Develop Reference

Reliably clear intervals when switching page on a dynamic app

I load all content inside a div in the index. Some of these pages require starting intervals, and when switching page those intervals keep going, so I created a destroyjs() function which gets overridden by pages that need it, and is also called every time you switch pages.
The goServiceXXX functions are called onclick in the website's navbar.
var destroyjs = function(){};
function loading(elem)
{
if (typeof destroyjs == 'function')
destroyjs();
document.getElementById("mbody").innerHTML = '<div class="container4"><img src="dist/img/loading.gif" alt="Loading..."></div>';
}
function goServiceManager()
{
var element = "#mbody";
var link = "loadservicemanager.php";
loading(element);
$(element).load(link, function(){
reloadServerStatus();
statusInterval = setInterval(function()
{
reloadServerStatus();
}, 2000);
destroyjs = function(){
clearInterval(statusInterval);
clearInterval(modalInterval);
alert("destroyed manager, interval #"+statusInterval);
}
});
}
function goServiceMonitor()
{
var element = "#mbody";
var link = "loadservicemonitor.php";
loading(element);
$(element).load(link, function(){
reloadServerStatus();
statusInterval = setInterval(function()
{
reloadServerStatus();
}, 2000);
destroyjs = function(){
clearInterval(statusInterval);
alert("destroyed monitor, interval #"+statusInterval);
}
});
}
This works fine when used normally however if I spam click between the two pages, intervals start adding up and the 2 second query is now being called 10 times every two seconds. I added the alerts to debug but they slow the interface down enough for everything to work properly.
Is there a hole in my logic somewhere? I already thought of disabling all navbar buttons when one is clicked and enabling them at the end of .load; but I'd like to know why my current implementation is not working and if it can be fixed more easily.
Edit:: So I tried to make a fiddle with the problem and in the process realized that the problem happens when destroyjs() is called before .load() finishes. Moving the interval right before .load() fixes the problem but can create a scenario where if the content never loads (or doesn't load in two seconds) there are missing elements which the function inside the interval tries to fill. Disabling the navbar temporarily and wait for .load to finish is the easy way out after all but I'd still like more opinions on this or maybe ideas for a better implementation.

destroyjs isn't defined until the load() completes. If you switch tabs before the previous tab has loaded, you won't be able to call the correct destroyjs.
Therefore, you will want to cancel any outstanding load requests when switching tabs. To do this, you can use jQuery's ajax method. Just store a reference to the resulting XHR object and call abort() when loading a new tab. Aborting an outstanding ajax request will prevent it's success callback from firing.
Here's an example (DEMO FIDDLE). Notice that I've also changed the way that intervals are cleared:
//ajax request used when loading tabs
var tabRequest = null;
//Any intervals that will need to be cleared when switching tabs
var runningIntervals = [];
function loading(elem)
{
if (tabRequest) {
//Aborts the outstanding request so the success callback won't be fired.
tabRequest.abort();
}
runningIntervals.forEach(clearInterval);
document.getElementById("mbody").innerHTML = '<div>Loading...</div>';
}
function goServiceManager()
{
var element = "#mbody";
var link = "loadservicemanager.php";
loading(element);
tabRequest = $.ajax({
url: link,
success: function(data) {
$(element).html(data);
reloadServerStatus();
statusInterval = setInterval(reloadServerStatus, 2000);
modalInterval = setInterval(modalFunction, 2000);
runningIntervals = [statusInterval, modalInterval];
}
});
}
function goServiceMonitor()
{
var element = "#mbody";
var link = "loadservicemonitor.php";
loading(element);
tabRequest = $.ajax({
url: link,
success: function(data) {
$(element).html(data);
reloadServerStatus();
statusInterval = setInterval(reloadServerStatus, 2000);
runningIntervals = [statusInterval];
}
});
}

