Trouble organizing expressjs routes - node.js

Question

I am following along with this article, which describes a good way to organize routes in express. I am encountering a problem though when i try to access the functions that i have exported from my main.js file. I get a 404 error when i curl "localhost/user/username"
//the routes section of my my app.js file
app.get('/', routes.index);
app.get('/user/:username', routes.getUser);
//my index.js file
require('./main');
require('./users');
exports.index = function(req, res) {
res.render('index', {title: 'Express'});
};
//my main.js file
exports.getUser = function(req, res){
console.log('this is getUser');
res.end();
};
----EDITED WITH MY SOLUTION----
Here is the solution that I went with, maybe someone will find it useful. I'm also open to hearing suggestions about whether or not this is going to cause me any problems in the future.
//-------The routes in my app.js file now look like this.
require('./routes/index')(app);
require('./routes/main')(app);
//-------In index.js i now have this
module.exports = function(app) {
app.get('/', function(req,res){
res.render('index', {title: 'Express'});
});
};
//-------My main.js now looks like this-------
module.exports = function(app){
app.get('/user/:username', function(req, res){
var crawlUser = require('../engine/crawlUser');
var username = req.params.username;
crawlUser(username);
res.end();
});
};

Answer 1

Globals are evil and should be avoided at all costs. Here is how I organize my routes without globals and without excessive boiler plate code.
// File Structure
/app.js
/routes
/--index.js
/--main.js
/--users.js
// app.js
var app = require('express');
/* Call Middleware here */
require('routes')(app);
app.listen(3000);
---------------------------------------------
// routes/index.js - This is where I store all my route definitions
// in a long list organized by comments. Allows you to only need to go to
// one place to edit route definitions.
module.exports = function(app) {
var main = require('./main');
app.get('/', main.get);
var users = require('./users');
app.get('/users/:param', users.get);
...
}
---------------------------------------------
// routes/main.js - Then in each submodule you define each function and attach
// to exports
exports.get = function(req, res, next){
// Do stuff here
})
I guess in the end its a matter of preference, but if you want your code to maintain agility and work with other modules you should avoid global variables. Even if Alex Young says its ok. =)

Answer 2

Here is the solution that I went with, maybe someone will find it useful.
//-------The routes in my app.js file now look like this.
require('./routes/index')(app);
require('./routes/main')(app);
//-------In index.js i now have this
module.exports = function(app) {
app.get('/', function(req,res){
res.render('index', {title: 'Express'});
});
};
//-------My main.js now looks like this-------
module.exports = function(app){
app.get('/user/:username', function(req, res){
var crawlUser = require('../engine/crawlUser');
var username = req.params.username;
crawlUser(username);
res.end();
});
};