Develop Reference

requirejs dependencies grouping

I am trying to integrate requirejs framework to my app.
Is possible to create a virtual module (which doesn't exists as a physically file), where i could group all the jquery-validation plugins together?
For example, i need to load 4 dependencies everytime i want to use jquery-validate.
Instead of requesting them, each time, i create a jquery-val "virtual module", which should request all the dependencies automatically.
However, trying to load "jquery-val" actually tries to load the file from disk (which i don't have).
What should be the best practice in solving this issue?
// config
requirejs.config({
baseUrl: '/Content',
paths: {
'jquery': 'frameworks/jquery-3.1.1.min',
"jquery-validate": "frameworks/jquery.validate.min",
"jquery-validate-unobtrusive": "frameworks/jquery.validate.unobtrusive.min",
"jquery-unobtrusive-ajax": "frameworks/jquery.unobtrusive-ajax.min"
},
shim: {
"jquery-val": ["jquery", "jquery-validate", "jquery-validate-unobtrusive", "jquery-unobtrusive-ajax"]
}
});
// Solution 1: working, but ugly
define(["jquery", "jquery-validate-unobtrusive", "jquery-unobtrusive-ajax"], function ($) {
// My Module
});
// Solution 2: not working
define(["jquery-val"], function () {
// My Module
});
// Solution 3: create jquery-val.js file, which loads the dependencies automatically
// jquery-val.js
(function (global) {
define(["jquery", "jquery-validate-unobtrusive", "jquery-unobtrusive-ajax"], function ($) {
});
}(this));

take some time and read:
http://requirejs.org/docs/api.html#modulenotes
One module per file.: Only one module should be defined per JavaScript file, given the nature of the module name-to-file-path lookup algorithm. You shoud only use the optimization tool to group multiple modules into optimized files.
Optimization Tool
To answer your question:
It is good practice to define one module per file, so you don't need to define explicit a name for the module AND do the need for inserting it somewhere to be available before the other modules are loaded.
So you could require just the file: require("../services/myGroupModule") and this file would hold your module and requireJS would take care of the loading dependencies (and later the optimizations for concatenating into one file!). Here the module name is the file name.
You could nevertheless do the following and loading it as a file module or like you tried to define it beforehand and give the module a name:
//Explicitly defines the "foo/title" module:
define("myGroupModule",
["dependency1", "dependency2"],
function(dependency1, dependency2) {
return function myGroupModule {
return {
doSomething: function () { console.log("hey"); }
}
}
}
);
Maybe you should also give a look at some new module loaders:
WebPack 2: https://webpack.js.org/
SystemJS: https://github.com/systemjs/systemjs

Typescript RequireJs Shortcuts + Navigation

I am having these requireJs options defined:
require.config({
baseUrl: '/js/',
paths: {
jquery: '/components/jquery/dist/jquery',
foundation: '/components/foundation/js/foundation',
fastclick: '/components/fastclick/lib/fastclick',
angular: '/components/angular/angular',
angularRoute: '/components/angular-route/angular-route',
socketIO: '/components/socket.io-client/dist/socket.io'
},
shim: {
'foundation': {
deps: ['jquery', 'fastclick']
},
'angular': {'exports': 'angular'},
'angularRoute': ['angular']
},
priority: [
'angular'
]
});
these are working all fine, if i am using requireJs in the javascript syntax. Then the base url and all these nice shortcuts for external libraries work.
But I am asking you now if i can also use these shortcuts in the Typescript way.
Because If i am saying: for instance in a file
import angular = require('angular');
it isnot importing the file. I am ofc compiling the source with the amd option.
Also can someone provide me links how to navigate through the project with these import statement.
this structure is what i am using for my current project. There I have a client (public) folder and if i want to access a js file for instance in the browser. I have to write: localhost/js/file.js
Now when i am using requireJs in the js syntax I can easily write things like controllers/userController and it navigated to the right folder, but how do i have to navigate within my import/require?
currently I have to use relative paths from the file i am using the import but that is not very wise

I did this to make it work :)
/// <reference path="./types/angular/angular.d.ts" />
declare module 'angular'{
var angular:ng.IAngularStatic;
export = angular;
}
// now you can do:
import angular = require('angular');

How to use require.js with complicated source tree, or import something else from CommonJS'es main.js?

My JS code is Backbone.js based, so I think it is a good idea to separate "classes" with this logic as shown on picture (though I'm not sure where to place templates - in this packages or in global templates folder, and do not mind main.js - it is not related to CommonJS packages) :
Now since there is fairly lot of them - I've decided to use require.js to deal with this bunch of <script src=... tags but got stuck with app.js config file (which is the only one that I include like this -
<script data-main="/static/js/app.js" src="/static/js/libmin/require.js"></script>
What do I mean with stuck - of course I can iterate all this js files in require statement using names like PlayerApp/PlayerAppController.js, or using paths directive (not sure if it will make the code look not that ugly), but it would be cool if I can use something like python's from package import *, and of course there is no such thing in require.js.
The most similar thing is packages directive, but seems like it allows you to import only main.js from each package, so then the question is - what is the most correct way to load other files of concrete package from CommonJS's main.js? I have even found a way to determine current .js file's name and path - like this, and given that I can make up other files names in current package(if I will keep naming them with the same pattern), but still do not know how to import them from main.js
Edit:
There might be an opinion that it is not very clear what exactly am I asking, so let me get this straight: how on Earth do I import a huge amount of javascript files with that project structure in the most nice way?

