Is 'dot slash' (./) mandatory when a module in Node.js is required?
<p>I'm learning Node.js and writing a simple module using the Visual Studio 2015 Node.JS extension.</p>

<p>I know <code>./</code> means 'look for the file in the same directory'. But in most systems I've seen (say, <code>#include</code> in C++) the forwarding <code>./</code> is optional. I've tried to remove it but it turns out Node.js cannot find modules without the prefix. For me it seems ugly, so is it really mandatory? If yes, why?</p>

<p>Regards,</p>