Develop Reference

How to update Backbone JS model attribute?

UPDATE: I've updated my views to show how I resolved this question using information from the accepted answer.
I'd like to update/increment an attribute ('video_views') of my Backbone JS model via a click event from my view. But, as a Backbone rookie, I'm not sure how to accomplish this exactly.
I'd like the 'video_views' attribute to increment by one with the playVideo event (click).
Thanks for the help!
Here is the structure of my JSON from my API:
{
"id": 8,
"name": "Bike to work day",
"slug": "bike-work-day",
"tagline": "A brief tagline about the video.",
"description": "This is a test.",
"created": "2015-02-06T15:22:26.342658Z",
"website": "http://thevariable.com/",
"logo": "http://dev.thevariable.com/media/brands/logos/test_logo.jpeg",
"video": "http://dev.thevariable.com/media/brands/videos/3D463BC3-38B8-4A6F-BE93-3F53E918EC3B-3533-00000118880074BA_1.1.mp4",
"video_thumbnail": "http://dev.thevariable.com/media/brands/video_thumbnails/3D463BC3-38B8-4A6F-BE93-3F53E918EC3B-3533-00000118880074BA_1.1.mp4.jpg",
"links": {
"self": "http://dev.thevariable.com/api/brands/bike-work-day"
},
"status_display": "published",
"video_views": 0
}
Here are my Backbone views:
var TemplateView = Backbone.View.extend({
templateName: '',
initialize: function () {
this.template = _.template($(this.templateName).html());
},
render: function () {
var context = this.getContext(), html = this.template(context);
this.$el.html(html);
},
getContext: function () {
return {};
}
});
var HomePageView = TemplateView.extend({
templateName: '#home-template',
events: {
'click video': 'updateCounter',
'click .video video': 'playVideo',
'click .sound': 'muteVideo',
'click .js-open-card': 'openCard'
},
initialize: function (options) {
var self = this;
TemplateView.prototype.initialize.apply(this, arguments);
app.collections.ready.done(function () {
app.brands.fetch({success: $.proxy(self.render, self)});
});
},
getContext: function () {
return {brands: app.brands || null};
},
updateCounter: function (e) {
var id = $(e.currentTarget).data('id');
var item = self.app.brands.get(id);
var views = item.get('video_views');
var video = this.$('.video video');
// Only update the counter if the video is in play state
if (video.prop('paused')) {
item.save({video_views: views + 1}, {patch: true});
this.render();
}
},
playVideo: function () {
var video = this.$('.video video');
if (video.prop('paused')) {
video[0].play();
} else {
video.get(0).pause();
}
},
muteVideo: function (e) {
e.preventDefault();
var video = this.$el.parent().find('video');
video.prop('muted', !video.prop('muted'));
this.$('.sound').toggleClass('is-muted');
},
openCard: function (e) {
e.preventDefault();
this.$el.toggleClass('is-open');
this.$el.closest('.card-container').toggleClass('is-open');
}
});
And my Backbone models:
var BaseModel = Backbone.Model.extend({
url: function () {
var links = this.get('links'),
url = links && links.self;
if (!url) {
url = Backbone.Model.prototype.url.call(this);
}
return url;
}
});
app.models.Brand = BaseModel.extend({
idAttributemodel: 'slug'
});
var BaseCollection = Backbone.Collection.extend({
parse: function (response) {
this._next = response.next;
this._previous = response.previous;
this._count = response.count;
return response.results || [];
},
getOrFetch: function (id) {
var result = new $.Deferred(),
model = this.get(id);
if (!model) {
model = this.push({id: id});
model.fetch({
success: function (model, response, options) {
result.resolve(model);
},
error: function (model, response, options) {
result.reject(model, response);
}
});
} else {
result.resolve(model);
}
return result;
}
});
app.collections.ready = $.getJSON(app.apiRoot);
app.collections.ready.done(function (data) {
app.collections.Brands = BaseCollection.extend({
model: app.models.Brand,
url: data.brands
});
app.brands = new app.collections.Brands();
});

Just increment that attribute on the model and save it.
var views = model.get('video_views');
model.set({video_views: views + 1});
model.save();