You are mis-understanding the purpose of a module loader. require.js is not there to make it easy for you to import all of your packages into the current namespace (i. e. the browser). It is there to make it easy to import everything you need to run app.js (based on your data-main attribute). Don't try to import * - instead, just import thingYouNeed.
Configuration
What you will want to do is set up your require.config() call with all the necessary paths for libraries like Backbone that don't support AMD and then update your code to explicitly declare its dependencies:
require.config({
// Not *needed* - will be derived from data-main otherwise
baseUrl: '/static/js/app',
paths: {
// A map of module names to paths (without the .js)
backbone: '../libmin/backbone',
underscore: '../libmin/underscore',
jquery: '../libmin/jquery.min',
jqueryui.core: '../libmin/jquery.ui.core'
// etc.
}
shim: {
// A map of module names to configs
backbone: {
deps: ['jquery', 'underscore'],
exports: 'Backbone'
},
underscore: {
exports: '_'
},
jquery: {
exports: 'jQuery'
},
// Since jQuery UI does not export
// its own name we can just provide
// a deps array without the object
'jqueryui.core': ['jquery']
}
});
Dependencies
You will want to update your code to actually use modules and declare your dependencies:
// PlayerAppModel.js
define(['backbone'], function(Backbone) {
return Backbone.Model.extend({modelStuff: 'here'});
});
// PlayerAppView.js
define(['backbone'], function(Backbone) {
return Backbone.View.extend({viewStuff: 'here'});
});
// PlayerAppController.js
define(['./PlayerAppModel', './PlayerAppView'],
function(Model, View) {
// Do things with model and view here
// return a Controller function of some kind
return function Controller() {
// Handle some route or other
};
});
Now, when you require(['PlayerApp/PlayerAppController'], function(Controller) {}) requirejs will automatically load jQuery, underscore, and Backbone for you. If you never actually use mustache.js then it will never be loaded (and when you optimize your code using the r.js compiler, the extra code will be ignored there as well).

How can I use a local file during Require.js optimisation, but a CDN-hosted version at runtime?

My page includes several components that exist as separate AMD modules. Each of these components is turned into a single file by the Require.js optimiser. Because several of these components share dependencies (e.g. jQuery and d3), the optimiser paths config uses CDN URLs for those dependencies, rather than bundling them into the optimised file.
Here's where it gets tricky. I've written a module loader plugin for Ractive.js called rvc.js, which allows me to include Ractive components that are defined in HTML files. (Yes, I'm asking for help on how to use my own library.)
This works fine - code like this gets optimised as you'd expect:
define( function ( require ) {
var ChartView = require( 'rvc!views/Chart' );
var view = new ChartView({ el: 'chart' });
});
Because Ractive is used by several of the components, it should be served from a CDN like jQuery and d3. But it's used by rvc.js during the optimisation process, which means that the Ractive entry for the optimiser's paths config can't point to a CDN - it has to point to a local file.
Is there a way to tell Require.js 'use the local file during optimisation, but load from CDN at runtime'?

So here's the solution I eventually settled on. It feels somewhat kludgy, but it works:
Stub out the loaders and the library you don't want bundled
Add an onBuildWrite function that rewrites modules depending on the library, so that they think they're requiring something else entirely - in this case Ractive_RUNTIME
Add an entry to your runtime AMD config's paths object, so that Ractive_RUNTIME points to the CDN
My optimiser config now looks like this:
{
baseUrl: 'path/to/js/',
out: 'build/js/app.js',
name: 'app',
optimize: 'none',
paths: {
'amd-loader': 'loaders/amd-loader',
'rvc': 'loaders/rvc',
'Ractive': 'lib/Ractive'
},
stubModules: [ 'amd-loader', 'rvc', 'Ractive' ],
onBuildWrite: function ( name, path, contents ) {
if ( contents === "define('Ractive',{});" ) {
// this is the stub module, we can kill it
return '';
}
// otherwise all references to `Ractive` need replacing
return contents.replace( /['"]Ractive['"]/g, '"Ractive_RUNTIME"' );
}
}
Meanwhile, the script that loads the app.js file created by the optimiser has a config entry that points to the CDN:
require.config({
context: uniqueContext,
baseUrl: baseUrl,
paths: {
'amd-loader': 'loaders/amd-loader',
'rvc': 'loaders/rvc',
'Ractive': 'lib/Ractive',
'Ractive_RUNTIME': 'http://cdn.ractivejs.org/releases/0.3.9/Ractive.min'
}
});

