Develop Reference

Why Javascript object didn't change?

Can someone explain me this strange js behavior ?
All of this is in AngularJS.
I have helper function in my main app.js to simply return element from an array by its id:
var MyLib = MyLib || {};
MyLib.helpers = {
find: function(needle, stack) {
for (var i = 0; i < stack.length; i++) {
if(stack[i]._id === needle)
return stack[i];
}
return false;
}
}
Then I have factory and function to handle database change:
// categories are grabbed from db
var categories = [some array of objects];
// change is object returned from database that has all info about object as well as new object itself
function handleChange(change) {
var _category = MyLib.helpers.find(change.id, categories);
// if deleted, that part is ok
if(change.deleted) {
var idx = categories.indexOf(_category);
if(idx !== -1) {
categories.splice(idx, 1);
}
} else {
// if updated that part is weird
if(_category) {
_category = change.doc;
}
// if newly added that part is ok
else {
categories.push( angular.copy(change.doc) );
}
}
}
Why when I try to update element grabbed from categories array doesn't update in categories array ?
// categories ARE NOT updated after this
_category = change.doc;
and only when I refer to categories by index like this:
// categories ARE updated after this although _category is returned from this array by index (find function)
var idx = categories.indexOf(_category);
categories[idx] = change.doc;
I don't understand this...

You are overwriting the variable with a new value and any reference to prior value is gone.
Instead of overwriting the original object value with a new object you could update the existing object using angular.extend()
angular.extend(_category, change.doc);

I didn't analyze everything, but you should always have dot notation.
_category pass by value, and will not change when 'MyLib.hel ...' is changed
var _category = MyLib.helpers.find(change.id, categories);
something.category pass by reference, and will be changed when 'MyLib.hel ...' is changed
var something.category = MyLib.helpers.find(change.id, categories);

JavaScript error when creating custom object

I am finding that when I call record.create() then sometimes it succeeds, and at other times it throws an error saying that no such method exists, even though record object has its properties set appropriately.
Am I using create method incorrectly? May be I am missing something about JavaScript custom object syntax.
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
var record = {
RecordID : null,
CustomerID : null,
CompanyID : null,
create : function() {
var obj = new Object();
obj.RecordID = "";
obj.CustomerID = "";
return obj;
}
};
function pageLoad(sender, eventArgs) {
{
//*******SUCCEEDS********
record = record.create()
}
function RadGrid1_RowSelected(sender, args) {
currentRowIndex = args.get_gridDataItem().get_element().rowIndex;
var dataItem = args.get_gridDataItem().get_dataItem();
recordId = dataItem["Record_ID"];
if (tableView.get_selectedItems().length == 1) {
record = record.create();
record.RecordID = dataItem["Record_ID"];
record.CustomerID = dataItem["Customer_ID"];
setValues();
}
else if (tableView.get_selectedItems().length > 1) {
record= record.create();//****FAILS ALWAYS even when record object has non-null properties*******
}
if ($.inArray(recordId, recordIds) == -1) {
recordIds.push(recordId);
}
}
</script>
UPDATE : This is what worked for me.
Instead of using the create method on 'record' global object, I ended up using a simple approach. Just call a custom method 'resetRecord' everytime I wanted to call the create( ) method on record object. That way I have no errors and my logic works perfectly.
function resetRecord() {
record.RecordID = "";
record.CustomerID = "";
record.CompanyID = "";
}

It won't work after the first call because you are overwriting the record object. This will destroy any create() method as the object returned does not have this method/property.
For you update, variables have function level scope. You are using the global record inside of RadGrid1_RowSelected.
I'm not entirely sure what you are doing but this will get you past your first problem.
function RadGrid1_RowSelected(sender, args) {
var newRecord;
currentRowIndex = args.get_gridDataItem().get_element().rowIndex;
var dataItem = args.get_gridDataItem().get_dataItem();
recordId = dataItem["Record_ID"];
if (tableView.get_selectedItems().length == 1) {
record = record.create();
record.RecordID = dataItem["Record_ID"];
record.CustomerID = dataItem["Customer_ID"];
setValues();
}
else if (tableView.get_selectedItems().length > 1) {
newRecord= record.create();//****FAILS ALWAYS even when record object has non-null properties*******
}
if ($.inArray(recordId, recordIds) == -1) {
recordIds.push(recordId);
}
}

how to turn this to into a tree?

