How can I easily maintain a cross-file JavaScript Library Development Environment - javascript

I have been developing a new JavaScript application which is rapidly growing in size.
My entire JavaScript Application has been encapsulated inside a single function, in a single file, in a way like this:
(function(){
var uniqueApplication = window.uniqueApplication = function(opts){
if (opts.featureOne)
{
this.featureOne = new featureOne(opts.featureOne);
}
if (opts.featureTwo)
{
this.featureTwo = new featureTwo(opts.featureTwo);
}
if (opts.featureThree)
{
this.featureThree = new featureThree(opts.featureThree);
}
};
var featureOne = function(options)
{
this.options = options;
};
featureOne.prototype.myFeatureBehavior = function()
{
//Lots of Behaviors
};
var featureTwo = function(options)
{
this.options = options;
};
featureTwo.prototype.myFeatureBehavior = function()
{
//Lots of Behaviors
};
var featureThree = function(options)
{
this.options = options;
};
featureThree.prototype.myFeatureBehavior = function()
{
//Lots of Behaviors
};
})();
In the same file after the anonymous function and execution I do something like this:
(function(){
var instanceOfApplication = new uniqueApplication({
featureOne:"dataSource",
featureTwo:"drawingCanvas",
featureThree:3540
});
})();
Before uploading this software online I pass my JavaScript file, and all it's dependencies, into Google Closure Compiler, using just the default Compression, and then I have one nice JavaScript file ready to go online for production.
This technique has worked marvelously for me - as it has created only one global footprint in the DOM and has given me a very flexible framework to grow each additional feature of the application. However - I am reaching the point where I'd really rather not keep this entire application inside one JavaScript file.
I'd like to move from having one large uniqueApplication.js file during development to having a separate file for each feature in the application, featureOne.js - featureTwo.js - featureThree.js
Once I have completed offline development testing, I would then like to use something, perhaps Google Closure Compiler, to combine all of these files together - however I want these files to all be compiled inside of that scope, as they are when I have them inside one file - and I would like for them to remain in the same scope during offline testing too.
I see that Google Closure Compiler supports an argument for passing in modules but I haven't really been able to find a whole lot of information on doing something like this.
Anybody have any idea how this could be accomplished - or any suggestions on a development practice for writing a single JavaScript Library across multiple files that still only leaves one footprint on the DOM?

The jQuery github has a similar setup to the one you speak of. There is even a Makefile / ant build.xml that use the google closure complier.
The basic concept is to develop all your stuff in separate files, then use cat (or something similar) to put all the files together.
cat intro.js core.js featureOne.js featureTwo.js featureThree.js outro.js > build/script.js
The code inside intro.js and outro.js from jQuery:
// intro.js
(function(window, undefined) {
// outro.js
})(window);

Take a look at how this library is built
http://github.com/oyvindkinsey/easyXDM
The files are separated, but merged together, placed into a closure, and run through jslint by the ant script (build.xml).
The ant script also does conditional 'compilation', string replacements and minification.

I recommend that you split your code base into AMD/RequireJS-style modules.
The AMD format seems to meet most of your requirements, and is rapidly becoming a de facto standard.

