I have Node.js project and the following structure of folders:
lib
awesome-formatter.js
FrontEndApp
prettify.js
node_modules
awesome-parser
BackEndApp
...
I use awesome-parser module and awesome-formatter.js library in prettify.js script like this:
require('awesome-parser')
require('../lib/awesome-formatter.js')
awesome-formatter.js, in turns, should use awesome-parser too:
require('awesome-parser')
My FrontEndApp has been configured to use Webpack, and I'm trying to run it in dev mode using npm run dev command. However, I got the following error:
ERROR Failed to compile with 1 errors
These dependencies were not found:
* awesome-parser in /home/user/dev/lib/awesome-formatter.js
I don't want to move awesome-formatter.js inside the FrontEndApp because I also use it in BackEndApp project (and probably in some other projects) and I don't want to create separate "node_modules" in "lib" for it just not to duplicate installed modules on disk.
So, my question is, how to make Webpack use project's "node_modules" in js scripts located outside the project folder?
P.S. Of course there are workarounds like symlinks or making a full-featured module (with package.json etc.) from lib/awesome-fromatter and installing it into FrontEndApp/node_modules, but is there a direct way to solve this problem?
I've found a solution: resolve.modules sould be added to Webpack configuration file.
module.exports = {
...
resolve: {
...
modules: [
'node_modules',
resolve('node_modules')
]
},
...
}
This means that Webpack is searching modules in 'node_modules' as a relative subfolder (and it's the usual behavior), and at the absolute path to the project's 'node_modules' as well: resolve('node_modules'), so that scripts in folders outside the project (like lib in my structure) can find and use it.
I am new to Webpack and I started with Webpack2. I can't manage to use require or import of modules from bower_components folder. Is it possible to do so and if it is can you provide me an example or something.
This is my webpack.config file:
You can configure resolve.modules to also look in bower_components.
resolve: {
modules: ['bower_components', 'node_modules']
}
This will first look into bower_components and if it can't find the module it will look into node_modules. If you don't inlcude node_modules you won't be able to use packages installed from npm.
I can't get bundles to work in the optimized build, I'm trying to load some external pre-built bundle (not included in the require build process output).
In requirejs.config:
paths: {
'mymodules': '../lib/test-bundle/test-bundle'
},
bundles: {
'mymodules': ['mymodule1', 'mymodule2']
}
test-bundle content is:
console.log("defining modules...");
define('mymodule1', ['jquery'], function($) {
console.log('within mymodule1', $.fn.jquery);
return {
test: 'module1'
};
});
define('mymodule2', ['jquery'], function($) {
console.log('within mymodule2', $.fn.jquery);
return {
test: 'module2'
};
});
In the build config paths for mymodules, mymodule1 and mymodule2 are set to empty: (or the build process fail), I'm not using the modules option in the build config to generate bundles.
If I use the sources as they are everything is working fine, as expected.
In the built version (but not optimized) test-bundle is loaded and "defining modules" printed, then timeout loading mymodule2:
Error: Failed to load root module (viewmodels/shell). Details: Load timeout for modules: mymodule2(…)
Uncaught Error: Failed to load root module (viewmodels/shell). Details: Load timeout for modules: mymodule2
http://requirejs.org/docs/errors.html#timeout
In the built and optimized version there's one more error:
Uncaught ReferenceError: define is not defined
like if test-bundle is loaded before requirejs implement define().
What I'm missing or doing wrong?
edit
I've created a branch with the test above to install and build (nodejs npm and probably grunt-cli are required on the system)
git clone https://github.com/xenogenesi/HTMLStarterKitPro
cd HTMLStarterKitPro
git checkout test-bundle
# nodejs npm required on the system (maybe grunt-cli)
npm install # required only once to install node modules
grunt build-only # create a build/ directory and the content
php -S localhost:8888 # to publish the sources as they are
# browse to http://localhost:8888
php -S localhost:7777 -t build # to publish the built versions
# browse to http://localhost:7777 for built but not optimized
# browse to http://localhost:7777/index2.html for built optimized
(see this commit for all files modified to add the test-bundle)
You can only use one define per file. If you want to use anyway, there is a bundle configuration option that you can say that a module is inside an already bundled file as yours.
As it states:
bundle config is for pointing multiple module IDs to a bundle's module ID.
So, apparently even being require.js itself, the loader once included in the optimized version is or at least behave in a different way.
One simple way to get it working is to not include any loader and keep using require to kickstart:
Gruntfile.js:
- name: 'requireLib',
+ name: false,
index2.html:
- <script src="app/main-built.js"></script>
+ <script src="lib/require/require.js" data-main="app/main-built"></script>
Still, if somebody know how to include the loader and get pre-built external bundles (multiple modules in one file) working, I'd like to know and will accept as answer.
I have a grunt/bower/angular project that included dependencies such as angularjs.
When bower installs the angularjs dependency, or any other dependency, it pulls more than I want to include in my build.
