In my app, I have a global player. In the shell module, I require the viewmodel of the player because I want to know if the player is playing, and if so, I add a class to container of the app (which is in the shell).
The problem is that I also need to require the shell from the player VM, because there are some functions that I use across the app that are in the shell.
But when requiring the player module from the shell, requiring the shell from the player returns undefined. If I don't require the player, the shell is passed normally.
shell.js
define(['viewmodels/player'], function(player) {
return {
player: player
}
})
player.js
define(['viewmodels/shell'], function(shell) {
console.log('shell:', shell) // undefined
})
I don't have any ideia of what's going on.
Hm!
I think I we had this problem once. They way it happens is require checks what's need by shell. Then it sees player module and goes to fix that, and inside that you requuire shell. Circular reference. We did solve it though.
We did like this, I'm writing psuedo code but you should be able to try this.
There are lots of ways, this is one easy way to do it. Open your player and do like this.
var shell = require('shell'); //using this style to work around circular reference
I will try to help with some implementation alternatives!
1º! player could be a service (singleton), and be required in bouth viewmodes,
// app/services/player.js
require([], function(){/*Player*/});
// shell
require(['services/player'], function(player){/* SHEll */});
// ohter view
require(['services/player'], function(player){/* other view*/});
2º You can use pub/sub pattern! Durandal has a support for that!
// Alert that play has been clicked
app.trigger('player:play');
// subscribe play
app.on('player:play', doSomething);
// deactivate subscription
app.off('player:play', doSomething);
Check documentation!
Booth work just fine and with low coupling...
Related
Very new to using html, I was wondering if it is possible to link a node file to HTML. I want to have a button which when clicked will run a function defined in the node file. I'm wondering if my node file has node packages if anything will go wrong. Anything helps!
I think you are trying to do something like the following: You have some code that is written to run in Node. Let's assume the code is contained in a file aModule.js. The question is, how do you invoke functions defined in that file from within the browser. And the second question is, will they run?
First, you can certainly import aModule.js into your browser just like any other javascript, using a script tag. Then you might be able to access the functions within the module, and they might run correctly in the browser. It all depends whether they were written with browser support in mind. I give an example below of one way (not the only way) that this can be done.
You will have to look at the particular code you are working with to see how you might be able to access it within the browser. Also, if the code is written to rely on features that are only available within node, you will have to do more work, probably modify the code, to get it to run.
At some point the "import" mechanism will be standardized so this will all get easier, but as of right now its a bit of a mess.
Here is an example of a module that will work in either node or in the browser.
// aModule.js - illustrates modularity that will work in browser or node
"use strict";
var aModule = {}; // In browser, this will put aModule into global context
// "Closure" stops other stuff from being put into global context in browser
(function () {
function getMessage() {
return "Hello";
}
// other internal code not intended to be exposed can go here...
// ...
// and here is how we expose our getMessage function
aModule.getMessage = getMessage;
})();
// If we are in node...
if (typeof module !== 'undefined' && module.exports) {
// Export our module for use in node
module.exports = aModule;
}
Here is how you access the functionality in node.js:
var aModule = require("./aModule.js");
console.log (aModule.getMessage());
And here is how you access it within the browser:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Try out modularizing javascript in browser</title>
</head>
<body>
<h2>Try modularization...</h2>
<script src="aModule.js"></script>
<script>
alert(aModule.getMessage());
</script>
</body>
</html>
One more tip - take a look at tools like Browserify. These are designed to convert node code into a form that can run in browser. Your mileage may vary.
Context
I'm building a general purpose game playing A.I. framework/library that uses the Monte Carlo Tree Search algorithm. The idea is quite simple, the framework provides the skeleton of the algorithm, the four main steps: Selection, Expansion, Simulation and Backpropagation. All the user needs to do is plug in four simple(ish) game related functions of his making:
a function that takes in a game state and returns all possible legal moves to be played
a function that takes in a game state and an action and returns a new game state after applying the action
a function that takes in a game state and determines if the game is over and returns a boolean and
a function that takes in a state and a player ID and returns a value based on wether the player has won, lost or the game is a draw. With that, the algorithm has all it needs to run and select a move to make.
What I'd like to do
I would love to make use of parallel programming to increase the strength of the algorithm and reduce the time it needs to run each game turn. The problem I'm running into is that, when using Child Processes in NodeJS, you can't pass functions to the child process and my framework is entirely built on using functions passed by the user.