Related

Javascript code organization data driven application

I'm currently working on the front-end of a medium/large-scale data-driven Asp.net MVC application and I have some doubts about the right code-organization/design pattern to follow.
The web application is made by multiple pages containing many Kendo UI MVC widgets defined with Razor template.
For those who are unfamiliar with Kendo, the razor syntax is translated to Javascript as the following snippet:
I defined inside my Script folder two main folders, and I structured my js files as follow:
shared //Contains the shared js files
-file1.js
-file2.js
pages //One file per page
page1.js
page2.js
...
Ticket.js // page 4 :)
Each js file is a separate module defined with the following pattern:
Note: Inside init function is registered every callback function to the window events and occasionally a $(document).ready(function(){}) block.
;(function () {
"use strict";
function Ticket(settings) {
this.currentPageUrls = settings.currentPageUrls;
this.currentPageMessages = settings.currentPageMessages;
this.currentPageEnums = settings.currentPageEnums;
this.currentPageParameters = settings.currentPageParameters;
this.gridManager = new window.gridManager(); //usage of shared modules
this.init();
}
Ticket.prototype.init = function () {
$("form").on("submit", function () {
$(".window-content-sandbox").addClass("k-loading");
});
...
}
Ticket.prototype.onRequestStart = function (e) {
...
}
//private functions definition
function private(a, b, c){
}
window.Ticket = Ticket;
}());
Once I need my Javascript functions defined in a module I include the associated Javascript file in the page.
An istance of my object is stored inside a variable and, on top of that, a function is bound to the widget event (see: onRequestStart).
HTML/JAVASCRIPT
#(Html.Kendo().DropDownList()
.Name("Users")
.DataValueField("Id")
.DataTextField("Username")
.DataSource(d => d.Read(r => r.Action("UsersAsJson", "User"))
.Events(e => e.RequestStart("onRequestStart"))))
var settings = {};
var ticket = new window.Ticket(settings);
function onRequestStart(e){
ticket.onRequestStart(e);
}
I feel like my design pattern might be unfriendly to other front-end delevoper as I am, mostly because I choose not to implement the Javascript modules within Jquery plugin.
First, Am I doing everything the wrong way?
Second, is my design pattern suitable for a Javascript test-framework?
Third, which are the must-have scenarios for Jquery plugins?
Update
Added the Javascript output by the above Razor syntax.
Folder structure
In terms of functionality (shared) and modules (modular approach), the development or application code should represent what you can encounter in HTML. A simple ctrl+f over your solution should yield all possible changes. From that experience over the years I personally prefer dividing it in:
app (application code)
classes (reusable)
modules (singleton)
lib (package manager/grunt/gulp/...)
jquery (proper library names/unminified dist file or root file)
kendo
File names
Representing what something does and to be able to reuse it in a blink of an eye is what will cut your development time. Choosing proper names has value as I'm sure you are aware. My file names always starts with the namespace usually in short followed by a reusable "search" term:
app/prototypes
ns.calendar.js (multiple configs)
ns.maps.js (combinations or single uses)
ns.places.js (forms or map add-ons)
ns.validation.js (multiple forms and general handling)
app/singletons
ns.cookiebox.js (single config)
ns.socialmedia.js (single config)
ns.dom.js (provides a place for dom corrections, global resize events, small widgets, ...)
To add, what you called shared, is functionality that's meant to be global. A great example would be to use underscore library. Or create a collection of functions (device detection, throttle, helpers in general) on your own to reuse throughout projects => ns.fn.js
Since you add them only once throughout your namespace, it's also built as singleton and can be added to the modules folder or directly in the app root.
As last addition a loader file to kickstart your point of control => ns.load.js in the app root. This file holds the single DOM ready event to bind protoypes and modules.
So you might want to rethink your idea of dividing into pages. Trust me, I've been there. At some point you'll notice how functionality grows too large in order to configure all pages separately and therefor repeatedly.
File structure
To be honest I like Tip 1 of #TxRegex answer the most, with a small addition to bind the namespace and pass it from file to file as it get's loaded.
Core principle: IIFE bound to window object
window.NameSpace = (function($, ns){
'strict'
function private(){}
var x;
ns.SearchTerm = {};
return ns;
}(window.jQuery, window.NameSpace || {}));
For more example code I'd like to point out my github account.
Bundling