For example, when bower installs angularjs, the bower_components directory contains angular.js and angular.min.js. I only want to use one of the two scripts.
Could I set up Grunt to build my project and only include the libraries and resources I want from bower_components? If yes and it involves specifying the libraries in the Gruntfile.js, is there an advantage of using Bower in this case?
Yes, you can use grunt-bower to do this job. you can specify which files you want to import for a specific package.
Here is a complete example with Fancybox package :
bower: {
dest: 'source/assets/images',
js_dest: 'source/assets/js',
css_dest: 'source/assets/css',
fonts_dest: 'source/assets/fonts',
options: {
expand: false,
keepExpandedHierarchy: false,
packageSpecific: {
'fancybox': {
files: [
'source/blank.gif',
'source/fancybox_loading.gif',
'source/fancybox_loading#2x.gif',
'source/fancybox_overlay.png',
'source/fancybox_sprite.png',
'source/fancybox_sprite#2x.png',
'source/jquery.fancybox.js',
'source/jquery.fancybox.css',
'source/helpers/jquery.fancybox-thumbs.css',
'source/helpers/jquery.fancybox-thumbs.js'
]
}
}
}
}
I am struggling somewhat with pre-compilation of templates in Handlebars. My jQuery Mobile project is getting pretty big template-wise and I wish to pre-compile the templates I use.
However I can't seem to find a good explanation (like a step by step tutorial) of how to do this with Handlebars.
I still have my templates all inline using the script tags. I have handlebars installed using NPM. But now I am kinda lost in how to proceed.
I am guessing doing something like
handlebars -s event.handlebars > event.compiled
and somehow including the event.compiled contents? But then, how to call it.
I am calling my templates like so
var source = $('#tmpl_profile').html(),
template = Handlebars.compile(source),
context = user.profile()),
html = template(context);
Hope someone can shed some light on this for me.
So after much trial and error (which is the best way to learn it) here's the way that works for me.
First- externalize all your templates, say you have a template inside script tags like
<script id="tmpl_ownevents" type="text/templates">
{{#unless event}}
<div class="notfoundevents"><p>No events for you</p></div>
{{/unless}}
</script>
Create a new file called events.tmpl and copy/paste the template into that.
Be sure to remove the script elements themselves, this gotcha bit me in the a..
Install the Handlebars commandline script like so
npm install -g handlebars
go to the folder you have saved events.tmpl into and run
handlebars events.tmpl -f events.tmpl.js
Include the compiled javascript into your HTML after you included Handlebars.js
<script src="events.tmpl.js"></script>
Now all that is left is change your normal template code into something resembling the following
var template = Handlebars.templates['events.tmpl'], // your template minus the .js
context = events.all(), // your data
html = template(context);
And there you have it, super fast pre-compiled Handlebars templates.
Another great option for this is to use GruntJS. Once installed:
npm install grunt-contrib-handlebars --save-dev
Then inside your gruntfile.js
grunt.initConfig({
dirs: {
handlebars: 'app/handlebars'
},
watch: {
handlebars: {
files: ['<%= handlebars.compile.src %>'],
tasks: ['handlebars:compile']
}
},
handlebars: {
compile: {
src: '<%= dirs.handlebars %>/*.handlebars',
dest: '<%= dirs.handlebars %>/handlebars-templates.js'
}
}
});
grunt.loadNpmTasks('grunt-contrib-handlebars');
Then you simply type grunt watch from your console, and grunt will automatically compile all *.handlebars files into your handlebars-templates.js file.
Really rad way to work with handlebars.
Here is the way I do it:
Preparation
We will just assume all your template variables are in a variable called context:
var context = {
name: "Test Person",
...
};
Where to put your templates
Create a directory containing all your templates (we'll call it templates/)
Add your templates here, called filename.handlebars.
Your directory structure:
.
└── templates
├── another_template.handlebars
└── my_template.handelbars
Compiling your templates
First go to your root directory, then compile your templates with the npm CLI program:
handlebars templates/*.handlebars -f compiled.js
New directory structure:
.
├── compiled.js
└── templates
├── another_template.handlebars
└── my_template.handlebars
Usage
Include the compiled.js in your HTML page after you include the runtime:
<script src="handlebars.runtime.js"></script>
<script src="compiled.js"></script>
Render your templates using the global Handlebars object:
// If you used JavaScript object property conform file names
// Original filename: "my_template.handlebars"
Handlebars.templates.my_template(context)
// if you used special characters which are not allowed in JavaScript properties
// Original filename: "my-template.handlebars"
Handlebars.templates["my-template"](context)
Remarks
Note the file extension .handlebars. It is automatically stripped when compiling the templates.
Extra: if you use one of the Jetbrains IDEs together with the Handlebars/Mustache plugin you even get quite a good editor support.
Precompiling Handlebars Templates with Grunt
Assuming you have Node.js installed. If you don't, go do that.