I was doing a challenge of building a tree from all html elements. And I am 90% done, but I got stuck...
How do I change this string into a tree?:
mystring= "red1/(none)-red2/red1-blue1/red2-blue2/red2-blue3/red2-red3/red1-red4/red3-red5/red4-red6/red5-blue4/red6";
After splitting them by "-" we will have:
10 groups of -> (parameter1)/(parameter2)
The first parameter it is the object,
The second parameter is the 'in-what-it-will-be-contained'
I have no idea how to move every 'parameter1' inside 'parameter2'. (note: sometimes the parameter1 will be the parameter2 of a parameter1)
Visual example of what I mean with a parameter is inside another parameter: (this example uses exactly the string above)
Probably we should use arrays?, idk... I am totally lost :sadface:

I think this is a little more concise and straight forward. It uses an object as a dictionary to lookup the parent, rather than a function that has to recursively iterate the tree to find the parent. That recursive function is expensive. An object lookup is quick.
First, for convenience, I'd define an object type:
function TreeNode(name) {
this.Name = name;
this.Children = [];
}
Then I'd add a method to do the work. This parses your tree string:
TreeNode.ParseTree = function (treeString) {
var root = new TreeNode("");
var nodes = {};
var pairs = treeString.split("-");
pairs.forEach(function(pair) {
var parts = pair.split("/");
var parentName = parts[1];
var childName = parts[0];
var node;
if (parentName == "(none)") {
node = root;
root.Name = childName;
}
else {
node = new TreeNode(childName);
nodes[parentName].Children.push(node);
}
nodes[childName] = node;
});
return root;
};
That's it! Now, to get visual representations of your tree, you can add some prototype methods to TreeNode. First, override .toString():
TreeNode.prototype.toString = function(indent) {
indent = indent || "";
var strings = [indent + this.Name];
this.Children.forEach(function(child) {
strings.push(child.toString(indent + " "));
});
return strings.join("\n");
};
Then, add a .Render() method to display the tree within a web page:
TreeNode.prototype.Render = function(container) {
var nodeEl = container.appendChild(document.createElement("div"));
nodeEl.className = "treeNode";
var nameEl = nodeEl.appendChild(document.createElement("div"));
nameEl.className = "treeNodeName";
nameEl.appendChild(document.createTextNode(this.Name));
var childrenEl = nodeEl.appendChild(document.createElement("div"));
childrenEl.className = "treeNodeChildren";
this.Children.forEach(function(child) {
child.Render(childrenEl);
});
return nodeEl;
};
Here it is in action: http://jsfiddle.net/gilly3/wwFBx/
Edit: I didn't notice the jQuery tag in your post, here's a render method that's all jQuery, and produces simpler HTML which you seem to imply is what you want:
TreeNode.prototype.Render = function(container) {
var el = $("<div>").appendTo(container).text(this.Name);
$.each(this.Children, function() {
this.Render(el);
});
return el;
};
This JSFiddle uses jQuery, even replacing Array.forEach with $.each: http://jsfiddle.net/wwFBx/1/
As an alternative, you might consider just serializing your tree as JSON. Eg:
"{\"Name\":\"red1\",\"Children\":[{\"Name\":\"red2\",\"Children\":[{\"Name\":\"blue1\",\"Children\":[]},{\"Name\":\"blue2\",\"Children\":[]},{\"Name\":\"blue3\",\"Children\":[]}]},{\"Name\":\"red3\",\"Children\":[{\"Name\":\"red4\",\"Children\":[{\"Name\":\"red5\",\"Children\":[{\"Name\":\"red6\",\"Children\":[{\"Name\":\"blue4\",\"Children\":[]}]}]}]}]}]}"
or maybe:
"{\"red1\":{\"red2\":{\"blue1\":{},\"blue2\":{},\"blue3\":{}},\"red4\":{\"red5\":{\"red6\":{\"blue4\":{}}}}}}"
Parse the string via JSON.parse().
Disclaimer: I've referenced Array.forEach() and JSON.parse() which are built-in to modern browsers but are not supported by older browsers. To enable these functions in older browsers, see this documentation on Array.forEach() and this shim for JSON.parse().

Here's about how I would do it, using an array of "unplaced" elements and looping through it until they're all placed:
var str = "red1/(none)-red2/red1-blue1/red2-blue2/red2-blue3/red2-red3/red1-red4/red3-red5/red4-red6/red5-blue4/red6";
var unplaced = [];
var tree = null;
var elements = str.split(/[\/\-]/);
function findNodeByName(nodeName, context) {
if(context.name === nodeName) return context;
for(var i = 0; i < context.children.length; i++) {
var subSearch = findNodeByName(nodeName, context.children[i]);
if(subSearch) return subSearch;
}
return null;
}
var element, node, parent, thisElement, i;
for(i = 0; node = elements[i]; i += 2) {
node = elements[i];
parent = elements[i + 1];
thisElement = {name: node, children: []};
if(!tree && parent === '(none)') {
tree = thisElement;
} else if(tree) {
var parentNode = findNodeByName(parent, tree);
if(parentNode) {
parentNode.children.push(thisElement);
} else {
unplaced.push(thisElement);
}
}
}
var oldLength;
while(unplaced.length) {
oldLength = unplaced.length;
for(i = 0; element = unplaced[i]; i++) {
var parentNode = findNodeByName(parent, tree);
if(parentNode) {
parentNode.children.push(element);
unplaced.splice(i, 1);
i--;
}
}
if(oldLength === unplaced.length) {
throw new SyntaxError("The string is not a valid tree.");
}
}
// The result is contained in "tree".
You can see the result at: http://jsfiddle.net/minitech/tJSpN/
One with a function: http://jsfiddle.net/minitech/tJSpN/1/
And one with more error-checking: http://jsfiddle.net/minitech/tJSpN/2/