Try to achieve a single bundled and minified file from lib to app, loaded in the head on async for production releases. Use separated and unminified script files on defer for development and debug purposes. You must avoid inline script with global dependencies throughout the whole project if you do this.
path to js/lib/**/*.js (usually separated to keep sequential order)
path to js/app/ns.load.js
path to js/app/ns.fn.js
path to js/app/**/*.js (auto update the bundle)
Output => ns.bundle.js
=> ns.bundle.min.js
This way you'll avoid render blocking issues in JavaScript and speed up the loading process which in turn boosts SEO. Also enables you to combine functionality for mobile layouts and desktop layouts on the fly without memory issues or jerky behavior. Minifies really well and generates little overhead in calling instances from the loader file. As a single bundle will be cached throughout your pages it all depends on how many dependencies or libraries you can cut from the bundle. Ideally for medium and large projects where code can be shared and plugged in to different projects.
More info on this in another post.
Conclusion
First, Am I doing everything the wrong way?
Not at all, your modular approach seems ok...
It's missing a global namespace, which is hard to avoid without at least one. You create one for each module but it seems better to group them all under one namespace so you can differentiate library code from application code in the window object.
Kendo seems to create inline scripts? Can't you counter the placement server side?
Second, is my design pattern suitable for a Javascript test-framework?
Except for the Kendo instances, you can add a layer for testing purposes. Remember if jQuery is your dependency inline, you'll have to render block it's loading. Otherwise => jQuery is undefined
Exclude Kendo dependencies from the bundle if you can't control the inline script. Move to a </body> bundled solution.
Third, which are the must-have scenarios for Jquery plugins?
modular approach
configurable approach for multiple instances (tip: moving all strings from your logic, see how Kendo uses object literals)
package manager to separate the "junk" from the "gold"
grunt/gulp/... setup to separate scss and css from js
try to achieve a data-attribute binding, so once all is written, you configure new instances through HTML.
Write once, adapt easily where necessary and configure plenty!
The organization and pattern seems fine, but I have some tips:
Tip 1:
Instead of setting specific global variables within your module, perhaps you could return the object instead. So instead of doing this:
;(function () {
"use strict";
function Ticket(settings) {
console.log("ticket created", settings);
}
...
window.Ticket = Ticket;
}());
You would do this:
;window.Ticket = (function () {
"use strict";
function Ticket(settings) {
console.log("ticket created", settings);
}
...
return Ticket;
}());
The reason for this is to be able to take your module code and give it a different global variable name if needed. If there is a name conflict, you can rename it to MyTicket or whatever without actually changing the module's internal code.
Tip 2:
Forget Tip 1, global variables stink. Instead of creating a seperate global variable for each object type, why not create an object manager and use a single global variable to manage all your objects:
window.myCompany = (function () {
function ObjectManager(modules) {
this.modules = modules || {};
}
ObjectManager.prototype.getInstance = function(type, settings) {
if (!type || !this.modules.hasOwnProperty(type)) {
throw "Unrecognized object type:";
}
return new this.modules[type](settings);
};
ObjectManager.prototype.addObjectType = function(type, object) {
if (!type) {
throw "Type is required";
}
if(!object) {
throw "Object is required";
}
this.modules[type] = object;
};
return new ObjectManager();
}());
Now each of your modules can be managed with this single global object that has your company name attached to it.
;(function () {
"use strict";
function Ticket(settings) {
console.log("ticket created", settings);
}
...
window.myCompany.addObjectType("Ticket", Ticket);
}());
Now you can easily get an instance for every single object type like this:
var settings = {test: true};
var ticket = window.myCompany.getInstance("Ticket", settings);
And you only have one global variable to worry about.
You can try separating your files in different components asuming each component has a folder.
for example: page 1 is about rectangles so you make a folder call rectangle inside that folder you create 3 files rectangle.component.html, rectangle.component.css, rectangle.component.js (optional rectangle.spec.js for testing).
app
└───rectangle
rectangle.component.css
rectangle.component.html
rectangle.component.js
so if anything bad happends to a rectangle you know where is the problem
a good way to isolate variables and execute in the right place is to use a router basically what this does it check at the url and executes the portion of code you asign to that page
hope it helps let me know if you need more help.