1) Setting up Node dependencies:
In your applications root directory add a file named package.json. Paste the following into that file:
{
"devDependencies": {
"grunt-contrib-handlebars": "~0.6.0",
"grunt-contrib-watch": "~0.5.3",
"handlebars": "~1.3.0"
},
}
This JSON file tells Node what packages it needs to install. This helps to get other developers get up-and-running very quickly, as you'll see in the next step.
2) Installing Node Dependencies:
In your terminal/command prompt/powershell, cd into your projects root directory and run the following commands:
npm install grunt -g
npm install grunt-cli -g
And to install the dependencies listed in your package.json:
npm install
Now you've installed all of the node dependencies that you need. In your projects root directory, you'll see a node_modules folder.
3) Configuring Grunt:
In your projects root directory, create a file named Gruntfile.js. Paste the following into that file:
module.exports = function(grunt) {
var TEMPLATES_LOCATION = "./src/templates/", // don't forget the trailing /
TEMPLATES_EXTENSION = ".hbs",
TEMPLATES_OUTPUT_LOCATION = TEMPLATES_LOCATION, // don't forget the trailing /
TEMPLATES_OUTPUT_FILENAME = "compiled_templates.js"; // don't forget the .js
grunt.initConfig({
watch: {
handlebars: {
files: [TEMPLATES_LOCATION + '**/*' + TEMPLATES_EXTENSION],
tasks: ['handlebars:compile']
}
},
handlebars: {
compile: {
src: TEMPLATES_LOCATION + '**/*' + TEMPLATES_EXTENSION,
dest: TEMPLATES_OUTPUT_LOCATION + TEMPLATES_OUTPUT_FILENAME,
options: {
amd: true,
namespace: "templates"
}
}
}
});
grunt.loadNpmTasks('grunt-contrib-handlebars');
grunt.loadNpmTasks('grunt-contrib-watch');
}
4) Configuring to Your Liking:
If you are not using Require.js, you'll want to change handlebars.compile.options.amd to false. You may also want to tweak the namespace option to your liking. If you're using require/amd modules, the namespace property is unimportant (it's default is "JST", if you remove it).
Because all project structures are a little bit different, you'll need to configure the Gruntfile just a little bit. Modify the constants TEMPLATES_LOCATION, TEMPLATES_EXTENSION, TEMPLATES_OUTPUT_LOCATION, TEMPLATES_OUTPUT_FILENAME to fit your project.
If your templates are scattered throughout your application, you'll want to change TEMPLATES_LOCATION to the lowest directory possible. Make sure your templates are isolated from your node_modules, bower_components or any other 3rd party directories, because you don't want Grunt to compile 3rd Party templates into your applications compiled templates. If you include all of your own code in a ./src, ./js, ./app directory, you'll be okay.
5) Compiling templates with Grunt:
To run grunt in the background, open your terminal and cd into your projects root directory and run the command: grunt watch:handlebars (just grunt watch works as well). With grunt running in the background, all changes to your template files will be automatically compiled and the output file specified handlebars.compile.dest will be rewritten as needed. The output will look something like this:
Running "watch" task
Waiting...
To run the compile task alone, open your terminal and cd into your projects root directory and run the command: grunt handlebars:compile (just grunt:handlebars works as well). The output will look something like:
Running "handlebars:compile" <handlebars> task
File "./src/templates/compiled_templates.js" created.
Done, without errors.
For Handlebars 2.0.0 alpha Update:
#Macro has explained quite clearly how it works with 1 piece of template, please see this answer for how to make handlebars.js works
If you see "TypeError: 'undefined' is not a function" when using precompiled templates:
This error happened at "handlebar.runtime.js" line 436 when evaluting templateSpec.call(container, Handlebars, context, options.helpers, options.partials, options.data),
because the compiler npm installed is not matching the one used by the browser. The latest stable version downloaded is v1.3.0 while if you use npm install handlebars, it will install 2.0.0-alpha4 for you.
Please check it out using
handlebars any_your_template_before_compile.handlebars | grep "compiler"
which will give you like, if you indeed installed handlebar 2.0.0-alpha4:
this.compiler = [5, '>=2.0.0']
With the first number stands for the version for your handlebar compiler. Type in the following code in browser console, see if the result match the version.
Handlebars.COMPILER_REVISION
If you have compiler 5 with browser revison 4, then you will have the above problem.
To fix it, install handlebar 1.3.0 with the following command
npm install handlebars#1.3.0 -g
Then try to compile it again, you will see this time, it gives you matching version info and you are good to go with the precompiled templates.
this.compilerInfo = [4, '>=1.0.0']
Just explain if you have tons of templates:
Firstly externalize each piece of your braced templates: event.handlebars, item.handlebars, etc... You can put them all in one folder, say "/templates"
Compile all the files and concatenate it into 1 file with the following command:
handlebars *.handlebars -f templates.js
And include handlebars.runtime, this file in your HTML
<script src="/lib/handlebars.runtime.js"></script>
<script src="templates.js"></script>
The templates will be injected into Handlebars.templates by their name. For example, event.handlebars can be accessed by Handlebars.tempaltes['event'].