javascript mediator vs observer - javascript

First I want to say I have googled javascript mediator vs observer and read almost ten links.
Also I search in statckoverflow and I got this Mediator Vs Observer Object-Oriented Design Patterns and
mediator-vs-observer.
However I still do not have clear understand about the difference between them.
So I wonder if someone can explain them more clearly?
Maybe a live example. :)
Thanks.
I tried to create an example, is this a pattern of mediator?
code:
var EventMediator = {
publish: function (target, message) {
var args = Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments, 2);
var msgs = target.messages || [];
for (var i = 0; i < msgs.length; i++) {
var msg = msgs[i];
msg.callback.apply(msg.context, args);
}
},
register: function (target, message, fn) {
target.messages = target.messages || [];
target.messages.push({
context: target,
callback: fn
});
}
};
var t1 = {name: 'kk'};
var t2 = {name: 'gg'};
EventMediator.register(t1, "nameChanged", function () {
console.info("t1 name chagned");
});
EventMediator.publish(t1, "nameChanged");
Here I want to know if the Mediator should know about the exist of the object who trigger the message?

Observer pattern: the observed object manages its own list of observers (aka listeners) which must be notified when a certain event happens.
Mediator pattern: the observed object is not aware of the list of its observers, there is an external entity that makes the mapping between observed objects and observers.

Related

How can I make Ember.js handlebars #each iterate over objects?