Best way to organize jQuery/JavaScript code (2013) [closed]

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, visit the help center.
Closed 9 years ago.
The Problem
This answer has been answered before but are old and not up to date. I have over 2000 lines of code in a single file, and as we all know this is bad practice, especially when i'm looking through code or adding new features. I want to better organize my code, for now and for the future.
I should mention that I'm building a tool (not a simple website) with lots of buttons, UI elements, drag, drops, action listeners/handlers and function in the global scope where several listeners may use the same function.
Example code
$('#button1').on('click', function(e){
// Determined action.
update_html();
});
... // Around 75 more of this
function update_html(){ .... }
...
More example code
Conclusion
I really need to organize this code for best use and not to repeat myself and be able to add new features and update old ones. I will be working on this by myself. Some selectors can be 100 lines of code others are 1. I have looked a bit at require.js and found it kinda repetitive, and actually writing more code than needed . I'm open to any possible solution that fit this criteria and link to resource / examples are always a plus.
Thanks.
I'll go over some simple things that may, or may not, help you. Some might be obvious, some might be extremely arcane.
Step 1: Compartmentalize your code
Separating your code into multiple, modular units is a very good first step. Round up what works "together" and put them in their own little encased unit. don't worry about the format for now, keep it inline. The structure is a later point.
So, suppose you have a page like this:
It would make sense to compartmentalize so that all the header-related event handlers/binders are in there, for ease of maintenance (and not having to sift through 1000 lines).
You can then use a tool such as Grunt to re-build your JS back to a single unit.
Step 1a: Dependency management
Use a library such as RequireJS or CommonJS to implement something called AMD. Asynchronous Module Loading allows you to explicitely state what your code depends on, which then allows you to offload the library-calling to the code. You can just literally say "This needs jQuery" and the AMD will load it, and execute your code when jQuery is available.
This also has a hidden gem: the library loading will be done the second the DOM is ready, not before. This no longer halts load-up of your page!
Step 2: Modularize
See the wireframe? I have two ad units. They'll most likely have shared event listeners.
Your task in this step is to identify the points of repetition in your code and to try to synthesise all this into modules. Modules, right now, will encompass everything. We'll split stuff as we go along.
The whole idea of this step is to go from step 1 and delete all the copy-pastas, to replace them with units that are loosely coupled. So, instead of having:
ad_unit1.js
$("#au1").click(function() { ... });
ad_unit2.js
$("#au2").click(function() { ... });
I will have:
ad_unit.js:
var AdUnit = function(elem) {
this.element = elem || new jQuery();
}
AdUnit.prototype.bindEvents = function() {
... Events go here
}
page.js:
var AUs = new AdUnit($("#au1,#au2"));
AUs.bindEvents();
Which allows you to compartmentalize between your events and your markup in addition to getting rid of repetition. This is a pretty decent step and we'll extend this further later on.
Step 3: Pick a framework!
If you'd like to modularize and reduce repetitions even further, there are a bunch of awesome frameworks around that implement MVC (Model - View - Controller) approaches. My favourite is Backbone/Spine, however, there's also Angular, Yii, ... The list goes on.
A Model represents your data.
A View represents your mark-up and all the events associated to it
A Controller represents your business logic - in other words, the controller tells the page what views to load and what models to use.
This will be a significant learning step, but the prize is worth it: it favours clean, modular code over spaghetti.
There are plenty of other things you can do, those are just guidelines and ideas.
Code-specific changes
Here are some specific improvements to your code:
$('.new_layer').click(function(){
dialog("Create new layer","Enter your layer name","_input", {
'OK' : function(){
var reply = $('.dialog_input').val();
if( reply != null && reply != "" ){
var name = "ln_"+reply.split(' ').join('_');
var parent = "";
if(selected_folder != "" ){
parent = selected_folder+" .content";
}
$R.find(".layer").clone()
.addClass(name).html(reply)
.appendTo("#layer_groups "+parent);
$R.find(".layers_group").clone()
.addClass(name).appendTo('#canvas '+selected_folder);
}
}
});
});
This is better written as:
$("body").on("click",".new_layer", function() {
dialog("Create new layer", "Enter your layer name", "_input", {
OK: function() {
// There must be a way to get the input from here using this, if it is a standard library. If you wrote your own, make the value retrievable using something other than a class selector (horrible performance + scoping +multiple instance issues)
// This is where the view comes into play. Instead of cloning, bind the rendering into a JS prototype, and instantiate it. It means that you only have to modify stuff in one place, you don't risk cloning events with it, and you can test your Layer stand-alone
var newLayer = new Layer();
newLayer
.setName(name)
.bindToGroup(parent);
}
});
});
Earlier in your code:
window.Layer = function() {
this.instance = $("<div>");
// Markup generated here
};
window.Layer.prototype = {
setName: function(newName) {
},
bindToGroup: function(parentNode) {
}
}
