Develop Reference

Browserify bundles

Every time we release a new version of our software which is bundled using Browserify, we are finding that we need to ask our users to clear their cache using the regular methods of CTRL+F5 or diving into the browser settings. It is not ideal when there are a thousand or so users. We are trying to work out a way that we can perhaps get around this. I am open to all sorts of options.
Our project is ReactJS based, so runs in the browser and connects to back end services via a RESTful API. We do track which version is loaded and this is visible from within the console. Using the version number we can compare on two different machines that one user is running the latest version whereas someone else may not be.
The code is bundled into two separate files and I feel that this is where we should be looking.

You need to change the file name on each new release.
A hash of the file is an appropriate thing you could add.
Check out md5ify to add this to your project build.
If you implement this yourself, make sure to also load the correct filename in your index.html file.
Edit:
To automatically load the correct file you need to have a placeholder in your main html.
Then you need a manifest.json file that looks like following:
{
"main.js": "main.[HASH].js"
}
This has to be created automatically after the bundling.
Now you can replace the placeholder with correct asset by doing a lookup in the manifest file.
You either have to write your own scripts for this or use something like gulp together with browserify.
Another solution would be webpack

config.codekit reverts JS files with output/compilation unchecked

Codekit only allows you to disable compilation of JS files on a per-file basis, but what's worse is it consistently reverts JS files I've already marked as no "compilation/output".
It happens when you open a JS file to edit it, or when you switch Git branches. You don't notice the change, Codekit does a background "refresh", and automatically updates your config.codekit. Next thing you know, you're saving the file, and Codekit is compiling a JS file you don't want.
I can work around by reverting changes to config.codekit, but in a large JS app, this is at best a poor workaround, and sitewide disabling of JS compilation should be an option.

If anyone passes by this question and still needs help, I will give some answers I found which solved the problem for me.
First, you can edit file-processing settings project-wide. In the project settings, it is possible to apply an output parameter to all existing files with the "Apply" button:
Then, you have an option to pause file-watching with a simple shortcut that works across the whole system. It is useful to avoid unwanted changed made to CodeKit's config file when switching branch in Git.
You can find more details about it in the CodeKit online documentation:
Using CodeKit With Git or Subversion
Before you perform any action that will change large numbers of files at once (switching branches, rebasing, pull requests, etc.) you MUST tell CodeKit to ignore file changes.

Github Windows: Working with 'master' and 'gh-pages' branches

I've got a painfully simple jQuery plugin that I've written and placed on github. I am using Github for Windows and the website itself to manage the project.
Unfortunately, if I try to include any of the .js or .css files that I've uploaded there, through the Raw links, it fails in my browser due to the MIME-type being plain/text.
So, for the last couple of hours I've been researching how to get a copy of the files, through github, that people (including myself) can link to. The first step seems to be creating a project page (gh-pages branch)... that much I have grasped.
However, all of the material I've found so far either expects you to have a UNIX-based system, or do some console-based trickery:
Examples: GitHub, SO, SO
Now, there must be a straightforward way to simply make these source files available for inclusion. I went through the automated steps of creating a 'project page' and now I'm presented with another branch that is claiming to be behind the 'master' branch, but I can't see what I'm supposed to do next. It's not even clear to me why on earth I'm required to make another branch. This whole thing seems far more complicated than it needs to be.
So, to recap:
I've created a branch in Github (using Windows app and website)
I can manage that, and update my files, without incident
I am unable to include the .js and .css files using a 'raw' links
I want to be able to include those files in a page
I'd like to do this through Github for Windows, or on the site itself
If anyone could help walk me through this, I'd appreciate it. Also, I'd expect that A LOT of others would as well.
EDIT: Here is an example of a well-known Github project that has its files available through Github:
Select2:
http://ivaynberg.github.io/select2/select2-3.4.2/select2.js
EDIT2: Okay, conceptually, I now understand why I have to create a separate branch, in order to share the files - as the source control aspects of Github aren't meant to act as a CDN, the project page simply provides a public website where you can place your files. So the question now becomes: How do I put my files from the master branch into the gh-pages branch? I'm not worried about automating it or anything right now, all I want is access to the directory structure so I can place files in there. I've tried syncing and re-syncing my branch with Github Windows, but it tells me that there's nothing to get from the gh-pages branch, even though it's "10 commits behind". What is going on?
EDIT3: Added my own answer, for what I've come up with (so far).

