Extending Native JavaScript Objects - javascript

I am using Salt.JS to create a micro-library (sort of like JQuery) for a project. The great thing about Salt.JS is that I can use JQuery like syntax e.g. $('#my_element_id').
I am having a bit of a challenge with making some native extensions. I have the following code:
window.Element.prototype.on = function(eventType, callback) {
//code here
};
window.NodeList.prototype.on = function(eventType, callback) {
//code here
};
window.HTMLCollection.prototype.on = function(eventType, callback) {
//code here
};
which allows me to attach events to Elements, NodeLists, and HTMLCollections like so:
$('#my-element-id').on('click', callback);
$('.all-my-divs').on('click', callback);
However, now I want to attach an on event to window e.g. to enable things like a resize callback. I want to able to do something like this:
var resized = function(){
console.log('ALWAYS BE RESIZING!');
};
var el_win = $('window'); //I've updated Salt.JS to return window object
el_win.on('resize', resized);
What native extension can I make to my existing code to enable this?

What native extension can I make to my existing code to enable this?
You could just alias addEventListener as on
if (!('on' in Window.prototype)) // don't shadow if it exists
Object.defineProperty(Window.prototype, 'on', {
value: Window.prototype.addEventListener,
configurable: true // let other things make changes to this too
});
// now, e.g.
window.on('click', console.dir.bind(console)); // works the same as addEventListener
Many people don't like extending the DOM though, so you may also want to consider writing a wrapper for DOM nodes that you can extend safely.
Here is an example of how you might achieve such a wrapper for a generic node
function wrap(node) {
var o = {node: node}, i,
map = [
{alias: 'on', native: 'addEventListener'},
{alias: 'off', native: 'removeEventListener'}
];
if (node && node.constructor && node.constructor.prototype)
for (i = 0; i < map.length; ++i)
if (map[i].native in node.constructor.prototype)
o[map[i].alias] = node.constructor.prototype[map[i].native].bind(node);
return o;
}
// now, e.g.
wrap(window).on('click', console.dir.bind(console));

Related

Javascript prototype function override when x

In my case, I'm using the Phaser framework.
So in this example I'm extending the Group class of phaser. Every 'actor' class (Sprite, Group, ...) calls upon the update() prototype every few miliseconds.
My idea was to extend this function only when the application runs on a desktop (so not on a phone).
for example:
var MousePointer = function (game, parent, name) {
Phaser.Group.call(this, game, parent, name);
this.init();
};
MousePointer.prototype = Object.create(Phaser.Group.prototype);
MousePointer.prototype.constructor = MousePointer;
MousePointer.prototype.init = function () {
// ... init
};
MousePointer.prototype.update = function () {
// Do something when on desktop
};
I can't possibly use an if clausule in the update() function to check whether the player is on dekstop/tablet/phone. So is there a way to actually override the prototype on initialisation?
for example (pseudocode):
if(onPhone)
MousePointer.prototype.update = parent.prototype.update;
else
MousePointer.prototype.update = this.update;
Well, you've kind of already written the answer for yourself, haven't you? This code (not inside the init method).
if(onPhone) {
MousePointer.prototype.update = function(){//Phone implementation};
} else {
MousePointer.prototype.update = function(){//Other implementation};
}
I advise against starting off with the "regular" function and then potentially overriding it, since you're just declaring it for nothing.
I think a better way to do this would be to write two different classes that shares the same parent, and then write different update() implementations for them. Then you can just do something like:
if(phone) {
var obj = new PhoneMousePointerObject();
} else {
var obj = new DesktopMousePointerObject();
}
// ... later
obj.update()

