Develop Reference

Where to store remote data used by directive inside ngView? (AngularJS)

Just for example:
I have directive inside ngView with this structure:
.directive('features', function() {
templateUrl: '.../',
link: function(scope) {
// HTTP req, getting remote data.
// Store the remote data to the scope
}
})
When I change the route and return it back, the directive link option is executed again, the scope is empty. It need to wait some time for data-response from the remote server and then showing the data. I trying to avoid the layout stretching.
I am new to angular, I was read the documentation.
My question is: In this case, where the data is good to be saved? Do I need to make a controller? Or I can just cache it?
Note: This directive repeating an array (remote data) and making "features" HTML layout. This directive will be used in another routes with another behaviors.
I do not need code explanations, I can read docs. I accept terminology.

You could store the data in a service, basically to act as a cache as you mentioned. If you need to have that data available on page reloads (hard refresh, your app is reloaded again) you can store it in a cookie/local storage.
app.service("featuresService",function($http){
var cachedFeatures=null;
return{
getFeatures:function(callback){
if(!cachedFeatures){
$http.get("...").success(function(data){
cachedFeatures=data;
callback(data);
})
}else{
callback(cachedFeatures);
}
}
}
})

AngularJS Router invoke function when certain URL is loaded initially

I am using angular router` to track the state of my web app like this:
when('/', {
controller: "AController",
templateUrl: "APanel.html"
}).
when('/subpage/:id', {
controller: "BController",
templateUrl: "BPanel.html"
}).
And I am using Angular Service to track some shared values:
app.service('stateService', function() {
this.someSwitch = false;
this.someLongDataArray = [x, y, z];
});
Currently, before changing path to \subpage\:id url from AController, I will assign new values to members of the service, so they can be referenced in subpages.
Now the question is, if user directly launching the subpage url \subpage\:id, or hit the refresh button on browser on subpage, BController will be invoked, and I will lost the values in the service which are supposed to be prepared by AController.
I am wondering what I should do in this case. is there any way I can get called when user launch the subpage directly, so I have a chance to prepare the data? (Maybe I can watch for html onload event, but not sure that's the best answer).
Thanks

It appears, BController is dependent on AController.
Ideally, Controller should not contain any data/dom manipulaton, state maintenance. It is simply a glue between view and the $scope model.
Being said so, you need not create any such dependency between controllers. The service can be invoked from both controllers.
OR
If indeed there is a requirement that APanel.html must be loaded/initialized before BPanel.html is loaded, then you must check for some flag in BContoller and redirect user to APanel.html.
like
if(<check some flag>){
$location.path('/');
}
But then you have to find the way to redirect the user again to BPanel.html. I guess this is not a recommended approach.

I am not sure I get your question completely. But if there is a possibility that the user might hit BPanel.html directly then you should do something like this.
if(serviceExists()){
//Do your usual Bcontroller stuff here if the services was initialized
}
else{
//Show a warning/error like "Oops, something is wrong go back to '/'" OR
// Initialize services in BController
}
This should be in your BController if initializing your service before BController is that important. You basically force people to stay on AController.

angular how to use scope from a different controller

I have a user.list.ctrl and a user.detail.cntr. All the controllers are build as a module and are injected in a "user-module" which I inject in the app.js. (see the complete code in the plunker below)
my controller module
angular.module('user-module', ['user-module.controllers']);
my user-module
angular.module('demo.app', ['user-module']);
In both controllers i inject user-Fctr with data from a REST factory. (works well)
user.list.cntrl has a $scope.refresh()
user.detail.cntrl has a $scope.update()
user.list.cntrl
When I enter a new record, i call the $scope.refresh() so I can refresh the list. (this is working fine)
user.detail.cntrl
When i click a user from the list, the user detail loads in a different view (works ok)
when I update the user.detail, I want to call $scope.refresh() to update the user.list , but it is not working. I cannot call $scope.refresh()
I thought that since I inject the same factory into both controllers I can use each others $scopes.
Any ideas on how I can use $scope.refresh() (or update the list when I update the user.detail.js)
I make a plunker with all the js files (the plunker is not functional, it is only to show the code that I have)
http://plnkr.co/edit/HtnZiMag0VYCo27F5xqb?p=preview
thanx for taking a look at this