Possible solution
I have looked at this answer but I am not sure this would be the correct implementation for my needs. I don't need to be continually passing functions through messages to the child process, I just need to initialize it with functions that are passed in by my framework's user, when it initializes the framework.
I thought about one way to do it, but it seems so inelegant, on top of probably not being the most secure, that I find myself searching for other solutions. I could, when the user initializes the framework and passes his four functions to it, get a script to write those functions to a new js file (let's call it my-funcs.js) that would look something like:
const func1 = {... function implementation...}
const func2 = {... function implementation...}
const func3 = {... function implementation...}
const func4 = {... function implementation...}
module.exports = {func1, func2, func3, func4}
Then, in the child process worker file, I guess I would have to find a way to lazy load require my-funcs.js. Or maybe I wouldn't, I guess it depends how and when Node.js loads the worker file into memory. This all seems very convoluted.
Can you describe other ways to get the result I want?
child_process is less about running a user's function and more about starting a new thread to exec a file or process.
Node is inherently a single-threaded system, so for I/O-bound things, the Node Event Loop is really good at switching between requests, getting each one a little farther. See https://nodejs.org/en/docs/guides/event-loop-timers-and-nexttick/
What it looks like you're doing is trying to get JavaScript to run multiple threads simultaniously. Short answer: can't ... or rather it's really hard. See is it possible to achieve multithreading in nodejs?
So how would we do it anyway? You're on the right track: child_process.fork(). But it needs a hard-coded function to run. So how do we get user-generated code into place?
I envision a datastore where you can take userFn.ToString() and save it to a queue. Then fork the process, and let it pick up the next unhandled thing in the queue, marking that it did so. Then write to another queue the results, and this "GUI" thread then polls against that queue, returning the calculated results back to the user. At this point, you've got multi-threading ... and race conditions.
Another idea: create a REST service that accepts the userFn.ToString() content and execs it. Then in this module, you call out to the other "thread" (service), await the results, and return them.
Security: Yeah, we just flung this out the window. Whether you're executing the user's function directly, calling child_process#fork to do it, or shimming it through a service, you're trusting untrusted code. Sadly, there's really no way around this.
Assuming that security isn't an issue you could do something like this.
// Client side
<input class="func1"> // For example user inputs '(gamestate)=>{return 1}'
<input class="func2">
<input class="func3">
<input class="func4">
<script>
socket.on('syntax_error',function(err){alert(err)});
submit_funcs_strs(){
// Get function strings from user input and then put into array
socket.emit('functions',[document.getElementById('func1').value,document.getElementById('func2').value,...
}
</script>
// Server side
// Socket listener is async
socket.on('functions',(funcs_strs)=>{
let funcs = []
for (let i = 0; i < funcs_str.length;i++){
try {
funcs.push(eval(funcs_strs));
} catch (e) {
if (e instanceof SyntaxError) {
socket.emit('syntax_error',e.message);
return;
}
}
}
// Run algorithm here
}
I'm currently working on the front-end of a medium/large-scale data-driven Asp.net MVC application and I have some doubts about the right code-organization/design pattern to follow.
The web application is made by multiple pages containing many Kendo UI MVC widgets defined with Razor template.
For those who are unfamiliar with Kendo, the razor syntax is translated to Javascript as the following snippet:
I defined inside my Script folder two main folders, and I structured my js files as follow:
shared //Contains the shared js files
-file1.js
-file2.js
pages //One file per page
page1.js
page2.js
...
Ticket.js // page 4 :)
Each js file is a separate module defined with the following pattern:
Note: Inside init function is registered every callback function to the window events and occasionally a $(document).ready(function(){}) block.
;(function () {
"use strict";
function Ticket(settings) {
this.currentPageUrls = settings.currentPageUrls;
this.currentPageMessages = settings.currentPageMessages;
this.currentPageEnums = settings.currentPageEnums;
this.currentPageParameters = settings.currentPageParameters;
this.gridManager = new window.gridManager(); //usage of shared modules
this.init();
}
Ticket.prototype.init = function () {
$("form").on("submit", function () {
$(".window-content-sandbox").addClass("k-loading");
});
...
}
Ticket.prototype.onRequestStart = function (e) {
...