Referencing a parent object in callback functions with jQuery

I've a page that is generated dynamically, and that includes certain number (user-dynamically-defined) of advanced scatter plot charts. I intend to create a JavaScript object which defines the scatter plot itself, i.e. which takes some parameters, some data, and some container ID, and which will create the various elements needed to obtain the visualisation: canvas elements, toolbar, etc.. To do so, I started with the following (simplified) class:
(function () {
if (!this.namespace) { this.namespace = {};}
this._instances = { index: 0 };
this.namespace.ScatterPlot = function (containerId, file, options) {
_instances.index ++;
this.id = this.containerId+"-"+_instances.index ;
this.containerId = containerId ;
_instances [this.id] = this;
// ... Do stuffs with file and options ...
// Initialize elements once the DOM is ready
$(this.updateDOM);
}
namespace.ScatterPlot.prototype = {
updateDOM: function() {
$("<canvas>")
.click(clickCallback)
.appendTo("#"+this.containerId);
//(...)
},
clickCallback: function() {
alert("Some click: "+this.id);
}
}
})();
Each object can be created with:
var v1 = new namespace.ScatterPlot("container1", "foo", "foo");
var v2 = new namespace.ScatterPlot("container2", "foo", "foo");
There are two problems here: (1) in updateDOM, 'this' does not make reference to my initial ScatterPlot object, which means that this example will never work, and (2) similarly, the clickCallback will not be able reference the scatterplot with 'this' either.
I'm new to javascript, and I'm still struggeling to understand the logic of OO programming in javascript, so the question is: I'm I taking the wrong direction here ? After some digging, I could roughly achieve what I wanted by passing this to updateDOM:
$(this.updateDOM(this)); // This blows my eyes but does the trick, at least partially
updateDOM: function(that) {
$("<canvas>")
.click(that.clickCallback)
.appendTo("#"+that.containerId);
//(...)
},
clickCallback: function() {
// Not working either... Should pass 'that' to the function too
alert("Some click: "+this.id);
}
But I don't feel this patters to be very elegant... And the problem is not fixed either regarding the click callback.
Thoughts ?
Have a look at MDN's introduction to the this keyword.
The standard ways of dealing with that issue are using a that variable - not as an argument, but in a separate function:
var that = this;
$(function() {
that.updateDOM();
});
// or
$(this.getClickCallback());
...
namespace.ScatterPlot.prototype.getClickCallback = function() {
var that = this;
return function clickCallback(e) {
alert("Some click: "+that.id);
};
};
Alternatively, you can always use .bind() (or $.proxy for older browsers) which do quite what the second example does in a more generic way:
$(this.clickCallback.bind(this));