This is a very conceptual problem.
You have created a controller for each "piece" of view because they are meant for different activities. This is the purpose of controllers. So that is right.
However, you are trying to access the refresh function, written in one controller, in another one. Taken literally, this is wrong, since then, refresh is out of place either inside the user list controller or the detail controller.
A function that is meant to control (literally) what is happening on a specific piece of view is a controller. - There you are right having a controller for the list and one for the details.
A function that is meant to be shared between controllers must be a service. This is exactly what you want for your refresh function to be.
Whenever you inject the same factory into n controllers, you can't use the scope of every controller. This isn't the purpose of a controller.
However, whenever you inject the same factory into n controllers, you can use its exposed methods.
The problem you have, can be solved as follows:
app.factory( 'sharedFunctions', [ 'factoryId', function sharedFunctions( factoryId ) {
var refresh = function () {
factoryId.getAll(/*your params to query*/)
.success( function ( response ) {
//This will return the list of all your records
return response;
});
};
return sharedFunctions;
}]);
With this factory service registered, then you can inject it to your controllers and whenever you need to refresh, just call the exposed method of the service and plot the new information into the view.
Hope it works for you!

i ended up doing this:
I added in the list.contrl this:
factoryId.listScope = $scope;
since I already have the factoryId (my data service) injected in the detail controller, I can call this:
factoryId.listScope.refresh();
it works but I don't know if this is the best way. any comments?

How to store/communicate global asynchronous data to controllers

The basic premise is this....
I have an application. When the user hits the application, it immediately fetches various information regarding the user from a sharepoint server through an ajax call. And depending on what kind of data is received from the user, the app has to display/hide certain information and set certain settings.
Each controller within the application is heavily dependent on the data that is returned from this sharepoint server.
I have several questions...
First, where should this ajax call be made? Ideally it should be run as soon as possible, so should it be executed in the app.run()?
Second, where should this data that gets returned from the sharepoint server be stored? I read that making a factory for the sole purpose of storing data is not best practice, and it is better to just use the $rootscope. Right now, I am just storing a User object in a factory call "User" which in hindsight I guess is a no no
Finally, I'm not sure if there is a way to suspend the loading of the controllers as they are heavily dependent on this on the data that gets returned, but if there isn't, how would one communicate the information that gets received to the controllers. Would this be a case to use the $broadcast method?
Right now I have a kind of hackish solution. It gets the job done, but I'm pretty sure it is less than ideal
Here is a part of one controller. I am injecting the factory User into it
if (User.HasLoadedUserProps == false)
{
User.registerObserverCallback(hasLoadedProperties);
User.GetUser("1111");
}
else
{
if (User.IsAdmin == true)
//do whatever
}
Once the necessary information has been returned from the ajax call, it calls this
var hasLoadedProperties = function ()
{
if (User.IsAdmin == true)
//do whatever
else
utilities.popupBox("You do not have permission to view this page", "Access Denied");
}
Any wisdom, insight, or advice is appreciated!

First:
When your ajax call should happen depends on a few things, but since you mention that you'd like to defer controller loading until the user data is pulled down, your best bet is to put the call in your service. More on that in my response to your last item. Placing that data in a service also makes it easier to share across controllers, which brings us to the next point...
Second:
Your user data absolutely should go in a service, and absolutely should not go in $rootScope. Think of $rootScope like you do window / globals in JavaScript. You want to avoid using it for much of anything. An exception would be where you really, really need to use events ($broadcast/$emit/$on) but even those cases should be rare.
Finally:
Look into the resolve option for $routeProvider (there are similar options for ui-router if you prefer that route (no pun intended).
This option allows you to defer the instantiation of a controller until a set of promises is resolved. In your case, you should return a promise from your User service, which is resolved once the user data is retrieved.
To help demonstrate these points, I made this simple demo. This code, along with the links to the Angular docs, should be enough to get you going ...
angular.module('myApp', ['ngRoute'])
.config(function($routeProvider) {
$routeProvider.when('/', {
templateUrl: 'beer.html',
controller: 'BeerController',
resolve: {
beer: function(Beer){ //injected into controller once promise is resolved
return Beer.getFavorite();
}
}
})
})
.controller('BeerController', function($scope, beer) { // Will load after 3s
$scope.favoriteBeer = beer; // beer comes from resolve in $routeProvider
})
.factory('Beer', function($timeout) {
var beer = {
favorite: 'porter'
};
beer.getFavorite = function() {
return $timeout(function() { // pretend this is an ajax call
return beer.favorite;
}, 3000);
}
return beer;
});
...where beer.html contains:
<div>
My favorite kind of beer is: {{favoriteBeer}}
</div>