}
//private functions definition
function private(a, b, c){
}
window.Ticket = Ticket;
}());
Once I need my Javascript functions defined in a module I include the associated Javascript file in the page.
An istance of my object is stored inside a variable and, on top of that, a function is bound to the widget event (see: onRequestStart).
HTML/JAVASCRIPT
#(Html.Kendo().DropDownList()
.Name("Users")
.DataValueField("Id")
.DataTextField("Username")
.DataSource(d => d.Read(r => r.Action("UsersAsJson", "User"))
.Events(e => e.RequestStart("onRequestStart"))))
var settings = {};
var ticket = new window.Ticket(settings);
function onRequestStart(e){
ticket.onRequestStart(e);
}
I feel like my design pattern might be unfriendly to other front-end delevoper as I am, mostly because I choose not to implement the Javascript modules within Jquery plugin.
First, Am I doing everything the wrong way?
Second, is my design pattern suitable for a Javascript test-framework?
Third, which are the must-have scenarios for Jquery plugins?
Update
Added the Javascript output by the above Razor syntax.
Folder structure
In terms of functionality (shared) and modules (modular approach), the development or application code should represent what you can encounter in HTML. A simple ctrl+f over your solution should yield all possible changes. From that experience over the years I personally prefer dividing it in:
app (application code)
classes (reusable)
modules (singleton)
lib (package manager/grunt/gulp/...)
jquery (proper library names/unminified dist file or root file)
kendo
File names
Representing what something does and to be able to reuse it in a blink of an eye is what will cut your development time. Choosing proper names has value as I'm sure you are aware. My file names always starts with the namespace usually in short followed by a reusable "search" term:
app/prototypes
ns.calendar.js (multiple configs)
ns.maps.js (combinations or single uses)
ns.places.js (forms or map add-ons)
ns.validation.js (multiple forms and general handling)
app/singletons
ns.cookiebox.js (single config)
ns.socialmedia.js (single config)
ns.dom.js (provides a place for dom corrections, global resize events, small widgets, ...)
To add, what you called shared, is functionality that's meant to be global. A great example would be to use underscore library. Or create a collection of functions (device detection, throttle, helpers in general) on your own to reuse throughout projects => ns.fn.js
Since you add them only once throughout your namespace, it's also built as singleton and can be added to the modules folder or directly in the app root.
As last addition a loader file to kickstart your point of control => ns.load.js in the app root. This file holds the single DOM ready event to bind protoypes and modules.
So you might want to rethink your idea of dividing into pages. Trust me, I've been there. At some point you'll notice how functionality grows too large in order to configure all pages separately and therefor repeatedly.
File structure
To be honest I like Tip 1 of #TxRegex answer the most, with a small addition to bind the namespace and pass it from file to file as it get's loaded.
Core principle: IIFE bound to window object
window.NameSpace = (function($, ns){
'strict'
function private(){}
var x;
ns.SearchTerm = {};
return ns;
}(window.jQuery, window.NameSpace || {}));
For more example code I'd like to point out my github account.
Bundling
Try to achieve a single bundled and minified file from lib to app, loaded in the head on async for production releases. Use separated and unminified script files on defer for development and debug purposes. You must avoid inline script with global dependencies throughout the whole project if you do this.
path to js/lib/**/*.js (usually separated to keep sequential order)
path to js/app/ns.load.js
path to js/app/ns.fn.js
path to js/app/**/*.js (auto update the bundle)
Output => ns.bundle.js
=> ns.bundle.min.js
This way you'll avoid render blocking issues in JavaScript and speed up the loading process which in turn boosts SEO. Also enables you to combine functionality for mobile layouts and desktop layouts on the fly without memory issues or jerky behavior. Minifies really well and generates little overhead in calling instances from the loader file. As a single bundle will be cached throughout your pages it all depends on how many dependencies or libraries you can cut from the bundle. Ideally for medium and large projects where code can be shared and plugged in to different projects.
More info on this in another post.
Conclusion
First, Am I doing everything the wrong way?
Not at all, your modular approach seems ok...
It's missing a global namespace, which is hard to avoid without at least one. You create one for each module but it seems better to group them all under one namespace so you can differentiate library code from application code in the window object.
Kendo seems to create inline scripts? Can't you counter the placement server side?
Second, is my design pattern suitable for a Javascript test-framework?