Clear javascript on dynamic load

I have a javascript plugin for a special image scroller. The scroller contains a bunch of timeout methods and a lot of variables with values set from those timeouts.
Everything works perfectly, but for the site I am working on it is required that the pages are loaded dynamically. The problem with this is when i for instance change the language on the site this is made by jquery load function meaning the content is dynamically loaded onto the site - AND the image slider aswell.
NOW here is the big problem! When I load the image slider for the second time dynamically all my previous values remains as well as the timers and everything else. Is there any way to clear everything in the javascript plugin as if it where like a page reload?
I have tried a lot of stuff so far so a little help would be much appreciated!
Thanks a lot!
You might want something like that to reload scripts:
<script class="persistent" type="text/javascript">
function reloadScripts()
{ [].forEach.call(document.querySelectorAll('script:not(.persistent)'), function(oldScript)
{
var newScript = document.createElement('script');
newScript.text = oldScript.text;
for(var i=0; i<oldScript.attributes.length; i++)
newScript.setAttribute(oldScript.attributes[i].name, oldScript.attributes[i].value);
oldScript.parentElement.replaceChild(newScript, oldScript);
});
}
// test
setInterval(reloadScripts, 5000);
</script>
As far as I know, there's no other way to reset a script than completely remove the old one and create another one with the same attributes and content. Not even clone the node would reset the script, at least in Firefox.
You said you want to reset timers. Do you mean clearTimeout() and clearInterval()? The methods Window.prototype.setTimeout() and Window.prototype.setInterval() both return an ID wich is to pass to a subsequent call of clearTimeout(). Unfortunately there is no builtin to clear any active timer.
I've wrote some code to register all timer IDs. The simple TODO-task to implement a wrapper callback for setTimeout is open yet. The functionality isn't faulty, but excessive calls to setTimeout could mess up the array.
Be aware that extending prototypes of host objects can cause undefined behavior since exposing host prototypes and internal behavior is not part of specification of W3C. Browsers could change this future. The alternative is to put the code directly into window object, however, then it's not absolutely sure that other scripts will call this modified methods. Both decisions are not an optimal choice.
(function()
{ // missing in older browsers, e.g. IE<9
if(!Array.prototype.indexOf)
Object.defineProperty(Array.prototype, 'indexOf', {value: function(needle, fromIndex)
{ // TODO: assert fromIndex undefined or integer >-1
for(var i=fromIndex || 0; i < this.length && id !== window.setTimeout.allIds[i];) i++;
return i < this.length ? i : -1;
}});
if(!Array.prototype.remove)
Object.defineProperty(Array.prototype, 'remove', { value: function(needle)
{ var i = this.indexOf(needle);
return -1 === i ? void(0) : this.splice(i, 1)[0];
}});
// Warning: Extensions to prototypes of host objects like Window can cause errors
// since the expose and behavior of host prototypes are not obligatory in
// W3C specs.
// You can extend a specific window/frame itself, however, other scripts
// could get around when they call window.prototype's methods directly.
try
{
var
oldST = setTimeout,
oldSI = setInterval,
oldCT = clearTimeout,
oldCI = clearInterval
;
Object.defineProperties(Window.prototype,
{
// TODO: write a wrapper that removes the ID from the list when callback is executed
'setTimeout':
{ value: function(callback, delay)
{
return window.setTimeout.allIds[window.setTimeout.allIds.length]
= window.setTimeout.oldFunction.call(this, callback, delay);
}
},
'setInterval':
{ value: function(callback, interval)
{
return window.setInterval.allIds[this.setInterval.allIds.length]
= window.setInterval.oldFunction.call(this, callback, interval);
}
},
'clearTimeout':
{ value: function(id)
{ debugger;
window.clearTimeout.oldFunction.call(this, id);
window.setTimeout.allIds.remove(id);
}
},
'clearInterval':
{ value: function(id)
{
window.clearInterval.oldFunction.call(this, id);
window.setInterval.allIds.remove(id);
}
},
'clearTimeoutAll' : { value: function() { while(this.setTimeout .allIds.length) this.clearTimeout (this.setTimeout .allIds[0]); } },
'clearIntervalAll': { value: function() { while(this.setInterval.allIds.length) this.clearInterval(this.setInterval.allIds[0]); } },
'clearAllTimers' : { value: function() { this.clearIntervalAll(); this.clearTimeoutAll(); } }
});
window.setTimeout .allIds = [];
window.setInterval .allIds = [];
window.setTimeout .oldFunction = oldST;
window.setInterval .oldFunction = oldSI;
window.clearTimeout .oldFunction = oldCT;
window.clearInterval.oldFunction = oldCI;
}
catch(e){ console.log('Something went wrong while extending host object Window.prototype.\n', e); }
})();
This puts a wrapper method around each of the native methods. It will call the native functions and track the returned IDs in an array in the Function objects of the methods. Remember to implement the TODOs.

