Develop Reference

How to create a sharable url containing dynamic html (javascript)

What is the best practice to create unique shareable urls for some text lists users create?
It's a single page website with a content div where users create text lists. Once they click share, how can I store those values inside a shareable url so that another user going to that address loads the same list?
I'm using html, js, jquery, php.
EDIT: as suggested below i'm already saving the lists on a database (firebase), and each have an unique ID, so I'd need to understand how I can create urls with a list id in it, and how to read the url back.
EDIT 2: so this is the code i'm using right now, combining answers from marzelin and the Alchemist Shahed in my other question about my database structure (Firebase how to find child knowing its id but not its parent's id (js)):
//js inside window load function:
const keyOfDynamicHtmlItemRef = new URL(window.location).searchParams.get("share")
if (keyOfDynamicHtmlItemRef) {
var dynamicHtmlListRef = firebase.database().ref('users');
// var dynamicHtmlItemRef = dynamicHtmlListRef.child(keyOfDynamicHtmlItemRef);
// console.log(keyOfDynamicHtmlItemRef);
// dynamicHtmlItemRef.once("value").then(dynamicHtmlSnap => {
// texta.innerHTML = dynamicHtmlSnap.val();
// });
dynamicHtmlListRef.once('value').then((snapshot)=>{
snapshot.forEach(function(data) {
if (data.key == keyOfDynamicHtmlItemRef) {
myVar = data.c;
myContentDiv.innerHTML = myVar;
}
});
});
}
and i'm simply trying to manually write the url in the searchbar as a first step, as https://example.com/?share=<random list id i copied from db>, but it does nothing.

So the way I would to this is I would have the users share click trigger a save to database saving all the dynamically generated content into a table.
One of the table values would be a randomly generated unique identifier of some sort that I would use as a query in the url like https://www.example.org/?share=skd822475
Then when a user visits the site and that query is in the url id use the unique identifier to look up the database and publish the dynamic content back on the page.
I would also put a half life on the database entry's of say no more than 30 days so that it doesn't clog up the db.

Saving data and creating shareable link:
document.querySelector(".share").addEventListener("click" => {
var dynamicHtmlListRef = firebase.database().ref('dynamic_html');
var dynamicHtmlItemRef = dynamicHtmlListRef.push();
dynamicHtmlItemRef.set(userCreatedDynamicHtml);
var keyOfDynamicHtmlItem = dynamicHtmlItemRef.key;
var linkToDynamicHtmlItem = `${window.location}?share=${keyofDynamicHtmlItem}`;
alert(`link: ${linkToDynamicHtmlItem}`)
})
Showing the dynamic HTML based on query parameters:
const keyOfDynamicHtmlItemRef = new URL(window.location).searchParams.get("share")
if (keyOfDynamicHtmlItemRef) {
var dynamicHtmlListRef = firebase.database().ref('dynamic_html');
var dynamicHtmlItemRef = dynamicHtmlListRef.child(keyOfDynamicHtmlItemRef);
keyOfDynamicHtmlItemRef.once("value").then(dynamicHtmlSnap => {
document.querySelector(".dynamic-html-mountpoint").innerHTML = dynamicHtmlSnap.val();
});
}

Let's start with the first question "How to create urls with a list id in it?"
The thing is that to answer this one we need to answer the second question first witch is
"How to read the url back?"
Consider that you have a php page named "draft". when a user visit https://www.example.com/draft?listId=an_id you will get listId using php like so $_GET("listId") and use that value to retrieve the list data and display the page content.
Now coming back to the first question, if the user share the draft like in social media (ex: facebook) then there is no problem because he will share a link and all his followers and any other user can access it easily. but if the user just save the draft then you will have to change the page url dynamically like this window.history.pushState(null, null, '/draft?listId=your_newly_created_id'); and so the user will copy the url and do whatever he wnt with it (sharing it in stackoverflow maybe example using jsfiddle http://jsfiddle.net/F2es9/ (you can change the url to look like this using 'htaccess' file)) at the end I would like to tell you that we don't "create" urls.
Edit
without using php code (or any other server side code). the difference will be in retrieving the data.
instead of using $_GET("listId") you will use new URL(window.location).searchParams.get("listId") to get the list id in javascript then using this value you can retrieve data from firebase and display your content