I'm trying to make the {{#each}} helper to iterate over an object, like in vanilla handlebars. Unfortunately if I use #each on an object, Ember.js version gives me this error:
Assertion failed: The value that #each loops over must be an Array. You passed [object Object]
I wrote this helper in attempt to remedy this:
Ember.Handlebars.helper('every', function (context, options) {
var oArray = [];
for (var k in context) {
oArray.push({
key : k,
value : context[k]
})
}
return Ember.Handlebars.helpers.each(oArray, options);
});
Now, when I attempt to use {{#every}}, I get the following error:
Assertion failed: registerBoundHelper-generated helpers do not support use with Handlebars blocks.
This seems like a basic feature, and I know I'm probably missing something obvious. Can anyone help?
Edit:
Here's a fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/CbV8X/
Use {{each-in}} helper. You can use it like like {{each}} helper.
Example:
{{#each-in modelWhichIsObject as |key value|}}
`{{key}}`:`{{value}}`
{{/each-in}}
JS Bin demo.
After fiddling with it for a few hours, I came up with this hacky way:
Ember.Handlebars.registerHelper('every', function(context, options) {
var oArray = [], actualData = this.get(context);
for (var k in actualData) {
oArray.push({
key: k,
value: actualData[k]
})
}
this.set(context, oArray);
return Ember.Handlebars.helpers.each.apply(this,
Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments));
});
I don't know what repercussions this.set has, but this seems to work!
Here's a fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/CbV8X/1/
I've been after similar functionality, and since we're sharing our hacky ways, here's my fiddle for the impatient: http://jsfiddle.net/L6axcob8/1/
This fiddle is based on the one provided by #lxe, with updates by #Kingpin2k, and then myself.
Ember: 1.9.1, Handlebars: 2.0.0, jQuery 2.1.3
Here we are adding a helper called every which can iterate over objects and arrays.
For example this model:
model: function() {
return {
properties: {
foo: 'bar',
zoo: 'zar'
}
};
}
can be iterated with the following handlebars template:
<ul class="properties">
{{#every p in properties}}
<li>{{p.key}} : {{p.value}}</li>
{{/every}}
</ul>
every helper works by creating an array from the objects keys, and then coordinating changes to Ember by way of an ArrayController. Yeah, hacky. This does however, let us add/remove properties to/from an object provided that object supports observation of the [] property.
In my use case I have an Ember.Object derived class which notifies [] when properties are added/removed. I'd recommend looking at Ember.Set for this functionality, although I see that Set been recently deprecated. As this is slightly out of this questions scope I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader. Here's a tip: setUnknownProperty
To be notified of property changes we wrap non-object values in what I've called a DataValueObserver which sets up (currently one way) bindings. These bindings provide a bridge between the values held by our internal ArrayController and the object we are observing.
When dealing with objects; we wrap those in ObjectProxy's so that we can introduce a 'key' member without the need to modify the object itself. Why yes, this does imply that you could use #every recursively. Another exercise for the reader ;-)
I'd recommend having your model be based around Ember.Object to be consistent with the rest of Ember, allowing you to manipulate your model via its get & set handlers. Alternatively, as demonstrated in the fiddle, you can use Em.Get/Em.set to access models, as long as you are consistent in doing so. If you touch your model directly (no get/set), then every won't be notified of your change.
Em.set(model.properties, 'foo', 'asdfsdf');
For completeness here's my every helper:
var DataValueObserver = Ember.Object.extend({
init: function() {
this._super();
// one way binding (for now)
Em.addObserver(this.parent, this.key, this, 'valueChanged');
},
value: function() {
return Em.get(this.parent, this.key);
}.property(),
valueChanged: function() {
this.notifyPropertyChange('value');
}
});
Handlebars.registerHelper("every", function() {
var args = [].slice.call(arguments);
var options = args.pop();
var context = (options.contexts && options.contexts[0]) || this;
Ember.assert("Must be in the form #every foo in bar ", 3 == args.length && args[1] === "in");
options.hash.keyword = args[0];
var property = args[2];
// if we're dealing with an array we can just forward onto the collection helper directly
var p = this.get(property);
if (Ember.Array.detect(p)) {
options.hash.dataSource = p;
return Ember.Handlebars.helpers.collection.call(this, Ember.Handlebars.EachView, options);
}
// create an array that we will manage with content
var array = Em.ArrayController.create();
options.hash.dataSource = array;
Ember.Handlebars.helpers.collection.call(this, Ember.Handlebars.EachView, options);
//
var update_array = function(result) {
if (!result) {
array.clear();
return;
}
// check for proxy object
var result = (result.isProxy && result.content) ? result.content : result;
var items = result;
var keys = Ember.keys(items).sort();
// iterate through sorted array, inserting & removing any mismatches
var i = 0;
for ( ; i < keys.length; ++i) {
var key = keys[i];
var value = items[key];
while (true) {
var old_obj = array.objectAt(i);
if (old_obj) {
Ember.assert("Assume that all objects in our array have a key", undefined !== old_obj.key);
var c = key.localeCompare(old_obj.key);
if (0 === c) break; // already exists
if (c < 0) {
array.removeAt(i); // remove as no longer exists
continue;
}
}
// insert
if (typeof value === 'object') {
// wrap object so we can give it a key
value = Ember.ObjectProxy.create({
content: value,
isProxy: true,
key: key
});
array.insertAt(i, value);
} else {
// wrap raw value so we can give it a key and observe when it changes
value = DataValueObserver.create({
parent: result,
key: key,
});
array.insertAt(i, value);
}
break;
}
}
// remove any trailing items
while (array.objectAt(i)) array.removeAt(i);
};
var should_display = function() {
return true;
};
// use bind helper to call update_array if the contents of property changes
var child_properties = ["[]"];
var preserve_context = true;
return Ember.Handlebars.bind.call(context, property, options, preserve_context, should_display, update_array, child_properties);
});
Inspired by:
How can I make Ember.js handlebars #each iterate over objects?
http://mozmonkey.com/2014/03/ember-getting-the-index-in-each-loops/
https://github.com/emberjs/ember.js/issues/4365
https://gist.github.com/strathmeyer/1371586
Here's that fiddle again if you missed it:
http://jsfiddle.net/L6axcob8/1/