Except for the Kendo instances, you can add a layer for testing purposes. Remember if jQuery is your dependency inline, you'll have to render block it's loading. Otherwise => jQuery is undefined
Exclude Kendo dependencies from the bundle if you can't control the inline script. Move to a </body> bundled solution.
Third, which are the must-have scenarios for Jquery plugins?
modular approach
configurable approach for multiple instances (tip: moving all strings from your logic, see how Kendo uses object literals)
package manager to separate the "junk" from the "gold"
grunt/gulp/... setup to separate scss and css from js
try to achieve a data-attribute binding, so once all is written, you configure new instances through HTML.
Write once, adapt easily where necessary and configure plenty!
The organization and pattern seems fine, but I have some tips:
Tip 1:
Instead of setting specific global variables within your module, perhaps you could return the object instead. So instead of doing this:
;(function () {
"use strict";
function Ticket(settings) {
console.log("ticket created", settings);
}
...
window.Ticket = Ticket;
}());
You would do this:
;window.Ticket = (function () {
"use strict";
function Ticket(settings) {
console.log("ticket created", settings);
}
...
return Ticket;
}());
The reason for this is to be able to take your module code and give it a different global variable name if needed. If there is a name conflict, you can rename it to MyTicket or whatever without actually changing the module's internal code.
Tip 2:
Forget Tip 1, global variables stink. Instead of creating a seperate global variable for each object type, why not create an object manager and use a single global variable to manage all your objects:
window.myCompany = (function () {
function ObjectManager(modules) {
this.modules = modules || {};
}
ObjectManager.prototype.getInstance = function(type, settings) {
if (!type || !this.modules.hasOwnProperty(type)) {
throw "Unrecognized object type:";
}
return new this.modules[type](settings);
};
ObjectManager.prototype.addObjectType = function(type, object) {
if (!type) {
throw "Type is required";
}
if(!object) {
throw "Object is required";
}
this.modules[type] = object;
};
return new ObjectManager();
}());
Now each of your modules can be managed with this single global object that has your company name attached to it.
;(function () {
"use strict";
function Ticket(settings) {
console.log("ticket created", settings);
}
...
window.myCompany.addObjectType("Ticket", Ticket);
}());
Now you can easily get an instance for every single object type like this:
var settings = {test: true};
var ticket = window.myCompany.getInstance("Ticket", settings);
And you only have one global variable to worry about.
You can try separating your files in different components asuming each component has a folder.
for example: page 1 is about rectangles so you make a folder call rectangle inside that folder you create 3 files rectangle.component.html, rectangle.component.css, rectangle.component.js (optional rectangle.spec.js for testing).
app
└───rectangle
rectangle.component.css
rectangle.component.html
rectangle.component.js
so if anything bad happends to a rectangle you know where is the problem
a good way to isolate variables and execute in the right place is to use a router basically what this does it check at the url and executes the portion of code you asign to that page
hope it helps let me know if you need more help.
I'm just getting started with Electron, with prior experience with node-webkit (nw.js).
In nw.js, I was able to create iframes and then access the DOM of said iframe in order to grab things like the title, favicon, &c. When I picked up Electron a few days ago to port my nw.js app to it, I saw advice to use webviews instead of iframes, simply because they were better. Now, the functionality I mentioned above was relatively easy to do in nw.js, but I don't know how to do it in Electron (and examples are slim to none). Can anyone help?
Also, I have back/forward buttons for my webview (and I intend on having more than one). I saw in the documentation that I could call functions for doing so on a webview, but nothing I have tried worked either (and, I haven't found examples of them being used in the wild).
I dunno who voted to close my question, but I'm glad it didn't go through. Other people have this question elsewhere online too. I also explained what I wanted to achieve, but w/e.
I ended up using ipc-message. The documentation could use more examples/explanations for the layperson, but hey, I figured it out. My code is here and here, but I will also post examples below should my code disappear for whatever reason.