Attempting to use a global array inside of a JS file shared between 2 HTML files and failing

So I have one HTML page which consists of a bunch of form elements for the user to fill out. I push all the selections that the user makes into one global variable, allTheData[] inside my only Javascript file.
Then I have a 2nd HTML page which loads in after a user clicks a button. This HTML page is supposed to take some of the data inside the allTheData array and display it. I am calling the function to display allTheData by using:
window.onload = function () {
if (window.location.href.indexOf('Two') > -1) {
carousel();
}
}
function carousel() {
console.log("oh");
alert(allTheData.toString());
}
However, I am finding that nothing gets displayed in my 2nd HTML page and the allTheData array appears to be empty despite it getting it filled out previously in the 1st HTML page. I am pretty confident that I am correctly pushing data into the allTheData array because when I use alert(allTheData.toString()) while i'm still inside my 1st HTML page, all the data gets displayed.
I think there's something happening during my transition from the 1st to 2nd HTML page that causes the allTheData array to empty or something but I am not sure what it is. Please help a newbie out!

Web Storage: This sounds like a job for the window.sessionStorage object, which along with its cousin window.localStorage allows data-as-strings to be saved in the users browser for use across pages on the same domain.
However, keep in mind that they are both Cookie-like features and therefore their effectiveness depends on the user's Cookie preference for each domain.
A simple condition will determine if the web storage option is available, like so...
if (window.sessionStorage) {
// continue with app ...
} else {
// inform user about web storage
// and ask them to accept Cookies
// before reloading the page (or whatever)
}
Saving to and retrieving from web storage requires conversion to-and-from String data types, usually via JSON methods like so...
// save to...
var array = ['item0', 'item1', 2, 3, 'IV'];
sessionStorage.myApp = JSON.stringify(array);
// retrieve from...
var array = JSON.parse(sessionStorage.myApp);
There are more specific methods available than these. Further details and compatibility tables etc in Using the Web Storage API # MDN.
Hope that helps. :)

Mirth channelMap in source JavaScript

In my source connector, I'm using javascript for my database work due to my requirements and parameters.
The end result is storing the data.
ifxResults = ifxConn.executeCachedQuery(ifxQuery); //var is declared
I need to use these results in the destination transformer.
I have tried channelMap.put("results", ifxResults);.
I get the following error ReferenceError: "channelMap" is not defined.
I have also tried to use return ifxResults but I'm not sure how to access this in the destination transformer.

Do you want to send each row as a separate message through your channel? If so, sounds like you want to use the Database Reader in JavaScript mode. Just return that ResultSet (it's really a CachedRowSet if you use executeCachedQuery like that) and the channel will handle the rest, dispatching an XML representation of each row as discrete messages.
If you want to send all rows in the result set aggregated into a single message, that will be possible with the Database Reader very soon: MIRTH-2337
Mirth Connect 3.5 will be released next week so you can take advantage of it then. But if you can't wait or don't want to upgrade then you can still do this with a JavaScript Reader:
var processor = new org.apache.commons.dbutils.BasicRowProcessor();
var results = new com.mirth.connect.donkey.util.DonkeyElement('<results/>');
while (ifxResults.next()) {
var result = results.addChildElement('result');
for (var entries = processor.toMap(ifxResults).entrySet().iterator(); entries.hasNext();) {
var entry = entries.next();
result.addChildElement(entry.getKey(), java.lang.String.valueOf(entry.getValue()));
}
}
return results.toXml();