Create array of objects Javascript

I created this Object with 3 properties:
Node = {
name : "",
isOkay : true,
rotation : 0.0
};
How would i go creating an array of these objects, in size of 100.
So later i could do something like this:
nodeList[74].name = "Peter";
nodeList[74].isOkay = false;
nodeList[74].rotation = 1.3;
or similar...
I'm really new to this, i found couple of topics about this, but it never compiles properly.
I would be really grateful if anyone could show the proper syntax, Thanks!
I would use this way:
var Node = function() {
this.name = "";
this.isOkay = true;
this.rotation = 0.0
}
var nodeList = [];
for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
nodeList.push(new Node());
}
nodeList[0].name = "test";
So you could create a new object(really new) in order to manage it later. Look here.
EDIT:
What I have done is created an object with a constructor method, you can check it on MDN here.
Creating an object like you have done:
var Node = { /* ... */ }
Is like having one object initiated. To have another, you'll have to write another one and so on. With that contructor you may create any instances you want based on that model.
You might want to do this lazily
Depending on the situation might be helpful to do this lazily
var Node = function(name, isOkay,rotation){
if(!(this instanceof Node)) return new Node(name,isOkay,rotation);
else {
this.name = name;
this.isOkay = isOkay;
this.rotation = rotation;
}
}
var NodeCollective = function(numberOfNodes){
if(!(this instanceof NodeCollective)) return new NodeCollective(numberOfNodes);
else{
var _collective={};
var _defaultName = "", _defaultIsOkay = true, _defaultRotation=0.0;
this.length = numberOfNodes;
this.getNode=function(nodeNumber){
if(!_collective.hasOwnProperty(nodeNumber) && nodeNumber < numberOfNodes){
_collective[nodeNumber]=
Node(_defaultName,_defaultIsOkay,_defaultRotation);
}
//I am just assuming I am not going to get garbage
//you can put in checks to make sure everything is kosher
//if you really want to
return _collective[nodeNumber];
};
}
}
but it also depends on what you are trying to do... if you might not be getting all of the nodes in your program then implementing them in some way that avoids greedily creating them could save you a lot of time if the code is executed often, but if the piece of code isn't executed often this might be over kill.
var nodeList = []; // create empty array
nodeList.push(Node); // add the object to the end of the array
nodeList[0].rotation = 1.3; // set rotation property of the object
console.log(nodeList[0]); // prints the object to console

Backbone.Wreqr vs Javascript Object

What are the main benefits backbone.wreqr has over a js object, both cases having access to marionette's Event aggregator.
Wouldn't assigning/calling methods from an object work the same way as Commands / RequestResponse. To me i see no need to implement this other than giving semantic/readability a +1.
https://github.com/marionettejs/backbone.wreqr
Can someone please enlighten me, this is my first backbone (and modular) application.
The benefits are:
event and command handling is optional and you don't need to check manually yourself for undefineds
optionally multiple handlers for each event
lazy execution of commands (fire event first, register command later and it will immediately be executed)
you can define the scope of execution w/o using any additional methods like $.proxy, ...
It provides implementations of several common messaging patterns, including the Event Aggregator Pattern, Command Pattern, and Observer Pattern.
These patterns facilitate decoupling of implementations to reduce object dependencies. Consider a simple "Combat" style game consisting of a tank and several targets. Without messaging patterns, the tank needs to have explicit knowledge about the targets and how they work, and in fact cannot exist without the target definition:
var Tank = function(targets) { this.targets = targets };
Tank.prototype.fire = function() {
var self = this,
HpLoss = -500;
_.each(this.targets, function(target) {
if (self.isNear(target.coordinates) && target.canWithstand(HpLoss)) {
target.die();
}
}
var target1 = new Target(coordinatesA, armorA);
var target2 = new Target(coordinatesB, armorB);
var tank = new Tank([target1, target2]);
Using messaging patterns such as Observer, tank in the code above doesn't need knowledge of its targets; rather, the targets can determine for themselves whether they should die:
var Target = function() {}
Target.prototype.calculateDamage = function(coordinates, damage) {
if (this.isNear(coordinates) && !this.canWithstand(damage)) {
this.die();
}
}
var Tank = function() {};
Tank.prototype.fire = function() {
this.trigger('fire', { damage: 400, coordinates: this.location });
};
// Now Tank is entirely self-contained, and some external mediator can
// make things happen at will:
function main() {
var target1 = new Target(coordinatesA, armorA);
var target2 = new Target(coordinatesB, armorB);
var tank = new Tank();
target1.listenTo(tank, 'fire', target1.calculateDamage, target1);
target2.listenTo(tank, 'fire', target2.calculateDamage, target2);
tank.fire();
var target3 = new Target3(coordinatesB, armorB);
target3.listenTo(tank, 'fire', target3.calculateDamage, target3);
}

can I emulate a C-like array of pointers in javascript?