BackboneJS Uncaught Error: A "url" property or function must be specified

I am getting this error . I am able to preform read, and remove functions using BackboneJs , but i am having error when i execute the add method any help will be appreciated.
JSfiddel path is http://jsfiddle.net/2wjdcgky/
BackboneJS Uncaught Error: A "url" property or function must be specified
$(function() {
Model
var modelContact = Backbone.Model.extend({
defaults: function() {
return {
Id: 0,
Name: "",
Address: ""
};
},
idAttribute: "Id"
});
ModelCollection
var contactCollection = Backbone.Collection.extend({
model: modelContact,
url: function() {
return 'api/Contact';
},
add: function(model) {
this.sync("create", model); // Error On create
},
remove: function(model) {
this.sync("delete", model); //Runs Fine
}
});
var contacts = new contactCollection;
View
var contactView = Backbone.View.extend({
tagName: "tr",
events: {
"click a.destroy": "clear"
},
template: _.template($("#newContacttemplate").html()),
initialize: function() {
this.model.on("change", this.render, this);
this.model.on('destroy', this.remove, this);
},
render: function() {
this.$el.html(this.template(this.model.toJSON()));
return this;
},
clear: function(e) {
contacts.remove(this.model); // runs fine
}
});
Main View
var main = Backbone.View.extend({
el: $("#contactApp"),
events: {
"click #btnsave": "CreateNewContact"
},
initialize: function() {
this.Nameinput = this.$("#contactname");
this.Addressinput = this.$("#contactaddress");
contacts.on("add", this.AddContact, this);
contacts.on("reset", this.AddContacts, this);
contacts.fetch();
},
AddContact: function (contact) {
console.log("AddContact");
var view = new contactView({ model: contact });
this.$("#tblcontact tbody").append(view.render().el);
},
AddContacts: function () {
console.log("AddContacts");
contacts.each(this.AddContact);
},
CreateNewContact: function (e) {
console.log(e);
//Generate an error "BackboneJS Uncaught Error: A "url" property or function must be specified"
contacts.add({ Name: this.Nameinput.val(), Address: this.Addressinput.val() });
}
});
var m = new main;
});

Your JSFiddle was missing Backbone references and all.
Working update: http://jsfiddle.net/apt7hchL/2/
Much simpler code (no need to define those add and remove methods on the collection!). Also more common Javascript coding style conventions.
Please note I had to manually generate an "Id" attribute to allow creating more than one contact. As you are making Id = 0 by default, second model with same is not added, as Backbone sees a model with id=0 is already in the collection.
When you want to save, call the model.save() method. Don't call sync manually, you'll normally don't need to!
For the model to be saved to the database before being added to the collection, use:
createNewContact: function (e) {
e.preventDefault();
var self = this;
var newContact = new ContactModel({
Name: this.$("#name").val(),
Address: this.$("#address").val()
});
newContact.save({ success: function(model){
self.collection.add(model);
});
//clear form
this.$("#name").val("");
this.$("#address").val("");
}

Sync method tries to sync to a server setup to handle it, with CRUD abilities. If thats not what you're looking for, and you just want to display this information on the client side, instead of using sync, you should use Collection.add(model) and Collection.remove(model)

How can i call function on view on the click event of Id, function is written on controller in backbone.js