Redirect with inactivity

My objective is to keep a user in a view as long as he/she keeps clicking a button within a certain lapse.
I'm using Rails and was exploring a solution via an embedded JS in the pertinent view.
So far I'm able to set a time after which the user will be redirected to root path with the following script:
var delayedRedirect = function (){
window.location = "/";
}
var delay = 10000;
$(document).ready(function() {
setTimeout('delayedRedirect()', delay);
});
I've been trying to write a function that resets the value of 'delay'or that calls the setTimeoutFunction again.
$('#btn-persist').click(function() {
delay = 3000;
// or calling again setTimeout('delayedRedirect()', delay);
});
But I noticed that changing the variable won't affect the setTimeout function that has already been called.
I've also tried to use the clearTimeout function as below without success
var delayedRedirect = function (){
window.location = "/persists";
}
var delay = 3000;
var triggerRedirect = function() { setTimeout('delayedRedirect()', delay);
}
var stopRedirect = function (){
clearTimeout(triggerRedirect);
}
$(document).ready(function() {
triggerRedirect();
$('#btn-persist').click(function() {
stopRedirect();
});
});
I wonder why this may not be working and if there's any other way to stop the execution of the setTimeout function that has already been called so I can call it again to effectively reset the time to the original value of 'delay'.
At the same time, I don't want to stop any other JS functions that are running in parallel.
Do you see a better solution to achieve this?

The main problem why clearTimeout is not working. because you are clearing a anonymous function instead of a setTimeout variable
change this
var triggerRedirect = function() { setTimeout('delayedRedirect()', delay);
}
to this
var triggerRedirect = setTimeout('delayedRedirect()', delay);
Edit:
also change this (if you want to restart the inactive redirect trigger)
$('#btn-persist').click(function() {
stopRedirect();
});
to this
$('#btn-persist').click(function() {
stopRedirect();
triggerRedirect();
});

setInterval not allow simultaneous click event - javascript

I have polling question for you. I am polling information every 20 seconds using setInterval, and have click events that when fired, they pass objects to a method. The problem comes when I click on a button and the event fires at the same time the poll restarts. If that happens, the object that is passed is undefined, which makes sense because when we restart the poll, the information is refreshed. So the question is, how/can one "block" an event from firing when a setInterval is restarting?
Thanks

Going to show some dummy code to illustrate the idea of a queue while you refresh the data on the page:
$(function() {
var isRefreshing = true;
var queue = [];
setInterval(function() {
isRefreshing = true;
$.ajax({
/*
settings
*/
success: function() {
isRefreshing = false;
//process queue
var item;
while(item = queue.pop()) {//if order matters use shift
worker(item);
}
}
});
}, 20*1000);
var worker = function(/*params*/) {
//stuff
}
$("#my-element").click(function() {
var data = {};
if(isRefreshing) {
queue.push(data)
} else {
worker(data);
}
});
});

Post Message sending to the frame

I have a hidden frame that Accepted message, but I do not have to send by clicking. I'm calling the function that performs and actions, including sending a message. Function settimeout not satisfied by their speed.
this.request = function (requestData) {
$(function () {
dataOrign = requestData;
var iframe = $('iframe#postFrame');
setTimeout(function () {
var parseData = JSON.stringify(requestData);
iframe[0].contentWindow.postMessage({ request: parseData }, '*');
}, 1000);
});
};
How can i send postMessage with minimal time? In this situation?

For most browsers, you can listen for the load event (some example found here) for that iframe to do the postMessage.
E.g.
$('iframe#postFrame').on('load', function(e) {
// do postMessage here
});
However it appears that the setTimeout/setInterval method is unavoidable for older browsers (IE7/8).
UPDATE
If you would like to write it as a function, you could do this:
var request = function(requestData, $iframe) {
if ($iframe.length > 0 && $iframe.get(0).document.readyState === 'completed') {
// do postMessage
}
};
Then you can just use it this way:
request(data, $('iframe#postFrame'));

How to smooth a jQuery script that takes time to execute?