I know this question is kind of old, but here's an answer just for the record.
For this answer, I'm assuming that you are using a Source connector type of JavaScript Reader, and that you're trying to use channelMap in the JavaScript Reader Settings editing pane.
The problem is that the channelMap variable isn't available in this part of the channel. It's only available in filters and transformers.
It's possible that what you want can be accomplished by using the globalChannelMap variable, e.g.
globalChannelMap.put("results", ifxResults);

I usually need to do this when I'm processing one record at a time and need to pass some setting to the destination channel. If you do it like I've done in the past, then you would first create a globalChannelMap key/value in the source channel's transformer:
globalchannelMap.put("ProcID","TestValue");
Then go to the Destinations tab and select your destination channel to make sure you're sending it to the destination (I've never tried this for channels with multiple destinations, so I'm not sure if anything different needs to be done).
Destination tab of source channel
Notice that ProcID is now listed in the Destination Mappings box. Click the New button next to the Map Variable box and you'll see Variable 1 appear. Double click on that and put in your mapping key, which in this case is ProcID.
Now go to your destination channel's source transformer. There you would enter the following code:
var SentValue = sourceMap.get("ProcID");
Now SentValue in your destination transformer has whatever was in ProcID when your source channel relinquished control.

Loading div object from DoM. Convert to Text File. Then reload div object back when page is reloaded

I have a co worker who asked me for help but I wasn't able to. Essentially he has created a page with pure java script that has a div element and child div elements. Each one of those child div elements have a form. He wants to be able to save all that hierarchical data in a text file whether or not it is in json / html in which he can load it later on without having to process it manually again. That way the next time the person loads the page, they are greeted with all the same information and div elements.
So essentially when you load the page again, you are able to simply dump the json / html into the DoM and it will automagically work. He's been on it for 2 days now, I thought I would ask you guys for some help or at least lead me on the right path.

Doing so would take three steps:
Get all the form data values from the DOM (a simple matter of knowing how to access HTML forms and putting them into an object)
Save the form data object into localStorage or on server (saving on the server would only work if you save some identifying information about the user, like if they are logged in, or their IP address)
On form load, check for saved data (on localStorage or server) and load it into the forms.
You can get the data of all forms into a JSON object like so:
function getAllFormsData(){
var formsData = {}
for(var i=0;i<document.forms.length;i++){
var form = document.forms[i],
name = document.forms[i].name;
formsData[name] = {}
for(var j=0;j<form.elements.length;j++){
var element = form.elements[j];
if(element.type=="submit") continue;
formsData[name][element.name] = element.value;
}
}
return formsData;
}
so formsData is a JSON object that contains properties for each form (by its name, but you can use ID if you prefer) on the page, and the value of each of those properties is an object containing the name and value of each input element (unless it's a submit type element).
Saving the data can be triggered either by the user clicking a "Save" Button on the page, or by using the window.onunload event. (If you are using localStorage, you can also set the saving function inside a setInterval that triggers every 30 seconds or whatever.)
localStorage is pretty straightforward (with a really easy API), but only allows string values. If you want to load a whole object into it instead of having to loop through and save each value, you can use a library. I have found store.js to be very useful and straightforward, and it serializes data for you so you don't need to mess with JSON.parse or JSON.stringify.
So, using the library, the save function would boil down to something as simple as:
function saveAllFormsData(){
var data = getAllFormsData();
for(var formName in data)
store.set(formName, data[formName]);
}
And on load, you can call this function:
function restoreAllFormsData(){
var forms = document.forms;
for(var i=0;i<forms.length;i++){
var form = forms[i];
if(store.get(form.name)){
for(var j=0;j<form.elements.length;j++){
var element = form.elements[j];
if(element.type=="submit")
continue;
element.value = store.get(form.name)[element.name];
}
}
}
}

I suggest looking into HTML5 local storage. This will allow you to save form data on the client, which can be used for repopulation when necessary.
Alternatively, you could also set a cookie on the client. However, this method has drawbacks that are discussed in the aforementioned document.
Either approach will likely require you to stringify any HTML before storage, due to the key:value nature of these data storage methods.