My controller code is here.
spine.module("communityApp", function (communityApp, App, Backbone, Marionette, $, _) {
"use strict";
communityApp.Controllers.pforumController = Marionette.Controller.extend(
{
init: function(){
var func = _.bind(this._getpforum, this);
var request = App.request('alerts1:entities' , {origin:'pforum'});
$.when(request).then(func)
},
_getpforum:function(data){
var pforumCollectionView = new communityApp.CollectionViews.pforumCollectionViews({
collection: data
});
communityApp.activeTabView = pforumCollectionView;
// Populating the data
communityApp.activeTabLayout.pforum.show(pforumCollectionView);
},
});
});
view code is here
spine.module("communityApp", function (communityApp, App, Backbone, Marionette, $, _) {
// Load template
var a;
var pforumTemplateHtml = App.renderTemplate("pforumTemplate", {}, "communityModule/tabContainer/pforum");
// Define view(s)
communityApp.Views.pforumView = Marionette.ItemView.extend({
template: Handlebars.compile($(pforumTemplateHtml).html()),
tagName: "li",
onRender: function () {
this.object = this.model.toJSON();
},
events: {
"click #postcomment" : "alrt",
"click #recent-btn": "recent",
"click #my-posts": "myposts",
"click #popular-btn": "popular",
"click #follow-btn": "follow",
"click #my-posts": "LeftLinks",
"click #popular-btn": "LeftLinks",
"click #follow-btn": "LeftLinks"
},
postcomments : function ()
{
$("#recent-post-main-container").hide();
$("#recent-post-main-container2").show();
},
alrt : function ()
{
alert ("In Progress ......");
},
showCommentEiditor : function (){
$(".comment-popup-container").show();
$(".comment-txt-area").val('');
},
showPforumTab : function ()
{
$("#recent-post-main-container2").show();
$("#recent-post-main-container").hide();
},
showComments : function(){
$("#loading").show();
$(".tab-pane").hide();
$(".left-content").hide();
$("#recent-post-main-container2").show();
//$(".left-content-commentEditor").show();
$(".comm-tab-content-container").css('height','200px');
$(".comment-txt-area").val('');
$(".left-content-comment").show();
},
hideCommentPopup : function ()
{
$("#public-question-comment").hide();
},
// Show Loading sign
showLoading : function () {
$('#loading').show();
},
// UnLoading Function
hideLoading : function (){
$('#loading').hide();
},
// Add New Event Function
addEvent : function()
{
//$("#name").val(getBackResponse.user.FullName);
//$("#phone").val(getBackResponse.user.CellPhone);
//$("#email").val(getBackResponse.user.UserName);
$(".overly.addevent").show();
$('#lang').val(lat);
$('#long').val(long);
document.getElementById("my-gllpMap").style.width = "100%";
var my_gllpMap = document.getElementById("my-gllpMap");
google.maps.event.trigger( my_gllpMap, "resize" );
},
setValues : function(key,value)
{
window.localStorage.setItem(key,value);
},
getValues : function (key)
{
return window.localStorage.getItem(key);
},
closeAddEvent:function ()
{
$(".overly.addevent").hide();
},
// Show Over lay
showOverly:function ()
{
$('.overly-right-tab').show();
},
// Hide Loading sign
hideOverly : function()
{
$('.overly-right-tab').hide();
},
LeftLinks: function (e) {
var elem = $(e.target).closest('a');
var elem = $(e.target).closest('a');
var event = elem.attr('name');
switch (event) {
case "myposts":
var _this = $.extend({}, this, true);
_this.event = 'myposts';
this.LinkUrl.call(_this);
//$("#my-posts").addClass('active');
//$("#public-fourm-top-tab").addClass('TabbedPanelsTabSelected');
//$(".types").removeClass('active');
break;
case "recents":
var _this = $.extend({}, this, true);
_this.event = 'recents';
this.LinkUrl.call(_this);
$(".types").removeClass('active');
$("#recent-btn").addClass('active')
//$("#pforum").removeClass('active');
// $("#recent").addClass('active');
break;
case "populars":
var _this = $.extend({}, this, true);
_this.event = 'populars';
this.LinkUrl.call(_this);
$(".types").removeClass('active');
$("#popular-btn").addClass('active')
// $("#pforum").removeClass('active');
//$("#popular").addClass('active');
break;
case "follows":
var _this = $.extend({}, this, true);
_this.event = 'follows';
this.LinkUrl.call(_this);
$(".types").removeClass('active');
$("#follow-btn").addClass('active')
break;
}
},
LinkUrl: function (modalThis) {
communityApp.activeTabView.collection = []; // currently empty data
communityApp.activeTabView.render();
className: 'comm-main-container'
// uncomment these lines when getting data fro web service route, it will repopulate the data
var func = _.bind(function (data) {
communityApp.activeTabView.collection = data;
communityApp.activeTabView.render();
}, this);
switch (this.event) {
case "myposts":
$.when(App.request('alertLinks:entities', {
origin: 'pforum',
event: this.event
})).then(func);
break;
case "recents":
$.when(App.request('alertLinks:entities', {
origin: 'pforum',
event: this.event
})).then(func);
break;
case "populars":
$.when(App.request('alertLinks:entities', {
origin: 'pforum',
origin1:'popular',
event: this.event
})).then(func);
break;
case "follows":
$.when(App.request('alertLinks:entities', {
origin: 'pforum',
event: this.event
})).then(func);
break;
}
return true;
}
});
// define collection views to hold many communityAppView:
communityApp.CollectionViews.pforumCollectionViews = Marionette.CollectionView.extend({
tagName: "ul",
itemView: communityApp.Views.pforumView
});
});