How to observe value changes in JS variables

Im wondering if someone might be able to help me with something that i think it fairly straight forward:
Essentially i want to extend the prototypes of all datatypes (including intrinsic types), to allow some kind of custom functions, consider:
var x = "some string";
var y = 101;
x = "some other value";
y++;
x.onChange();
y.onChange();
This is the basic idea im after, but really what i want is to actually have the onChange (in this example) to be different so a new function for the actual variable (rather than a stardard prototype extension), ie:
x.onChange = function() {
alert("x.onChange");
}
y.onChange = function() {
alert("y.onChange");
}
This doesnt seem to work but i must be missing something quite simple no? I mean surely i can extend all object and types and add on new functions... no?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I might be tempted to approach this not by trying to add methods to existing types, but to create an object that can wrap a primative type. I would call this "observing" a value, and might implement it something like this:
function observable(v){
this.value = v;
this.valueChangedCallback = null;
this.setValue = function(v){
if(this.value != v){
this.value = v;
this.raiseChangedEvent(v);
}
};
this.getValue = function(){
return this.value;
};
this.onChange = function(callback){
this.valueChangedCallback = callback;
};
this.raiseChangedEvent = function(v){
if(this.valueChangedCallback){
this.valueChangedCallback(v);
}
};
}
This can then be used to observe changes in any value (so long as that value is then changed only by methods on the observable class - a small detraction IMO).
Something like this would work with the above code:
var obs = new observable(123);
obs.onChange(function(v){
alert("value changed to: " + v);
});
// the onChange callback would be called after something like obs.setValue(456);
Live example here --> http://jsfiddle.net/MeAhz/
Extend the object prototype:
Object.prototype.foo = function() { alert('hello world'); };
var a = 1;
a.foo();
The standard DEPRECATED way : Object.observe()
The Object.observe() method was used for asynchronously observing the
changes to an object. It provided a stream of changes in the order in
which they occur. However, this API has been deprecated and removed
from browsers.
let myObservdObject = Object.observe( { a : 'foo' }, e=>console.log('change!', e) );
myObservdObject.a = 'bee';
// callback gets executed
// and prints 'changed! in console, with the change event data
But proxies arrived to the Standard (ES6) an Object.Observe became deprecated and, in consecuence, unsupported by the browsers.
Proxies are the new way to observe... but implement a generic observer requires a more complex implementation, in comparsion with the way Object.observe used to provide us.
Observe value changes with third party libraries
You can find arround many implementations based in proxies.
Some of them implement the Observer pattern, wich forces you to set or get the values using specific methods :
Observe :
https://www.npmjs.com/package/observe
// define your object
var object = {a:'bee'};
// generate an observer
var observer = observe(object);
// declare the onchange event handler
observer.on( 'change', change=> console.log(change) );
// ready!
// set the value of 'a' and see how the callback is executed...
observer.set('a', 'foo')
// get the new value
observer.get('a') // returns 'foo'
Other libraries instead, let you interact with your variables using a more natural way:
WatchJS :
https://github.com/melanke/Watch.JS/
// define your object
var object = {a:'bee'};
// generate an observer and declare de hadler
watch(object , "a" , e=>console.log(e) );
// ready!
// set the value of 'a' and see how the callback is executed...
object.a = 'foo';
// get the new value
object.a // returns 'foo'
My own apprach : deep-observer
All the implementaions have their own caveats, and none of them was working for my purposes, so i had to implement my own approach.
The result is a highly customizable Observer method with a really small footprint ( <100 bytes gziped)
Deep-observer : https://www.npmjs.com/package/deep-observer
// create an observable object
const myObserved = new Observer( { a : 'bee' } , e=>console.log(e) ),
// perform a modification
myObserved.a = 'foo';
// console : { action:'update', oldValue:'bee', object:{a:'foo'}, name:'a' }
myObserved.a; // returns 'foo'

Is it possible to listen to a "style change" event?