JavaScript list saving question

I have this fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/y8Uju/5/
I am trying to save the numbers, because, when I submit, the list of numbers gets erased. I am a little new to JavaScript so am not quite familiar to what is available. In PHP I would use sessions to save the list, but what can I do in JavaScript to do this?
Here is the JavaScript code:
function bindName() {
var inputNames = document.getElementById("names").getElementsByTagName("input");
for (i = 0; i < inputNames.length; i++) {
inputNames[i].onkeydown = function() {
if (this.value == "") {
setTimeout(deletename(this), 1000);
}
}
}
}
document.getElementById("addName").onclick = function() {
var num1 = document.getElementById("name");
var myRegEx = /^[0-9]{10}$/;
var itemsToTest = num1.value;
if (myRegEx.test(itemsToTest)) {
var form1 = document.getElementById("names");
var nameOfnames = form1.getElementsByClassName("inputNames").length;
var newGuy1 = document.createElement("input");
newGuy1.setAttribute("class", "inputNames");
newGuy1.setAttribute("id", nameOfnames);
newGuy1.setAttribute("type", "text");
newGuy1.setAttribute("value", num1.value);
form1.appendChild(newGuy1);
num1.value = "";
bindName();
}
else {
alert('error');
}
};
function deletename(name) {
if (name.value == "") {
document.getElementById("names").removeChild(name);
}
}

You can use localStorage: http://jsfiddle.net/y8Uju/8/
Loading:
var saved = JSON.parse(localStorage["numbers"] || "[]");
for(var i = 0; i < saved.length; i++) {
document.getElementById("name").value = saved[i];
add(false);
}
Saving:
var saved = JSON.parse(localStorage["numbers"] || "[]");
saved.push(num1.value);
localStorage["numbers"] = JSON.stringify(saved);
And define the function of the addName button separately, so that you can call it when loading as well.
Edit: You have to execute a function when the page is loading to fetch the stored numbers, and add some code to save the entered number when one clicks the Add button.
For storing you can use localStorage, but this only accepts Strings. To convert an array (an array containing the entered numbers), you can use JSON.
When loading, you need to add the numbers just like happens when the user fills them in. So you can set the name input box value to the saved number for each element in the array, and then simulate a click on the Add button.
So you need an add function that is executed when:
User clicks Add button
Page is loaded
However, when simulating the click the numbers should not get stored again. You need to distinguish between a real click and a simulated one. You can accomplish this by adding an argument to the add function which represents whether or not to store.

Not entirely sure what the question is, but one problem I see with the code - id's can't be numbers, or start with numbers
var nameOfnames = form1.getElementsByClassName("inputNames").length;
//....
newGuy1.setAttribute("id", nameOfnames);
That might be slowing you down somewhat. Perhaps set id to 'newguy' + nameOfnames

Jeff, the reason that the page keeps getting erased is because the form submission triggers a page reload. You need to place a listener on the form submit event and then send the data through AJAX. This way the data is POSTed to "text.php" without reloading the page with the form.
You could place the values in a cookie but that is not ideal because you have a fairly limited amount of space to work with (4kb). I also get the feeling that you're trying to hand them off to some server side script so HTML5 local storge wouldnt be a good solution, not to mention that your eliminating over half of the people on the internet from using your site that way.
Since browsers are inconsistent in how they attach event listeners AND how they make AJAX requests. I think that most people would recommend that you use a library like jQuery, dojo, or prototype which abstract the process into one function that works in all browsers. (my personal fav is jQuery)

There are a few options available to you:
Save it client side using cookies (http://www.quirksmode.org/js/cookies.html)
Save it client side using HTML5 local storage (http://diveintohtml5.ep.io/storage.html)
Save it server-side using Ajax
The Ajax solution involves a server side page (in PHP for example) that reads a request (a POST request for example) and saves it into a database or other. You then query that page in JavaScript using XmlHTTPRequest or your favorite library.