Loading Highcharts via shim using RequireJS and maintaining jQuery dependency

I'm attempting to load the Highcharts library using a shim in RequireJS. However, when Highcharts loads, it throws an exception because it can't access the jQuery methods it depends on.
The require config looks like so:
require.config({
baseUrl: "js",
shim: {
'libs/highcharts/highcharts.src.js': {
deps: ['jquery'],
exports: function(jQuery)
{
this.HighchartsAdapter = jQuery;
return this.Highcharts;
}
}
}
});
The exception that is thrown is:
Uncaught TypeError: undefined is not a function
and is in regards to this line:
dataLabels: merge(defaultLabelOptions, {
The issue is the merge call, which eventually maps itself back to jQuery (or some other adapter that Highcharts supports; but I'm just using jQuery).
I'm not sure exactly how to make sure Highcharts gets access to jQuery using RequireJS and shim.
Has anyone used RequireJS and Highcharts together before? I guess the issue isn't specific to highcharts, but any library that has other sorts of dependencies.
Thanks in advance for any advice or points to the correct direction!
To add further context, in hopes that someone who is familiar with require.js or shims will be able to help without having to be too intimately familiar with highcharts, here's some source that sets up this merge method in Highcharts
var globalAdapter = win.HighchartsAdapter,
adapter = globalAdapter || {},
// Utility functions. If the HighchartsAdapter is not defined,
// adapter is an empty object
// and all the utility functions will be null. In that case they are
// populated by the
// default adapters below.
// {snipped code}
merge = adapter.merge
// {snipped code}
if (!globalAdapter && win.jQuery) {
var jQ = win.jQuery;
// {snipped code}
merge = function () {
var args = arguments;
return jQ.extend(true, null, args[0], args[1], args[2], args[3]);
};
// {snipped code}
}
The win object is a reference set up to window at the beginning of the script. So, I thought adding window.jQuery = jQuery; to the export method on the shim would result in highcharts picking up the jQuery reference; but it didn't.
Again, any insight, info, advice, or heckles would be appreciated at this point - I'm at a complete loss, and starting to question whether trying to implement and AMD package system in browser javascript is even worth it.
After accepting the answer from pabera below I thought it appropriate to update my question to reflect how his answer helped my solution (though, it's basically his answer).
RequireJS uses "paths" to find libs that aren't "AMD" supported and loads them on your page. the "shim" object allows you to define dependencies for the libraries defined in paths. The dependencies must be loaded before requirejs will try to load the dependent script.
The exports property provides a mechanism to tell requirejs how to determine if the library is loaded. For core libs like jquery, backbone, socketio, etc they all export some window level variable (Backbone, io, jQuery and $, etc). You simply provide that variable name as the exports property, and requirejs will be able to determine when the lib is loaded.
Once your definitions are done, you can use requirejs' define function as expected.
Here's my example require.config object:
require.config({
baseUrl: "/js/",
paths: {
jquery: 'jquery',
socketio: 'http://localhost:8000/socket.io/socket.io', //for loading the socket.io client library
highcharts: 'libs/highcharts/highcharts.src',
underscore: 'libs/underscore',
backbone: 'libs/backbone'
},
shim: {
jquery: {
exports: 'jQuery'
},
socketio: {
exports: 'io'
},
underscore: {
exports: '_'
},
backbone: {
deps: ['jquery', 'underscore'],
exports: 'Backbone'
},
highcharts: {
deps: ['jquery'],
exports: 'Highcharts'
}
}
});
As pabera mentioned before, this is for Require.JS version 2.0.1.
I hope someone gets some use out of this; I know it road blocked me for a little while; so hopefully we kept you from banging your head into the same spot in the wall that we did, by posting this.

I had the exact same problem and I was struggling around many hours until I saw your entry here. Then I started over from scratch and now it works for me at least.
requirejs.config({
baseUrl:'/js/',
paths:{
jquery:'vendor/jquery',
handlebars: 'vendor/handlebars',
text: 'vendor/require-text',
chaplin:'vendor/chaplin',
underscore:'vendor/underscore',
backbone:'vendor/backbone',
highcharts: 'vendor/highcharts'
},
shim: {
backbone: {
deps: ['underscore', 'jquery'],
exports: 'Backbone'
},
underscore: {
exports: '_'
},
highcharts: {
exports: 'Highcharts'
}
},
});
Since I use Chaplin on top of Backbone, I am including some more files in my paths attribute. Highcharts has a similar structure to Backbone so I thought I could load it the same way. It works for me now. As you can see, I am introducing highcharts in the paths attribute already to export it as a shim afterwords.
Maybe this helps, otherwise let's try to contribute on it even more to solve your problem.

Although jQuery can be used as an AMD module it will still export itself to the window anyway so any scripts depending on the global jQuery or $ will still work as long as jQuery has loaded first.
Have you tried setting a path? jQuery is an interesting one because although you're encoruaged not to name your modules by the RequireJS documentation, jQuery actually does.
From the jQuery source
if ( typeof define === "function" && define.amd && define.amd.jQuery ) {
define( "jquery", [], function () { return jQuery; } );
}
What that means is you will need to tell RequireJS where to find 'jquery'. So:
require.config({
paths: {
'jquery': 'path/to/jquery'
}
});
If you're interested in why jQuery registers itself this way then there is a pretty large comment in the source which goes into more detail