I'd like to be able to store the addresses of a bunch of different variables in an array. This allows me to access the variables by name or iterate through them if I need to. Is this possible in JS?
(function(ns){
ns.obj = new function(){
var foo = "foo";
var bar = "bar";
//i really want this:
//var ary = [&foo, &bar];
var ary = [foo, bar];
this.print = function() {
console.log( foo );
console.log( bar );
}
this.setFoo = function( newFoo ) {
//i really want this:
//*(ary[0]) = newFoo;
ary[0] = newFoo;
}
this.printAry = function() {
for( var i=0; i < ary.length; ++i ) {
console.log( ary[i] );
}
}
};
}(window.ns = window.ns || {}) );
ns.obj.print();
ns.obj.setFoo("newfoo!");
ns.obj.printAry();
ns.obj.print();
I looked at this:
JavaScript array of pointers like in C++
But I'd like to be able to use an element of ary on the LHS of an assignment and I don't think that example works in this situation.
WHY ON EARTH DO I WANT TO DO THIS?
A lot of comments so far have (rightfully) asked why I'd want to do this. I'm dealing with a proprietary API that involves an asynchronous object initialization mechanism. Basically I create an instance of an object and then pass it to this initializer to be able to actually use it. The initializer includes a field for an onSuccess handler to notify of successful initialization. My fully initialized object is passed as an argument into this success handler so that I can grab a reference to it.
I'm then free to initialize my next object. It looks kinda like this:
var a = new api.ApiObject();
var b = new api.ApiObject();
var c = new api.ApiObject();
var d = new api.ApiObject();
//omg this is ugly
api.initializeObject( {
objToInit: a,
onSuccess: function(args) {
a = args.obj;
api.initializeObject( {
objToInit: b,
onSuccess: function(args) {
b = args.obj;
api.initializeObject( {
objToInit: c,
onSuccess: function(args) {
c = args.obj;
api.initializeObject( {
objToInit: d,
onSuccess: function(args) {
d = args.obj;
}
} );
}
} );
}
} );
}
} );
a.doCoolStuff();
//and so on
This deeply nested mess just gets worse as I add more api.ApiObjects(). So what do I do to fix this? I can't change the API, but maybe a recursive function could help:
//maybe a recursive function could make this more concise?
function doInitialize( ary ) {
api.initializeObject( {
objToInit: ary[0];
onSuccess: function(args) {
//i'd like to assign this passed in reference to my local
//reference outside this function (var a, b, etc).
//An array of pointers would be useful here.
//how else can I get this assigned out, cuz this doesn't work...
ary[0] = args.obj;
if( ary.length > 1 ) {
ary.splice( 0, 1 );
doInitialize( ary );
}
}
}
}
doInitialize( [a,b,c,d] );
//this won't work because I don't have a reference to the fully initialized object
a.doCoolStuff();
So maybe the better question is: is there an established pattern to deal with asynchronous success chaining like this? I think I've seen other public JS frameworks (like dojo) use this sort of onSuccess chaining... how do I make this not ugly?
I might suggest that if your primary purpose for this is convenience as regards nesting of asynchronous callbacks, that you should consider a deferred/promise system.
I've written a couple of different promise libraries by hand.
jQuery comes with one built in (as do most "ajax libraries").
Here's what this might look like, in a better world:
doThingOne()
.then(doThingTwo)
.then(doThingThree)
.then(launch);
Assuming that doThingOne returns a promise.
A more familiar looking interface for people who use jQuery (or most other promise-using large libraries), might look like this:
var imageLoader = $.Deferred(),
loading = imageLoader.promise();
loading
.done(gallery.render.bind(gallery))
.done(gallery.show.bind(gallery));
var img = new Image(),
url = "...";
img.onload = function () { imageLoader.resolve(img); };
img.onerror = function () { imageLoader.reject("error message"); };
img.src = url;
Very basically, the Deferred above will hold two private arrays (one for "success", one for "failure"), and will extend an interface which allows the async part of the application to "succeed" or "fail", and will pass in whatever is chosen to be data/a callback/etc.
It also extends a promise method, which returns a promise object, containing subscription functions for the two private arrays. So you pass the promise object around to interested parties, and they subscribe callbacks to be iterated through, on success/failure of the async operation (and passed anything which is passed to the .resolve/.reject method of the operation).
This might seem like an inversion or extension of just adding a custom-event/listener/etc...
And it is.
The benefit of the abstraction is that the interface is cleaner.
Hiding this stuff inside of object interfaces, and just passing async promise-objects around can make your code look 100% synchronous:
var images = ImageLoader(),
gallery = ImageGallery(),
photo;
photo = images.load("//url.com/image.png"); // assuming `.load` returns a promise object
gallery.show(photo); // just a promise object, but internally,
//`.show` would subscribe a private method to the promise object
And doing things like having three separate async operations, which can arrive in any order, but must all be successful before advancing, then you can have something like this (again jQuery, but doing it by hand is possible, too).
$.when(promise_obj_1, promise_obj_2, promise_obj_3)
.done(nextPhase);
nextPhase, of course, being a callback which you anticipate to be fired if all three promises are successfully completed.
I'd be happy to provide implementation details for a barebones promise system, if you're like me, and don't like using different libraries without first understanding how each piece works on its own, and being able to replicate its functionality, without copying code.
The answer to the first part of your question is to use an object. You're thinking in C which doesn't have iteratable structs so C programmers reach for arrays. In JS objects are iteratable. So you should write it as:
ary = {
foo : 'foo',
bar : 'bar'
}
Or if we look at your second example:
var apis = {
a : new api.ApiObject(),
b : new api.ApiObject(),
c : new api.ApiObject(),
d : new api.ApiObject()
}
Now, as for the second part of your question. Your pseudo recursive code (pseudo because it's not really recursive in the stack sense since it's async) will now work with the apis object above. But you pass the keys instead of the object:
doInitialize( ['a','b','c','d'] );
Obviously, the bit above can be done dynamically by iterating through the apis object. Anyway, in the onSuccess part of the code you assign the result like this:
apis[ary[0]] = args.obj;
Oh, and obviously the objToInit should now be apis[ary[0]].
Now doing this should work as you expect:
apis.a.doCoolStuff();