As mentioned, there's lots of information out there for people who are using console-based Git software. However, I could not find a single piece of info on how to do this solely through Github Windows. Well, here is the solution:
Process:
Create a project page, as described here: https://help.github.com/articles/creating-pages-with-the-automatic-generator
Unfortunately, they only have console-based solution for getting a local copy. So here's how the rest of this works in Github Windows... (assumption: project name is myproject, consisting of myproject.js and myproject.css)
After the page has been created (takes a few minutes), open up Github Windows.
In Github Windows, open the repository for the project. On the top menubar it has "in sync", "master", "tools". Click on "master" and switch to "gh-pages" branch - SO example.
When you do this, the folder C:\Users\YourName\Documents\GitHub\myproject will now display the files for the "gh-pages" branch. If you click "master", in Github Windows, it will change the folder structure to once again represent the "master" branch. This is what confused me earlier, you can't see the directory structure for both branches at the same time.
Select the "master" branch in Github Windows.
In Windows Explorer, copy myproject.js and myproject.css into a separate directory (e.g., c:\temp).
Go back to Github Windows and select the "gh-pages" branch.
Go back to Windows Explorer and cut the files you put into c:\temp and paste them into a directory like C:\Users\YourName\Documents\GitHub\myproject\myproject-1.0\
Go back to Github Windows, and you'll see "2 files to be commited". Type in your commit message and click 'Commit'.
Then click 'Sync'.
You can now include these files in your webpages, using a URL like: http://yourname.github.io/myproject/myproject-1.0/myproject.js
Obviously this is a huge pain in the ass to do it this way, if you expect to be updating the source file(s) regularly. So obviously an automated approach would be most ideal. There is an answer for this on SO here, unfortunately it involves UNIX-based scripting which I have zero knowledge of (and, truthfully, no interest in learning just for this). If anyone comes up with a more efficient way of doing this, using only the GUI-based tools, I'm sure myself and many others would be interested in hearing about it.
EDIT: This solution is obviously usurping Github's intended way of doing things, as when I click on the "gh-pages" branch on the github website it tells me that it's "5 commits ahead and 11 commits behind" the master branch, even though they have the same files. So, again, if anyone else has a better GUI-based solution to this problem, I'm all ears.

Git(hub) software for Windows is the buggiest thing I've ever used (well, besides Windows itself). Back when I used Windows, I could hardly get anything to work with Git at all.
But, anyways, to answer your question, if you open a command prompt and type in
git checkout -b gh-pages
(if it complains about branch gh-pages already existing, remove the -b.)
it should switch the branch. Then, you can launch notepad++ or whatever text editor you use (you might have to do it from the terminal, I can't remember), add the file you want, and then type in (in cmd):
git add .
This recursively adds all files in the folder to Git.
git commit -m "Add file for easy user download"
This adds the commit message.
git remote add origin git#github.com:yourusername/yourrepository.git
This adds the Github repo so you can push to it
git push origin gh-pages
This pushes your changes to Github.
And, you're all set!
You might want to read this on Git branching.

Handling common JavaScript files in Visual Studio 2010

We're beginning work on a couple of fully JavaScript-dependent web apps (our previous apps have been ASP.NET MVC, with JavaScript 'goodness' sprinkled over-the-top).
We have a few files that will be shared across the board, and it would be nice to store these files in a Common project, and 'Add As Link' them into individual projects (as would be possible with compiled code).
Obviously this doesn't work with something like JavaScript as the file isn't actually 'there' in the correct location.
Does anyone have any suggestions on keeping a single version of a shared JavaScript file, for use across multiple projects?

I know this issue is ancient, but still wanted to put forward my solution because it is a bit simpler than beardtwizzle's.
You can ensure that Visual Studio copies all linked files to where you placed the link in Visual Studio's Solution Explorer by adding this at the end of your .csproj file:
<Target Name="CopyLinkedContentFiles" BeforeTargets="Build">
<Copy SourceFiles="%(Content.Identity)"
DestinationFiles="%(Content.Link)"
SkipUnchangedFiles='true'
OverwriteReadOnlyFiles='true'
Condition="'%(Content.Link)' != ''" />
</Target>
I've described how this works in my blog post at
http://mattperdeck.com/post/Copying-linked-content-files-at-each-build-using-MSBuild.aspx

In the end, this is how I've achieved it. It may not be to everyone's taste - but worked a treat for me.
Note: In all of our projects, static resources are in a root directory called 'Assets', so for example JavaScript is always in /Assets/js/ and CSS /Assets/css/.
Solution
In the project that is going to 'import' the common code, I simply add the common .js file 'As Link' within /Assets/js/.
Go to that new addition's Properties and set 'Copy to Output Directory' to 'Copy if newer'.
Now I simply edit the project's post-build event command line to the following:
xcopy /Y /E "$(TargetDir)\Assets" "$(ProjectDir)\Assets"
When the project builds, it copies the imported files to \bin\Assets\js - the post-build event then takes a copy of those over to the project directory - in time for the site to use them.

The correct solution is embedding javascript/css files in your project. You can do this by using WebResources.axd. This is the official way microsoft embeds js in its controls. (Like validation controls)
You can find a good tutorial on: https://web.archive.org/web/20211020131200/https://www.4guysfromrolla.com/articles/080906-1.aspx