Whenever I need to share an event between a view and controller I usually wire up the listeners within the module that instantiates the controller. This example is a bit contrived, but it gets the point across. The full working code is in this codepen. The relevant bit is copied here. Notice the line this.listenTo(view, 'itemview:selected', this.itemSelected); where the view's event triggers a method on the controller.
App.module("SampleModule", function(Mod, App, Backbone, Marionette, $, _) {
// Define a controller to run this module
// --------------------------------------
var Controller = Marionette.Controller.extend({
initialize: function(options){
this.region = options.region
},
itemSelected: function (view) {
var logView = new LogView();
$('#log').append(logView.render('selected:' + view.cid).el);
},
show: function(){
var collection = new Backbone.Collection(window.testData);
var view = new CollectionView({
collection: collection
});
this.listenTo(view, 'itemview:selected', this.itemSelected);
this.region.show(view);
}
});
// Initialize this module when the app starts
// ------------------------------------------
Mod.addInitializer(function(){
Mod.controller = new Controller({
region: App.mainRegion
});
Mod.controller.show();
});
});
The other way to accomplish this, if you cannot wire it all up within the same module, is to use Marionette's messaging infrastructure. For example, you can use the application's event aggregator to pass events around.

How do i stop a single model adding his id to url in Backbone?

i have a problem with backbone.js. I'm creating a frontend for an existing api, for me unaccessable. The problem is that when I try to add a new model to a collection, i can see in my firebug that every time backbone tries to create the model it appends the attribute name to the url.
Example:
default url = /api/database
when i perform a GET = /api/database
when i perform a GET/POST with object {"name": "test"} =
/api/database/test is the result
Anyone knows how to avoid that behaviour?
Greetings Kern
My View:
window.databaseView = Backbone.View.extend({
el: '#content',
template: new EJS({url: 'js/templates/databaseView.ejs'}),
initialize: function() {
var self = this;
this.collection.fetch({
success: function() {
console.log(self.collection);
var test = self.collection.get("_system");
console.log(test);
self.collection.get("_system").destroy();
self.collection.create({name: "test"});
}
});
},
render: function(){
$(this.el).html(this.template.render({}));
return this;
}
});
Model:
window.Database = Backbone.Model.extend({
initialize: function () {
'use strict';
},
idAttribute: "name",
defaults: {
}
});
Collection:
window.ArangoDatabase = Backbone.Collection.extend({
model: window.Database,
url: function() {
return '../../_api/database/';
},
parse: function(response) {
return _.map(response.result, function(v) {
return {name:v};
});
},
initialize: function() {
this.fetch();
},
getDatabases: function() {
this.fetch();
return this.models;
},
dropDatabase: function() {
},
createDatabse: function() {
}
});

By default, Backbone create models URLs this way: {collection url}/{model id}.
It consider the collection URL to be a base URL in a RESTful way.
Here you only want to set the Model url property to the URL you whish to call. That'll overwrite the default behavior. http://backbonejs.org/#Model-url

Backbone - Validation not working on create, only update/edit?