I have a jQuery script that searches in the DOM and shows the results in a list.
There is a simplified version of the script here: http://jsfiddle.net/FuJta/1/
There is usually a large number of results, so the script can take a while to execute. (In the example above, this is simulated with a function that delays the script). So if you type too fast in the searchbox, the script prevents you from typing, and it feels bad.
How could I change my script so that you can type freely, and the results show up when they are ready. I want something like the facebook search : if you type too fast, the results are just delayed, but you can still type.
Html
<p>Type in foo, bar or baz for searching. It works, but it is quite slow.</p><br/>
<input type="text" id="search"/>
<div id="container" style="display:none">
<div class="element">foo</div>
<div class="element">bar</div>
<div class="element">baz</div>
</div>
<div id="results">
</div>​
Javascript
$(function() {
function refreshResults() {
var search = $('#search').val();
var $filtered = $('#container .element').clone().filter(function() {
var info = $(this).text();
return info.toLowerCase().indexOf(search) >= 0;
});
$('#results').empty();
$filtered.each(function() {
$('#results').append($(this));
});
}
// simulating script delay
function pausecomp(millis) {
var date = new Date();
var curDate = null;
do {
curDate = new Date();
}
while (curDate - date < millis);
}
$('#search').keyup(function() {
pausecomp(700);
refreshResults();
});
});​
One solution could to refresh the results only when pressing enter. This way, the delay for searching the results feels ok. But I would prefer if I just delay the results and let the user freely type.

You should perform a search like this using asynchronous techniques. No doubt Facebook uses some sort of AJAX to request search results - which means getting the results from the server. This will help prevent the UI 'freeze' that you are currently experiencing.
Here is a very simple example of what you can try (it uses JQuery for the AJAX requests):
var searchInProgress = false;//used to work out if a search is in progress
var searchInQueue = false;//used to flag if the input data has changed
function getSearchResults(searchText){
if (searchInProgress ) {
searchInQueue = true;
return;
}
searchInProgress = true;
searchInQueue = false;
$.getJSON("URL",//URL to handle AJAX query
{ searchText: searchText},//URL parameters can go here
function (data) {
//handle your returned data here
searchInProgress = false;
if (searchInQueue){//text has changed, so search again
getSearchResults();
}
});
}
$('#search').keyup(function() {
getSearchResults($(this).val());
});
A few things to note: It is probably a good idea to handle failed AJAX requests to ensure you can reset the searchInProgress flag as needed. Also, you can add delays after the keyup as desired, but this all depends on how you want it too work.

From How to delay KeyPress function when user is typing, so it doesn't fire a request for each keystroke? :
var timeoutId = 0;
$('#search').keyup(function () {
clearTimeout(timeoutId); // doesn't matter if it's 0
timeoutId = setTimeout(refreshResults, 100);
});
It does what I want indeed.

Here's a solution that divides the search process into steps, returning flow to the browser during the process to allow the UI to respond.
$(function() {
function searchFunc($element,search) {
var info = $element.text();
return info.toLowerCase().indexOf(search) >= 0;
}
var searchProcessor = null;
function restartSearch() {
console.log('Restarting...');
// Clear previous
if (searchProcessor != null) {
clearInterval(searchProcessor);
}
$('#results').empty();
// Values for the processor
var search = $('#search').val();
var elements = $('#container .element').get();
console.log('l:',elements,elements.length);
// Start processing
searchProcessor = setInterval(function() {
if (elements.length == 0) {
// Finished searching all elements
clearInterval(searchProcessor);
searchProcessor = null;
console.log('Finished.');
} else {
console.log('Checking element...');
var $checkElement = $(elements.shift());
if (searchFunc($checkElement, search)) {
$('#results').append($checkElement.clone());
}
}
}, 10);
}
$('#search').keyup(function() {
restartSearch()
});
});
It only processes one element each time. That should probably be increased so it handles perhaps 10 or 100 each time around, but the important point is that the work is divided into chunks.
This solution should also be faster than the original because it doesn't clone() everything, only the elements that were matched.