sharing between modules with AngularJS?

Question

Let's say I have a stuff module that I want to inject into myApp config:

angular.module('myApp', ['stuff']).
  config([function() {

  }]);

There are two submodules:

angular.module("stuff", ["stuff.thing1","stuff.thing2"]);

Here's the first:

angular.module('stuff.thing1', []).provider("$thing1", function(){
    var globalOptions = {};
    this.options = function(value){
        globalOptions = value;
    };
    this.$get = ['$http',function ($http) {
        function Thing1(opts) { 
            var self = this, options = this.options = angular.extend({}, globalOptions, opts);  
        }
        Thing1.prototype.getOptions = function(){
            console.log(this.options.apiKey);
        };
        return {
            thing1: function(opts){
                return new Thing1(opts);
            }
        };
    }];
});

And the second is identical for ease of example:

angular.module('stuff.thing2', []).provider("$thing2", function(){
    var globalOptions = {};
    this.options = function(value){
        globalOptions = value;
    };
    this.$get = ['$http',function ($http) {
        function Thing2(opts) { 
            var self = this, options = this.options = angular.extend({}, globalOptions, opts);  
        }
        Thing2.prototype.getOptions = function(){
            console.log(this.options.apiKey);
        };
        return {
            thing2: function(opts){
                return new Thing2(opts);
            }
        };
    }];
});

What you will notice is that you can access both of them as providers to configure options:

angular.module('myApp', ['stuff']).
  config(['$thing1Provider', '$thing2Provider', function($thing1Provider, $thing2Provider) {
    $thing1Provider.options({apiKey:'01234569abcdef'});
    $thing2Provider.options({apiKey:'01234569abcdef'});
  }]);

If we were in a controller, you could overwrite per scope like:

controller('AppController', ['$scope','$thing1', function($scope, $thing1) {    
  var thing1 = $thing1.thing1({apiKey:'3kcd894g6nslx83n11246'});  
}]).

But what if they are always sharing the same property? How do I share something between providers?

angular.module('myApp', ['stuff']).config(['$stuff' function($stuff) {
  //No idea what I'm doing here, just trying to paint a picture.
  $stuff.options({apiKey:'01234569abcdef'});
}]);

Can I inject $stuff and config a shared property for both $thing1 and $thing2?

How do I access both $thing1 and $thing2 as an extension of a single module?

controller('AppController', ['$scope','$stuff', function($scope, $stuff) {
  //Again - no idea what I'm doing here, just trying to paint a picture.

  //$thing1 would now be overwrite $stuff.options config above.
  var thing1 = $stuff.$thing1.thing1({apiKey:'lkjn1324123l4kjn1dddd'});

  //No need to overwrite $stuff.options, will use whatever was configured above.
  var thing2 = $stuff.$thing2.thing2();  

  //Could I even change the default again for both if I wanted too?
  $stuff.options({apiKey:'uih2iu582b3idt31d2'});
}]).

Maybe creating another module just for the shared configuration, and making the other two submodules depending on that? — Elias Dorneles, Jun 20 '13 at 16:10
@elias But if that submodule doesn't do anything but include configuration, it seems kind of dirty no? And how would I do something like `$stuff.$thing1`? — Dan Kanze, Jun 20 '13 at 16:28
I'm not much familiar to how modules are supposed to work in AngularJS, but the way I thought was the config submodule would be injected both in the controller and in $thing1 and $thing2. In the controller you would do `$stuff.$config.options({apiKey:'23j4las'})` and then you'd use `$stuff.thing1.thing1()` and `$stuff.thing2.thing2()` normally. Does that make sense? — Elias Dorneles, Jun 20 '13 at 16:48
What you need is a service. This article explains how to use services to create a shared model. [Modeling Data and State in Your AngularJS Application](http://joelhooks.com/blog/2013/04/24/modeling-data-and-state-in-your-angularjs-application/) — Brian Lewis, Jun 20 '13 at 17:46
I don't feel my answer wasn't useful. You asked, "But what if they are always sharing the same property? How do I share something between providers?" A service could be shared across both providers. — Brian Lewis, Jun 20 '13 at 18:18
But the point of building module code is being able to export it. I wouldn't inject both modules and use an app level service to share configuration properties. There is a need to overwrite configuration properties from different scopes. Sharing data between controllers in your app is more aligned with context of that link. — Dan Kanze, Jun 20 '13 at 19:25

Dan Kanze · Accepted Answer · 2013-06-21T14:41:13.060

Inject a module into both that shares these properties.

Use the provider class to overwrite properties or instantiate them from any scope:

angular.module("stuff.things", []).provider("$things", function(){
    var globalOptions = {};
    this.options = function(value){
        globalOptions = value;
    };
    this.$get = [, function () {
        function Things(opts) { 
            var self = this, options = this.options = angular.extend({}, globalOptions, opts);
        }
        Things.prototype.returnOptions = function(){
            return this.options;
        };
        return {
            things: function(opts){
                return new Things(opts);
            }
        };
    }];
});

The secret sauce: $things.things().returnOptions()

angular.module('stuff.thing1', ['stuff.things']).provider("$thing1", function(){
    var globalOptions = {};
    this.options = function(value){
        globalOptions = value;
    };

    this.$get = ['$things', function ($things) {
        function Thing1(opts) {
            var self = this, options = this.options = angular.extend({}, $things.things().returnOptions(), globalOptions, opts);
        ...
        }
        return {
            thing1: function(opts){
                return new Thing1(opts);
            }
        };
    }];
});

sharing between modules with AngularJS?

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