So, I am able to validate just fine when I am editing an existing item. However, if I want to create, validation for some reason is not getting kicked off. Instead, I am seeing the errors below:
//this is if the field I want to validate is empty
Uncaught TypeError: Object #<Object> has no method 'get'
//this is if everything in the form is filled out
Uncaught TypeError: Cannot call method 'trigger' of undefined
Here is(what I think is) the relative portion of my js. Sorry if its an overload, I wanted to add as much as I can to be as specific as possible:
Comic = Backbone.Model.extend({
initialize: function () {
this.bind("error", this.notifyCollectionError);
this.bind("change", this.notifyCollectionChange);
},
idAttribute: "ComicID",
url: function () {
return this.isNew() ? "/comics/create" : "/comics/edit/" + this.get("ComicID");
},
validate: function (atts) {
if ("Name" in atts & !atts.Name) {
return "Name is required";
}
if ("Publisher" in atts & !atts.Publisher) {
return "Publisher is required";
}
},
notifyCollectionError: function (model, error) {
this.collection.trigger("itemError", error);
},
notifyCollectionChange: function () {
this.collection.trigger("itemChanged", this);
}
});
Comics = Backbone.Collection.extend({
model: Comic,
url: "/comics/comics"
});
comics = new Comics();
FormView = Backbone.View.extend({
initialize: function () {
_.bindAll(this, "render");
this.template = $("#comicsFormTemplate");
},
events: {
"change input": "updateModel",
"submit #comicsForm": "save"
},
save: function () {
this.model.save(
this.model.attributes,
{
success: function (model, response) {
model.collection.trigger("itemSaved", model);
},
error: function (model, response) {
model.trigger("itemError", "There was a problem saving " + model.get("Name"));
}
}
);
return false;
},
updateModel: function (evt) {
var field = $(evt.currentTarget);
var data = {};
var key = field.attr('ID');
var val = field.val();
data[key] = val;
if (!this.model.set(data)) {
//reset the form field
field.val(this.model.get(key));
}
},
render: function () {
var html = this.template.tmpl(this.model.toJSON());
$(this.el).html(html);
$(".datepicker").datepicker();
return this;
}
});
NotifierView = Backbone.View.extend({
initialize: function () {
this.template = $("#notifierTemplate");
this.className = "success";
this.message = "Success";
_.bindAll(this, "render", "notifySave", "notifyError");
comics.bind("itemSaved", this.notifySave);
comics.bind("itemError", this.notifyError);
},
events: {
"click": "goAway"
},
goAway: function () {
$(this.el).delay(0).fadeOut();
},
notifySave: function (model) {
this.message = model.get("Name") + " saved";
this.render();
},
notifyError: function (message) {
this.message = message;
this.className = "error";
this.render();
},
render: function () {
var html = this.template.tmpl({ message: this.message, className: this.className });
$(this.el).html(html);
return this;
}
});
var ComicsAdmin = Backbone.Router.extend({
initialize: function () {
listView = new ListView({ collection: comics, el: "#comic-list" });
formView = new FormView({ el: "#comic-form" });
notifierView = new NotifierView({el: "#notifications" });
},
routes: {
"": "index",
"edit/:id": "edit",
"create": "create"
},
index: function () {
listView.render();
},
edit: function (id) {
listView.render();
$(notifierView.el).empty();
$(formView.el).empty();
var model = comics.get(id);
formView.model = model;
formView.render();
},
create: function () {
var model = new Comic();
listView.render();
$(notifierView.el).empty();
$(formView.el).empty();
formView.model = model;
formView.render();
}
});
jQuery(function () {
comics.fetch({
success: function () {
window.app = new ComicsAdmin();
Backbone.history.start();
},
error: function () {
}
});
})
So, shouldnt my create be getting validated too? Why isnt it?

When creating a new instance of a model, the validate method isn't called. According to the backbone documentation the validation is only called before set or save.
I am also struggling with this problem and found solutions in related questions:
You could make a new model and then set its attributes (see question 9709968)
A more elegant way is calling the validate method when initializing the model (see question 7923074)
I'm not completely satisfied with these solutions because creating a new instance of the model like described in the backbone documentation shouldn't happen when an error is triggered. Unfortunately, in both solutions you're still stuck with a new instance of the model.
edit: Being stuck with a new instance of the model is actually quite nice. This way you can give the user feedback about why it didn't pass the validator and give the opportunity to correct his/her input.

OK. So, I'm having some mild success here.
First, I wrote my own validation framework, Backbone.Validator since I didn't like any of the ones out there that I found.
Second, I am able to get the validation framework to set off the validation routine by setting silent: false with in the object provided during the new Model creation.
Along with using the use_defaults parameter from my validation framework I am able to override bad data during setup in initial testing. I'm still working on doing some more tests on this, but it seems to be going OK from from the Chrome browser console.