How to unsubscribe from a socket.io subscription?

Suppose there are objects making subscriptions to a socket server like so:
socket.on('news', obj.socketEvent)
These objects have a short life span and are frequently created, generating many subscriptions. This seems like a memory leak and an error prone situation which would intuitively be prevented this way:
socket.off('news', obj.socketEvent)
before the object is deleted, but alas, there isn't an off method in the socket. Is there another method meant for this?
Edit: having found no answer I'm assigning a blank method to overwrite the wrapper method for the original event handler, an example follows.
var _blank = function(){};
var cbProxy = function(){
obj.socketEvent.apply(obj, arguments)
};
var cbProxyProxy = function(){
cbProxy.apply ({}, arguments)
}
socket.on('news', cbProxyProxy);
// ...and to unsubscribe
cbProxy = _blank;
From looking at the source of socket.io.js (couldn't find it in documentation anywhere), I found these two functions:
removeListener = function(name, fn)
removeAllListeners = function(name)
I used removeAllListeners successfully in my app; you should be able to choose from these:
socket.removeListener("news", cbProxy);
socket.removeAllListeners("news");
Also, I don't think your solution of cbProxy = _blank would actually work; that would only affect the cbProxy variable, not any actual socket.io event.
If you want to create listeners that "listens" only once use socket.once('news',func). Socket.io automatically will distroy the listener after the event happened - it's called "volatile listener".
Looking at the code of current version of Socket.io Client (1.4.8) it seems that off, removeAllListeners, removeEventListener are all pointing to the same function.
Calling any of those, providing event name and/or callback, gives the desired result. Not providing anything at all seems to reset everything.
Please do be cautious about the fn/callback argument. It has to be the same instance used in the code.
Example:
var eventCallback = function(data) {
// do something nice
};
socket.off('eventName', eventCallback);
Would work as expected.
Example (will also work):
function eventCallback(data) {
// do something nice
}
socket.off('eventName', eventCallback);
Please be cautious that the callback you are trying to remove is the one that you passed in (this one can bring a lot of confusion and frustration).
This example implements a wrapper around initial callback, trying to remove that would not work as the real callback being added is an undisclosed closure instance: http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/frameworks/angular-websockets/
Here is the link to that specific line in the codebase: https://github.com/socketio/socket.io-client/blob/master/socket.io.js#L1597
Socket.io version 0.9.16 implements removeListener but not off.
You can use removeListener instead of off when unsubscribing, or simply implement off as follows:
var socket = io.connect(url);
socket.off = socket.removeListener;
If you are using the Backbone listenTo event subscription approach, you'll need to implement the above as Backbone calls off when unsubscribing events.
I found that in socket.io 0.9.11 and Chrome24 socket.io removeListener doesn't work.
this modified version works for me:
EventEmitter.prototype.removeListener = function (name, fn) {
if (this.$events && this.$events[name]) {
var list = this.$events[name];
if (io.util.isArray(list)) {
var pos = -1;
for (var i = 0, l = list.length; i < l; i++) {
if (list[i].toString() === fn.toString() || (list[i].listener && list[i].listener === fn)) {
pos = i;
break;
}
}
