ExpressJS require Javascript prototyped object in another file

I have a file that looks like this:

function UserController(){};

UserController.prototype = {
    theData: [],
    findAll: function(callback) {
        callback( null, this.theData );
     },
    findByID: function(id, callback) {
        var result = null;
        var count = theData.length;
        for (var i = 0; i < count; i++) {
            if (this.theData[i]._id == id) {
                result = this.theData[i];
                break;
            }
        }

        callback(null, result);
    },
    findByName: function(name, callback) {
        var result = null;
        var count = theData.length;

        for (var i = 0; i < count; i++) {
            if (this.theData[i].name == name) {
                result = this.theData[i];
                break;
            }
        };

        callback(null, result);
    },
    save: function(users, callback) {
        var user = null;

        if(typeof(users.length) === 'undefined') {
            users = [users];
        }

        var count = users.length;
        for (var i = 0; i < count; i++) {
            user = users[i];
            user._id = userCounter++;
            user.created_at = new Date();
        };

        callback(null, users);
    }
};

When I inspect the object (based off this), it tells me that it is function UserController(){} and has no methods or properties.

I've never used prototyping in Javascript and I can't see a thing wrong with what I've done here. It should be noted that I'm using this with Node.js and Expressjs but I don't believe that would be causing this problem.

EDIT

For brevity's sake I only posted what I was currently using, but I have also had the exact same problem using the file like this:

var userCounter = 1;

function UserController(){};

UserController.prototype.theData = [];

UserController.prototype.findAll = function(callback) {
    callback( null, this.theData );
};

UserController.prototype.findByID = function(id, callback) {
    var result = null;
    var count = theData.length;

    for (var i = 0; i < count; i++) {
        if (this.theData[i]._id == id)
        {
            result = this.theData[i];
            break;
        }
    };

    callback(null, result);
};

UserController.prototype.findByName = function(name, callback) {
    var result = null;
    var count = theData.length;

    for (var i = 0; i < count; i++) {
        if (this.theData[i].name == name) {
            result = this.theData[i];
            break;
        }
    };

    callback(null, result);
};

UserController.prototype.save = function(users, callback) {
    var user = null;

    if(typeof(users.length) === 'undefined') {
        users = [users];
    }

    var count = users.length;
    for (var i = 0; i < count; i++) {
        user = users[i];
        user._id = userCounter++;
        user.created_at = new Date();
    };

    callback(null, users);
};

One more edit

If I put this in the same file and Inspect it I get the results I would expect:

function Test(){};

Test.prototype 开发者_运维知识库= {
  theData: [],
  hello: function(){
    return "Hello World!";
  }
};

I don't see the difference and I don't see an error in my UserController code.

---

This link helped me figure it out.

Turns out it WAS a problem with Expressjs. When using another file, you have to specifically call export on methods and objects you want to use with require. Or alternately, you can just call this.blahblah = function(){}; instead of export. Then when you require a file, it automatically turns it into an object.

EDIT
I found a different solution. It was as simple as changing my require call to look like this: var userController = new (require('./controllers/user').UserController);
After that, I can use Prototyped functions and objects just fine which makes the file much more readable and easier to understand.

---

Yes, UserController is a function. Does it have properties? Yes, it has two properties, namely length and prototype. All functions in JavaScript have these two properties. Why don't you see these properties? Because they are not enumerable properties. Properties in JavaScript can have one or more attributes. In ES3 they are ReadOnly, DontEnum, and DontDelete. In ES5 they are configurable, writable, enumerable, get, set, and value.

In either version, length and prototype are not enumerable, so your inspector will not show them to you.

Incidentally all the "methods" you wrote are properties of the object UserController.prototype, not UserController.