I can also see this question is ancient, but thought I would add my two cents...
I have a javascript file in a separate project. I added a linked reference and this works well for publishing, but doesn't work in IIS Express or Casinni. I tried adding custom routing to catch the missing file and manually remap it, but it is bit of a hack and for some reason stopped working when I upgraded to MVC 5.1, so rather than fix the hack, I found a better way:
System.Web.Optimization has javascript bundles.
In your shared project, set the Copy To Output Directory to 'Copy Always' and Build Action to 'Content' on your js file. This means your js files end up in the bin folder of your website project. They cannot be served from there (IIS wont serve anything in the bin folder for obvious security reasons), but they can be included in bundles
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Optimization;
public class BundleConfig
{
public static void RegisterBundles(BundleCollection bundles)
{
bundles.Add(new ScriptBundle("~/bundles/externalLibrary").Include(
"~/bin/scripts/externalLibrary.js"
));
}
}
You then need to add this to Application_Start in your global.asax file (right next to register routes)
BundleConfig.RegisterBundles(System.Web.Optimization.BundleTable.Bundles);
then use your bundle link this in your razor cshtml:
<script type='text/javascript' src='#System.Web.Optimization.BundleTable.Bundles.ResolveBundleUrl("~/bundles/externalLibrary")'></script>
you will need the nuget package for microsoft.aspnet.web.optimization

Anyone that stumbles across this question here in the future should know that there are now Shared Projects in Visual Studio to solve this problem. Universal Windows projects use them by default and you can create your own by downloading and installing the VS extension here: https://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/315c13a7-2787-4f57-bdf7-adae6ed54450
Once you download the extension you can add a Shared Project (Empty) to your solution. The project can be found in the project templates for Visual C#, Visual C++, and JavaScript.
Then include the files you want to share to the shared project in any folder structure that makes sense for you.
Next you will include the shared project as a shared reference in the other projects in that solution that need access to the shared files. Right-click the other project and choose "Add Shared Project Reference".
Now you can reference the shared files in your main project as if the files in the shared project existed there. They are compiled as part of that project.
The technology was intended for Universal apps to share code between Windows Phone and Windows Store apps so be warned that you may have trouble sharing in different scenarios but it is worth a try to see if it will fill your need.

You could perhaps use visual studio templates

great question, I've been thinking about this for quite some time. The only solutions that have popped up in my mind are hosting the files on the web and using them like a cdn or using symlinks. You could add a code snippet into your visual studio to reference them.

This blog post describes an alternative solution to the answer by #beardtwizzle:
http://consultingblogs.emc.com/jamesdawson/archive/2008/06/03/using-linked-files-with-web-application-projects.aspx
The idea is similar:
Add the shared file to to web project as a link
Modify the _CopyWebApplication build step in the project, so that the linked files are copied correct destination path.
So instead of a post build event the files are copied by a modified build step. For me this solution feels a little bit cleaner (but this may well be a matter of taste). Anyway I just added this to our solution and it works great so far!

Use proper version control.
Keep the js in one location and then just git pull (or the equivelant Mercurial / Bazaar) them back into your code whenever you've updated your javascript.

How do I configure paths to my javascript files in the Jasmine / Maven autogenerated ManualSpecRunner.html?

I think the question says most of it. I have an autogenerated ManualSpecRunner.html file as created by maven / jasmine plug-in and I've got it to put itself into the deployable .war by using:
<jasmineTargetDir>${basedir}/pathForMyWebapp</jasmineTargetDir>
However, all the links to js files within the ManualSpecRunner.html are hard coded file:/// references - this is a bit mental, I want them to just be the relative paths to the files that are also in the webapp i.e.
Currently it gives me this path:
file:///home/username/code/HEAD/pathForMyWebapp/js/yui.js
whereas I need it to have the far more simple
/pathForMyWebapp/js/yui.js
I have tried changing two other variables in the maven script, but neither seems to have the desired effect, neither of these configuration options do what I need, the second having seemingly no effect:
<jsSrcDir>/pathForMyWebapp</jsSrcDir>
nor
<jsTestSrcDir>/pathForMyWebapp</jsTestSrcDir>
I've looked through the documentation but think I must be missing something (also, more notes on various config params listed in https://github.com/searls/jasmine-maven-plugin/blob/master/src/main/java/com/github/searls/jasmine/AbstractJasmineMojo.java are meant to do would be helpful so I can work out if I'm doing it wrong or if it's not possible!)
Any suggestions?
[p.s. I've changed some of the path names as they've got sensitive info in them, so please ignore their oddness!]

I think I understand the source of your confusion. It looks like you're trying to direct the target of the jasmine-maven-plugin to a directory inside your project's packaged *.war file so that you can run your specs against the code after it's deployed to a server, is that correct?
Unfortunately, the plugin wasn't designed with that use in mind. The jasmineTargetDir directory is usually left at its default value of target/jasmine and wasn't intended to be bundled with your application (it's analogous to the target/surefire-reports generated by maven-surefire-plugin for Java unit tests). So the reason that the script tags in ManualSpecRunner.html point to invalid locations is because that file is generated in order to be run from the local filesystem in a browser from the workstation that's building the project (to facilitate TDD).
All of that to say, if I'm reading your intention right, I think it'd be a cool feature to build a third spec runner that could be deployed with the app and executed remotely. (Especially if the project's Jasmine specs are functional/integration as opposed to isolated unit tests.) Unfortunately that's not something the project does yet.
I'm afraid that for now, if you needed to bundle the jasmine tests and execute them on the deployed server, you would need to copy ManualSpecRunner.html and jasmine into your src/main/webapp, fix the script tag references, and then manually maintain it as files are added and removed.
Make sense?