if (pos < 0) {
return this;
}
list.splice(pos, 1);
if (!list.length) {
delete this.$events[name];
}
} else {
if (list.toString() === fn.toString() || (list.listener && list.listener === fn)) {
delete this.$events[name];
}
}
}
return this;
};
Since I had a spot of troubles making this work figured I'd chime in here as well, along with a nice updated answer for 2017. Thanks to #Pjotr for pointing out that it has to be the same callback instance.
Example with Angular2 TypeScript in a socket-io.subscriber service. Note the "newCallback" wrapper
private subscriptions: Array<{
key: string,
callback: Function
}>;
constructor() {
this.subscriptions = [];
}
subscribe(key: string, callback: Function) {
let newCallback = (response) => callback(response);
this.socket.on(key, newCallback);
return this.subscriptions.push({key: key, callback: newCallback}) - 1;
}
unsubscribe(i: number) {
this.socket.removeListener(this.subscriptions[i].key, this.subscriptions[i].callback);
}
Removing an event listener on the client
var Socket = io.connect();
Socket.removeListener('test', test);
Also on java client, it can be done the same way with the Javascript client. I've pasted from socket.io.
// remove all listeners of the connect event
socket.off(Socket.EVENT_CONNECT);
listener = new Emitter.Listener() { ... };
socket.on(Socket.EVENT_CONNECT, listener);
// remove the specified listener
socket.off(Socket.EVENT_CONNECT, listener);
Pre-store the events using an array, and by the time you need to unsubscribe them, use the off method, which is a built in method from socket.io:
// init
var events = []
// store
events.push("eventName")
// subscribe
socket.on("eventName", cb)
// remove
events = events.filter(event => event!="eventName")
// unsubscribe
socket.off("eventName")
To add to #Andrew Magee, here is an example of unsubscribing socket.io events in Angular JS, and of course works with Vanilla JS:
function handleCarStarted ( data ) { // Do stuff }
function handleCarStopped ( data ) { // Do stuff }
Listen for events:
var io = $window.io(); // Probably put this in a factory, not controller instantiation
io.on('car.started', handleCarStarted);
io.on('car.stopped', handleCarStopped);
$scope.$on('$destroy', function () {
io.removeListener('car.started', handleCarStarted);
io.removeListener('car.stopped', handleCarStopped);
});
This has helped me in both Angular 8 and React 16.8:
receiveMessage() {
let newCallback = (data) => {
this.eventEmitter.emit('add-message-response', data);
};
this.socket.on('add-message-response', newCallback);
this.subscriptions.push({key: 'add-message-response', callback: newCallback});
}
receiveMessageRemoveSocketListener() {
this.findAndRemoveSocketEventListener('add-message-response');
}
findAndRemoveSocketEventListener (eventKey) {
let foundListener = this.subscriptions.find( (subscription) => subscription.key === eventKey );
if(!foundListener) {
return;
}
this.socket.removeListener(foundListener.key, foundListener.callback);
this.subscriptions = this.subscriptions.filter( (subscription) => subscription.key !== eventKey );
}
Reason for using an Array of Subscriptions is that when you Subscribe to an event multiple times and you don't remove an unsubscribed subscription from the Subscription list you will most probably be right at first time you remove the subscription from the list, but later subscriptions will not be removed as you will be finding first instance only every time you unsubscribe the event.
You can simply call receiveMessage(); to subscribe to an the event and receiveMessageRemoveSocketListener(); to Unsubscribe.

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