How to debug an import binding name that is not found - nativescript

Question

I have a NativeScript application that I'm trying to add iBeacon support to using the iBeacon plugin. The application builds successfully and is synced to my phone (I'm using SideKick). When the app runs, it has a fatal javascript exception. The javascript error is reported at:
file:///app/tns_modules/tns-core-modules/ui/builder/builder.js:244:56: JS ERROR Error: Building UI from XML. #file:///app/app-root.xml:18:9
That line is where the page that attempts to access the iBeacon code is defined:
<Frame defaultPage="views/search/search-page"></Frame>
and the specific error is:
Importing binding name 'BeaconLocationOptions' is not found.
I'm assuming this occurs as part of the following import statement:
import {NativescriptIbeacon, BeaconCallback, BeaconLocationOptions, BeaconLocationOptionsIOSAuthType, BeaconLocationOptionsAndroidAuthType, BeaconRegion, Beacon } from 'nativescript-ibeacon';
The above import statement is what is documented as part of the iBeacon documentation.
There is a nativescript-ibeacon directory under node_modules in my project. The specific ios file seems to be there:
/Users/edscott/NativeScript/beacon-test/node_modules/nativescript-ibeacon/nativescript-ibeacon.ios.js
I'm not sure if it is a problem in my code or a problem with configuration - maybe something missing that stops the ibeacon files from being deployed properly to the device.
My code is in javascript, but I have installed the typescript plugin. It looks like this iBeacon plugin assumes the app is written in typescript.
I'm looking for help in determining what to try next.
FYI...I've tried pulling the source files out of the node_modules and incorporating them directly into my project. After resolving many issues with this approach, I eventually hit the same wall - a problem importing the code when running on the device.
Below is the code that is using the iBeacon plugin:
const observableModule = require("tns-core-modules/data/observable");
import {NativescriptIbeacon, BeaconCallback, BeaconLocationOptions, BeaconLocationOptionsIOSAuthType, BeaconLocationOptionsAndroidAuthType, BeaconRegion, Beacon } from 'nativescript-ibeacon';
function SearchViewModel() {
let callback = {
onBeaconManagerReady() {
// start ranging and/or monitoring only when the beacon manager is ready
this.nativescriptIbeacon.startRanging(this.region);
this.nativescriptIbeacon.startMonitoring(this.region);
},
didRangeBeaconsInRegion: function(region, beacons) {
console.log("didRangeBeaconsInRegion");
},
didFailRangingBeaconsInRegion: function(region, errorCode, errorDescription) {
console.log("didFailRangingBeaconsInRegion");
}
};
let options = {
iOSAuthorisationType: BeaconLocationOptionsIOSAuthType.Always,
androidAuthorisationType: BeaconLocationOptionsAndroidAuthType.Coarse,
androidAuthorisationDescription: "Location permission needed"
};
let nativescriptIbeacon = new NativescriptIbeacon(callback, options);
let region = new BeaconRegion("HelloID", "2f234454-cf6d-4a0f-adf2-f4911ba9ffa6");
const viewModel = observableModule.fromObject({
"beaconData": "not set yet",
"onTapStart": function() {
this.set("beaconData", "started");
console.log("tapped start");
if (!nativescriptIbeacon.isAuthorised()) {
console.log("NOT Authorised");
nativescriptIbeacon.requestAuthorization()
.then(() => {
console.log("Authorised by the user");
nativescriptIbeacon.bind();
}, (e) => {
console.log("Authorisation denied by the user");
})
} else {
console.log("Already authorised");
nativescriptIbeacon.bind();
}
},
"onTapStop": function() {
this.set("beaconData", "stopped");
console.log("tapped stop");
nativescriptIbeacon.stopRanging(region);
nativescriptIbeacon.stopMonitoring(region);
nativescriptIbeacon.unbind();
}
});
return viewModel;
}
module.exports = SearchViewModel;

Answer 1

I have created a playground for you here.
If you look into example, I am importing NativescriptIbeacon from the main folder and rest from the common folder.
P.S. This plugin has dependency on nativescript-permission
import { NativescriptIbeacon } from '../nativescript-ibeacon';
import {
BeaconRegion, Beacon, BeaconCallback,
BeaconLocationOptions, BeaconLocationOptionsIOSAuthType, BeaconLocationOptionsAndroidAuthType
} from "../nativescript-ibeacon/nativescript-ibeacon.common";
This answer solved my problem along with another modification. After splitting the import up I still had the same error. Then I read the following page about modules:
https://docs.nativescript.org/core-concepts/android-runtime/getting-started/modules
Based on this statement:
If the module identifier passed to require(moduleName) does not begin
with '/', '../', or './', then NativeScript will lookup the module
within the tns_modules folder
I assumed that maybe only require does the proper lookup into tns_modules.
I refactored the import to use require instead, and that worked. My changes are below. There may be a more efficient way to do this, but it worked for me.
const nsb = require("nativescript-ibeacon/nativescript-ibeacon.js");
const nsbc = require("nativescript-ibeacon/nativescript-ibeacon.common.js");
const NativescriptIbeacon = nsb.NativescriptIbeacon;
const BeaconCallback = nsbc.BeaconCallback;
const BeaconLocationOptions = nsbc.BeaconLocationOptions;
const BeaconLocationOptionsIOSAuthType = nsbc.BeaconLocationOptionsIOSAuthType;
const BeaconLocationOptionsAndroidAuthType = nsbc.BeaconLocationOptionsAndroidAuthType
const BeaconRegion = nsbc.BeaconRegion;
const Beacon = nsbc.Beacon;