Actually, I found a simpler/shorter/neater way using the JQuery function AppendTo()
We just need to:
Split the parameters...
Create one div for each (parameter1)
Use a loop to move every (parameter1) inside (parameter2) using the
AWESOME AppendTo() function that JQuery offers
The best thing is that they are actually inside them, so you can easily put a Hide/Show effect to make a cool effect

You may try to create tree nodes of the form :
node = {
str:"red1",
subBranches : new Array()
}
Once you have that, you may add the sub-branches iterating through the array, adding such nodes for each found correct couple, and removing the couples already placed in rootNode.subBranches. Then you recursively do the same for every sub-branche.

Access grandchild of a variable (parent.child.grandchild) without dots and one pair of brackets

I'm building a canvas-related class with a kind of conversion table. The conversion table can be edited by the user. (Isn't really relevant, but maybe you want to know why):
cLayout = function(option) {
//obtaining the canvas (el) here
this.setup = function(option) {
t=this.table;
for (var p in t)
{
el[t[p][0]] = option[p]||t[p][1]
}
}
this.setup(option)
}
cLayout.prototype.table = {
width:[['style']['width'],"100%"],
height:['style'['height'],"100%"],
bg:[['style']['backgroundColor'],""],
position:[['style']['position'],"absolute"],
left:['style'['left'],"0px"],
top:['style'['left'],"0px"]
}
Example:
var b = new cLayout({left:'10%',width:'90%'})
Real question:
Normally, I'd use el['style']['width'] to set el.style.width.
But I want to use el[something] without the second pair of brackets: I want the property name to be completely variable (I also want to be able to set el['innerHTML']). So, is there a way to get a grandchild by using a[b], without using a[b][c]?
P.S. Of course, I don't want to use eval.

No it is not possible. If you have nested objects, you cannot just skip a level.
You could write a helper function though, which takes a string like "child.grandchild" and sets the corresponding property:
function setProp(obj, prop, val) {
var parts = prop.split('.');
while(parts.length > 1) {
obj = obj[parts.shift()];
}
obj[parts.shift()] = val;
}
(You should also test whether a certain property is available.)
Then your code could look like:
var cLayout = function(option) {
//obtaining the canvas (el) here
this.setup = function(option) {
for(var p in this.table) {
setProp(el, this.table[p][0], option[p]||t[p][1]);
}
}
this.setup(option)
}
cLayout.prototype.table = {
width:['style.width',"100%"],
height:['style.height',"100%"],
//...
}

Javascript: Getting the newest array

I've been thinking about how to display the newest array (because the array list would update from time to time.). I think there's a default function to it but I can't find it. Anyone knows it?
var bgImg = new Array();
bgImg[0] = "background.jpg";
bgImg[1] = "background2.jpg";
bgImg[2] = "background3.jpg";
bgImg[3] = "background4.jpg";

If you want the last element of the array,
>>> a = ['background1','background2'];
["background1", "background2"]
>>> b = a[a.length-1]
"background2"
You shouldn't need to manually assign indexes. Just do bgImg.push('background2.jpg'), and it will mutate the array for you. In your case the syntax would be...
var last = bgImg[bgImg.length-1]
If you want the newest then you need to make a variable and set it with whatever you update when you push the newest one, if it doesn't become the last one.

You could create a little object to handle this for you.
function creatImageState() {
var images = [];
return {
get latest() {
return images[images.length - 1];
},
set latest (value) {
images.push(value);
}
};
}
var s = creatImageState();
s.latest = "a.png";
s.latest = "b.png";
alert(s.latest);
IE doesn't support getters and setters so you probably need to use this.
function creatImageState() {
var images = [];
return {
getLatest : function() {
return images[images.length - 1]
},
setLatest : function(value) {
images.push(value);
}
};
}
var s = creatImageState();
s.setLatest("a.png");
s.setLatest("b.png");
alert(s.getLatest());