AngularJS $injector.invoke - ParentController is not defined - angularjs

Question

I have 2 controllers defined:
var myApp = angular.module('nestedControllersModule',[]);
myApp.controller('ParentController', ['$scope', function($scope) {
}]);
myApp.controller('ChildController', ['$scope', '$injector', function($scope, $injector) {
$injector.invoke(ParentController, this, {$scope: $scope});
}]);
This gives: ReferenceError: ParentController is not defined.
This code works only if ParentController is defined as:
function ParentController($scope) {}
I am trying to inject the parent in the child as then I can inherit the common functions defined in the parent.
var myApp = angular.module('nestedControllersModule',[]);
myApp.controller('ParentController', ['$scope', function($scope) {
$scope.name = 'ParentName';
$scope.Type = 'ParentType';
$scope.clickme = function() {
alert('This is parent controller "ParentController" calling');
}
}]);
myApp.controller('ChildController', ['$scope', '$injector', '$ParentController', function($scope, $injector, $ParentController) {
$injector.invoke(ParentController, this, {$scope: $scope});
$scope.name = 'Child';
}]);

Answer 1

myApp.controller('ParentController', ['$scope', function($scope) {
}]);
myApp.controller('ChildController', ['$scope', 'ParentController', function($scope, ParentController) {
// ok now you have ParentController
}]);
But I think you need to use Services to share data/functions between Controllers or using PubSub model:
What's the correct way to communicate between controllers in AngularJS?
This reduces coupling between parts of your app.

Answer 2

This is a basic workaround to achieve what you're after:
var myApp = angular.module('nestedControllersModule',[]);
myApp.factory('ParentControllerFactory', function () {
function ParentControllerFactory($scope) {
$scope.name = 'ParentName';
$scope.Type = 'ParentType';
$scope.clickme = function() {
alert('This is parent controller "ParentController" calling');
}
}
return (ParentControllerFactory);
})
.controller('ParentController', ['$scope', '$injector', 'ParentControllerFactory', function ($scope, $injector, ParentControllerFactory) {
$injector.invoke(ParentControllerFactory, this, {
$scope: $scope
});
}])
.controller('ChildController', ['$scope', '$injector', 'ParentControllerFactory', function ($scope, $injector, ParentControllerFactory) {
$injector.invoke(ParentControllerFactory, this, {
$scope: $scope
});
}]);
I say workaround because it's probably worthwhile looking into properly implementing a service to manage any commonality as previously mentioned (or better yet, splitting commonality into directives, clickme for example is a good candidate)
...also note that $injector.invoke(ParentControllerFactory as it is above will most likely chuck a hissy fit if/when you minify your scripts later on, so be careful where and how it used.

Answer 3

Consider using the Mixin pattern possible by using the $controller service.
In your example, you would replace the $injector service with the $controller service:
var myApp = angular.module('nestedControllersModule',[]);
myApp.controller('ParentController', ['$scope', function($scope) {
$scope.name = 'ParentName';
$scope.Type = 'ParentType';
$scope.clickme = function() {
alert('This is parent controller "ParentController" calling');
}
}]);
myApp.controller('ChildController', ['$scope', '$controller', '$ParentController', function($scope, $controller, $ParentController) {
$controller('ParentController',{$scope: $scope})
$scope.name = 'Child';
}]);
This is a good overview of using the $controller service:
http://vadimpopa.com/split-large-angularjs-controllers-using-the-mixin-pattern/