Resolve $http request before running app and switching to a route or state

I have written an app where I need to retrieve the currently logged in user's info when the application runs, before routing is handled. I use ui-router to support multiple/nested views and provide richer, stateful routing.
When a user logs in, they may store a cookie representing their auth token. I include that token with a call to a service to retrieve the user's info, which includes what groups they belong to. The resulting identity is then set in a service, where it can be retrieved and used in the rest of the application. More importantly, the router will use that identity to make sure they are logged in and belong to the appropriate group before transitioning them to the requested state.
I have code something like this:
app
.config(['$stateProvider', function($stateProvider) {
// two states; one is the protected main content, the other is the sign-in screen
$stateProvider
.state('main', {
url: '/',
data: {
roles: ['Customer', 'Staff', 'Admin']
},
views: {} // omitted
})
.state('account.signin', {
url: '/signin',
views: {} // omitted
});
}])
.run(['$rootScope', '$state', '$http', 'authority', 'principal', function($rootScope, $state, $http, authority, principal) {
$rootScope.$on('$stateChangeStart', function (event, toState) { // listen for when trying to transition states...
var isAuthenticated = principal.isAuthenticated(); // check if the user is logged in
if (!toState.data.roles || toState.data.roles.length == 0) return; // short circuit if the state has no role restrictions
if (!principal.isInAnyRole(toState.data.roles)) { // checks to see what roles the principal is a member of
event.preventDefault(); // role check failed, so...
if (isAuthenticated) $state.go('account.accessdenied'); // tell them they are accessing restricted feature
else $state.go('account.signin'); // or they simply aren't logged in yet
}
});
$http.get('/svc/account/identity') // now, looks up the current principal
.success(function(data) {
authority.authorize(data); // and then stores the principal in the service (which can be injected by requiring "principal" dependency, seen above)
}); // this does its job, but I need it to finish before responding to any routes/states
}]);
It all works as expected if I log in, navigate around, log out, etc. The issue is that if I refresh or drop on a URL while I am logged in, I get sent to the signin screen because the identity service call has not finished before the state changes. After that call completes, though, I could feasibly continue working as expected if there is a link or something to- for example- the main state, so I'm almost there.
I am aware that you can make states wait to resolve parameters before transitioning, but I'm not sure how to proceed.

OK, after much hair pulling, here is what I figured out.
As you might expect, resolve is the appropriate place to initiate any async calls and ensure they complete before the state is transitioned to.
You will want to make an abstract parent state for all states that ensures your resolve takes place, that way if someone refreshes the browser, your async resolution still happens and your authentication works properly. You can use the parent property on a state to make another state that would otherwise not be inherited by naming/dot notation. This helps in preventing your state names from becoming unmanageable.
While you can inject whatever services you need into your resolve, you can't access the toState or toStateParams of the state it is trying to transition to. However, the $stateChangeStart event will happen before your resolve is resolved. So, you can copy toState and toStateParams from the event args to your $rootScope, and inject $rootScope into your resolve function. Now you can access the state and params it is trying to transition to.
Once you have resolved your resource(s), you can use promises to do your authorization check, and if it fails, use $state.go() to send them to the login page, or do whatever you need to do. There is a caveat to that, of course.
Once resolve is done in the parent state, ui-router won't resolve it again. That means your security check won't occur! Argh! The solution to this is to have a two-part check. Once in resolve as we've already discussed. The second time is in the $stateChangeStart event. The key here is to check and see if the resource(s) are resolved. If they are, do the same security check you did in resolve but in the event. if the resource(s) are not resolved, then the check in resolve will pick it up. To pull this off, you need to manage your resources within a service so you can appropriately manage state.
Some other misc. notes:
Don't bother trying to cram all of the authz logic into $stateChangeStart. While you can prevent the event and do your async resolution (which effectively stops the change until you are ready), and then try and resume the state change in your promise success handler, there are some issues preventing that from working properly.
You can't change states in the current state's onEnter method.
This plunk is a working example.

We hit a similar issue. We felt we needed to make the logic which makes the HTTP
call accessible to the logic that handles the response. They're separate in the
code, so a service is a good way to do this.
We resolved that separation by wrapping the $http.get call in a service which
caches the response and calls the success callback immediately if the cache is
already populated. E.g.
app.service('authorizationService', ['authority', function (authority) {
var requestData = undefined;
return {
get: function (successCallback) {
if (typeof requestData !== 'undefined') {
successCallback(requestData);
}
else {
$http.get('/svc/account/identity').success(function (data) {
requestData = data;
successCallback(data);
});
}
}
};
}]);
This acts as a guard around the request being successful. You could then call authorizationService.get() within your $stateChangeStart
handler safely.
This approach is vulnerable to a race condition if a request is in already progress when authorizationService.get() is called. It might be possible to introduce some XHR bookkeeping to prevent that.
Alternatively you could publish a custom event once the HTTP request has
completed and register a subscriber for that event within the
$stateChangeStart handler. You would need to unregister that handler later
though, perhaps in a $stateChangeEnd handler.
None of this can complete until the authorisation is done, so you should inform
the user that they need to wait by showing a loading view.
Also, there's some interesting discussion of authentication with ui-router in
How to Filter Routes? on the AngularJS Google Group.

I think a cleaner way to handle this situation is t$urlRouterProvider. deferIntercept() together with $urlRouter.listen() in order to stop uiRouter until some data is retrieved from server.
See this answer and docs for more information.