This code is in aries.js, and this file is included in the main renderer page, which is index.html.
var ipc = require("ipc");
var webview = document.getElementsByClassName("tabs-pane active")[0];
webview.addEventListener("ipc-message", function (e) {
if (e.channel === "window-data") {
// console.log(e.args[0]);
$(".tab.active .tab-favicon").attr("src", e.args[0].favicon);
$(".tab.active .tab-title").html(e.args[0].title);
$("#url-bar").val(e.args[0].url);
$("#aries-titlebar h1").html("Aries | " + e.args[0].title);
}
// TODO
// Make this better...cancel out setTimeout?
var timer;
if (e.channel === "mouseover-href") {
// console.log(e.args[0]);
$(".linker").html(e.args[0]).stop().addClass("active");
clearTimeout(timer);
timer = setTimeout(function () {
$(".linker").stop().removeClass("active");
}, 1500);
}
});
This next bit of code is in browser.js, and this file gets injected into my <webview>.
var ipc = require("ipc");
document.addEventListener("mouseover", function (e) {
var hoveredEl = e.target;
if (hoveredEl.tagName !== "A") {
return;
}
ipc.sendToHost("mouseover-href", hoveredEl.href);
});
document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function () {
var data = {
"title": document.title,
"url": window.location.href,
// need to make my own version, can't rely on Google forever
// maybe have this URL fetcher hosted on hikar.io?
"favicon": "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=" + window.location.href
};
ipc.sendToHost("window-data", data);
});
I haven't found a reliable way to inject jQuery into <webview>s, and I probably shouldn't because the page I would be injecting might already have it (in case you're wondering why my main code is jQuery, but there's also regular JavaScript).
Besides guest to host IPC calls as NetOperatorWibby, it is also very useful to go from host to guest. The only way to do this at present is to use the <webview>.executeJavaScript(code, userGesture). This api is a bit crude but it works.
If you are working with a remote guest, like "extending" a third party web page, you can also utilize webview preload attribute which executes your custom script before any other scripts are run on the page. Just note that the preload api, for security reasons, will nuke any functions that are created in the root namespace of your custom JS file when your custom script finishes, however this custodial process will not nuke any objects you declare in the root. So if you want your custom functions to persist, bundle them into a singleton object and your custom APIs will persist after the page fully loads.
[update] Here is a simple example that I just finished writing: Electron-Webview-Host-to-Guest-RPC-Sample
This relates to previous answer (I am not allowed to comment): Important info regarding ipc module for users of Electron 1.x:
The ipc module was split into two separate modules:
ipcMain for the main process
ipcRenderer for the renderer process
So, the above examples need to be corrected, instead of
// Outdated - doesn't work in 1.x
var ipc = require("ipc");
use:
// In main process.
var ipcMain = require('electron').ipcMain
And:
// In renderer process.
var ipcRenderer = require('electron').ipcRenderer
See: http://electron.atom.io/blog/2015/11/17/electron-api-changes section on 'Splitting the ipc module'
I need to know if this is correct. I'm just beginning in app development using WinJS. I've identified the source of the problem and got rid of it but I don't know if that's the correct method.Please help!
// Optimize the load of the application and while the splash screen is
// shown, execute high priority scheduled work.
ui.disableAnimations();
var p = ui.processAll().then(function () {
//return nav.navigate(nav.location || Application.navigator.home, nav.state);
return nav.navigate(nav.location || app.local, nav.state)
}).then(function () {
return sched.requestDrain(sched.Priority.aboveNormal + 1);
}).then(function () {
ui.enableAnimations();
});
The problem is in the first .then(). The commented line was the default line, I've changed it for the app to work.I've absolutely no idea what it is.Please tell me what it means and what is changed. By the way, 'app' is WinJS.Application and Application is a WinJS namespace in navigator.js where the home property is located.
This error would suggest that navigator.js isn't being loaded by the time this code is executed. The Application namespace, which is entirely arbitrary and unrelated to WinJS.Application, is defined only in navigator.js, so if that file isn't loaded that namespace won't exist.
A WinJS namespace, by the way, is just a formalization of a module pattern in JavaScript that helps you keep the global namespace from getting cluttered. Declaring a namespace like navigator.js does it:
WinJS.Namespace.define("Application", {
PageControlNavigator: WinJS.Class.define(
just creates a single object in the global namespace called "Application" and then defines members for it. (You can change "Application" to anything you want, by the way. Nothing else in navigator.js relies on it, and navigator.js is something that comes from the app templates in Visual Studio and isn't part of WinJS itself.)
So again, my suspicion is that you don't have (or whatever the proper path is) in your default.html, the path to it isn't correct, or that perhaps it's being loaded after the other code is trying to execute. Try setting breakpoints on WinJS.Namespace.define and see if that file is loaded and the breakpoint gets hit.