html-rich-text-converter).

1. Create separate project where the NPM dependency would be located.
2. Create package.json file and specify the dependency in the dependencies section.
3. Run npm install in the project.
   • This can be done either from the Terminal view or
   • From external terminal by navigating to the workspace location or
   • By utlizing the Command API
4. Create index.js file, which would serve as interface between the Dirigible application and the NPM dependency.
5. Use the Command API to execute external commands (e.g. node index.js).
6. Provide the required arguments for the interface as environment variables.

Example

Project Name: external-dependency

package.json:

{
    "dependencies": {
        "contentful-html-rich-text-converter": "1.0.11"
    }
}

index.js:

const { parseHtml } = require('contentful-html-rich-text-converter');

const html = process.env.HTML_INPUT; // The HTML_INPUT environment variable is used to provide the required input

const result = parseHtml(html);

console.log(JSON.stringify(result)); // The result of the execution is serialized and printed into the console

Note: Before publishing the project, remove all auto-generated files like project.json and tsconfig.json, as they could interfere in an unwanted way.

---

Project Name: my-application

command.js

import { Command } from "sdk/platform";
import { Response } from "sdk/http";

const commandResult = Command.execute('node index.js', { // The command to be executed
    workingDirectory: '/target/dirigible/repository/root/registry/public/external-dependency' // Specify the location of the external-dependency project in the Dirigible Registry
}, {
    HTML_INPUT: '<ul><li><p>a</p></li><li><p>b</p></li><li><p>c</p></li></ul><p></p>' // Provide the required environment variables
});

const result = JSON.parse(commandResult.standardOutput); // Parse the result that was printed in the console

Response.println(JSON.stringify(result, null, 4));

Note: In this example it's assumed that the dirigiblelabs/dirigible Docker container is used, if the Dirigible application is started in another way, then the path to the Registry could be different (/target/dirigible/repository/root/registry/public/<projectName>).