Is it possible to create an event listener in jQuery that can be bound to any style changes? For example, if I want to "do" something when an element changes dimensions, or any other changes in the style attribute I could do:
$('div').bind('style', function() {
console.log($(this).css('height'));
});
$('div').height(100); // yields '100'
It would be really useful.
Any ideas?
UPDATE
Sorry for answering this myself, but I wrote a neat solution that might fit someone else:
(function() {
var ev = new $.Event('style'),
orig = $.fn.css;
$.fn.css = function() {
$(this).trigger(ev);
return orig.apply(this, arguments);
}
})();
This will temporary override the internal prototype.css method and the redefine it with a trigger at the end. So it works like this:
$('p').bind('style', function(e) {
console.log( $(this).attr('style') );
});
$('p').width(100);
$('p').css('color','red');
Things have moved on a bit since the question was asked - it is now possible to use a MutationObserver to detect changes in the 'style' attribute of an element, no jQuery required:
var observer = new MutationObserver(function(mutations) {
mutations.forEach(function(mutationRecord) {
console.log('style changed!');
});
});
var target = document.getElementById('myId');
observer.observe(target, { attributes : true, attributeFilter : ['style'] });
The argument that gets passed to the callback function is a MutationRecord object that lets you get hold of the old and new style values.
Support is good in modern browsers including IE 11+.
Since jQuery is open-source, I would guess that you could tweak the css function to call a function of your choice every time it is invoked (passing the jQuery object). Of course, you'll want to scour the jQuery code to make sure there is nothing else it uses internally to set CSS properties. Ideally, you'd want to write a separate plugin for jQuery so that it does not interfere with the jQuery library itself, but you'll have to decide whether or not that is feasible for your project.
The declaration of your event object has to be inside your new css function. Otherwise the event can only be fired once.
(function() {
orig = $.fn.css;
$.fn.css = function() {
var ev = new $.Event('style');
orig.apply(this, arguments);
$(this).trigger(ev);
}
})();
I think the best answer if from Mike in the case you can't launch your event because is not from your code. But I get some errors when I used it. So I write a new answer for show you the code that I use.
Extension
// Extends functionality of ".css()"
// This could be renamed if you'd like (i.e. "$.fn.cssWithListener = func ...")
(function() {
orig = $.fn.css;
$.fn.css = function() {
var result = orig.apply(this, arguments);
$(this).trigger('stylechanged');
return result;
}
})();
Usage
// Add listener
$('element').on('stylechanged', function () {
console.log('css changed');
});
// Perform change
$('element').css('background', 'red');
I got error because var ev = new $.Event('style'); Something like style was not defined in HtmlDiv.. I removed it, and I launch now $(this).trigger("stylechanged"). Another problem was that Mike didn't return the resulto of $(css, ..) then It can make problems in some cases. So I get the result and return it. Now works ^^ In every css change include from some libs that I can't modify and trigger an event.
As others have suggested, if you have control over whatever code is changing the style of the element you could fire a custom event when you change the element's height:
$('#blah').bind('height-changed',function(){...});
...
$('#blah').css({height:'100px'});
$('#blah').trigger('height-changed');
Otherwise, although pretty resource-intensive, you could set a timer to periodically check for changes to the element's height...
There is no inbuilt support for the style change event in jQuery or in java script. But jQuery supports to create custom event and listen to it but every time there is a change, you should have a way to trigger it on yourself. So it will not be a complete solution.
Interesting question. The problem is that height() does not accept a callback, so you wouldn't be able to fire up a callback. Use either animate() or css() to set the height and then trigger the custom event in the callback. Here is an example using animate() , tested and works (demo), as a proof of concept :
$('#test').bind('style', function() {
alert($(this).css('height'));
});
$('#test').animate({height: 100},function(){
$(this).trigger('style');
});
you can try Jquery plugin , it trigger events when css is change and its easy to use
http://meetselva.github.io/#gist-section-attrchangeExtension
$([selector]).attrchange({
trackValues: true,
callback: function (e) {
//console.log( '<p>Attribute <b>' + e.attributeName +'</b> changed from <b>' + e.oldValue +'</b> to <b>' + e.newValue +'</b></p>');
//event.attributeName - Attribute Name
//event.oldValue - Prev Value
//event.newValue - New Value
}
});
Just adding and formalizing #David 's solution from above:
Note that jQuery functions are chainable and return 'this' so that multiple invocations can be called one after the other (e.g $container.css("overflow", "hidden").css("outline", 0);).
So the improved code should be:
(function() {
var ev = new $.Event('style'),
orig = $.fn.css;
$.fn.css = function() {
var ret = orig.apply(this, arguments);
$(this).trigger(ev);
return ret; // must include this
}
})();
How about jQuery cssHooks?
Maybe I do not understand the question, but what you are searching for is easily done with cssHooks, without changing css() function.
copy from documentation:
(function( $ ) {
// First, check to see if cssHooks are supported
if ( !$.cssHooks ) {
// If not, output an error message
throw( new Error( "jQuery 1.4.3 or above is required for this plugin to work" ) );
}
// Wrap in a document ready call, because jQuery writes
// cssHooks at this time and will blow away your functions
// if they exist.
$(function () {
$.cssHooks[ "someCSSProp" ] = {
get: function( elem, computed, extra ) {
// Handle getting the CSS property
},
set: function( elem, value ) {
// Handle setting the CSS value
}
};
});
})( jQuery );
https://api.jquery.com/jQuery.cssHooks/
I had the same problem, so I wrote this. It works rather well. Looks great if you mix it with some CSS transitions.
function toggle_visibility(id) {
var e = document.getElementById("mjwelcome");
if(e.style.height == '')
e.style.height = '0px';
else
e.style.height = '';
}

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