Suddenly, you have a way to create a standard layer from anywhere in your code without copy pasting. You're doing this in five different places. I've just saved you five copy-pastes.
One more:
// Ruleset wrapper for actions
var PageElements = function(ruleSet) {
ruleSet = ruleSet || [];
this.rules = [];
for (var i = 0; i < ruleSet.length; i++) {
if (ruleSet[i].target && ruleSet[i].action) {
this.rules.push(ruleSet[i]);
}
}
}
PageElements.prototype.run = function(elem) {
for (var i = 0; i < this.rules.length; i++) {
this.rules[i].action.apply(elem.find(this.rules.target));
}
}
var GlobalRules = new PageElements([
{
"target": ".draggable",
"action": function() { this.draggable({
cancel: "div#scrolling, .content",
containment: "document"
});
}
},
{
"target" :".resizable",
"action": function() {
this.resizable({
handles: "all",
zIndex: 0,
containment: "document"
});
}
}
]);
GlobalRules.run($("body"));
// If you need to add elements later on, you can just call GlobalRules.run(yourNewElement);
This is a very potent way to register rules if you have events that are not standard, or creation events. This is also seriously kick-ass when combined with a pub/sub notification system and when bound to an event you fire whenever you create elements. Fire'n'forget modular event binding!
Here is a simple way to split your current codebase into multiple files, using require.js.
I will show you how to split your code into two files. Adding more files will be straightforward after that.
Step 1) At the top of your code, create an App object (or whatever name you prefer, like MyGame):
var App = {}
Step 2) Convert all of your top-level variables and functions to belong to the App object.
Instead of:
var selected_layer = "";
You want:
App.selected_layer = "";
Instead of:
function getModified(){
...
}
You want:
App.getModified = function() {
}
Note that at this point your code will not work until you finish the next step.
Step 3) Convert all global variable and function references to go through App.
Change stuff like:
selected_layer = "."+classes[1];
to:
App.selected_layer = "."+classes[1];
and:
getModified()
to:
App.GetModified()
Step 4) Test Your code at this stage -- it should all work. You will probably get a few errors at first because you missed something, so fix those before moving on.
Step 5) Set up requirejs. I assume you have a web page, served from a web server, whose code is in:
www/page.html
and jquery in
www/js/jquery.js
If these paths are not exactly like this the below will not work and you'll have to modify the paths.
Download requirejs and put require.js in your www/js directory.
in your page.html, delete all script tags and insert a script tag like:
<script data-main="js/main" src="js/require.js"></script>
create www/js/main.js with content:
require.config({
"shim": {
'jquery': { exports: '$' }
}
})
require(['jquery', 'app']);
then put all the code you just fixed up in Steps 1-3 (whose only global variable should be App) in:
www/js/app.js
At the very top of that file, put:
require(['jquery'], function($) {
At the bottom put:
})
Then load page.html in your browser. Your app should work!
Step 6) Create another file
Here is where your work pays off, you can do this over and over.
Pull out some code from www/js/app.js that references $ and App.
e.g.
$('a').click(function() { App.foo() }
Put it in www/js/foo.js
At the very top of that file, put:
require(['jquery', 'app'], function($, App) {
At the bottom put:
})
Then change the last line of www/js/main.js to:
require(['jquery', 'app', 'foo']);
That's it! Do this every time you want to put code in its own file!
For your question and comments I'll assume you are not willing to port your code to a framework like Backbone, or use a loader library like Require. You just want a better way to orgainze the code that you already have, in the simplest way possible.
I understand it is annoying to scroll through 2000+ lines of code to find the section that you want to work on. The solution is to split your code in different files, one for each functionality. For example sidebar.js, canvas.js etc. Then you can join them together for production using Grunt, together with Usemin you can have something like this:
In your html:
<!-- build:js scripts/app.js -->
<script src="scripts/sidebar.js"></script>
<script src="scripts/canvas.js"></script>
<!-- endbuild -->
In your Gruntfile:
useminPrepare: {
html: 'app/index.html',
options: {
dest: 'dist'
}
},
usemin: {
html: ['dist/{,*/}*.html'],
css: ['dist/styles/{,*/}*.css'],
options: {
dirs: ['dist']
}
}
If you want to use Yeoman it will give you a boilerplate code for all this.
Then for each file itself, you need to make sure you follow best practices and that all the code and variables are all in that file, and don't depend on other files. This doesn't mean you can't call functions of one file from other, the point is to have variables and functions encapsulated. Something similar to namespacing. I'll assume you don't want to port all your code to be Object Oriented, but if you don't mind refactoring a bit, I'd recommend to add something equivalent with what is called a Module pattern. It looks something like this:
sidebar.js
var Sidebar = (function(){
// functions and vars here are private
var init = function(){
$("#sidebar #sortable").sortable({
forceHelperSize: true,
forcePlaceholderSize: true,
revert: true,
revert: 150,
placeholder: "highlight panel",
axis: "y",
tolerance: "pointer",
cancel: ".content"
}).disableSelection();
}
return {
// here your can put your "public" functions
init : init
}
})();
Then you can load this bit of code like this:
$(document).ready(function(){
Sidebar.init();
...
This will allow you to have a much more maintainable code without having to rewrite your code too much.
Use javascript MVC Framework in order to organize the javascript code in a standard way.
Best JavaScript MVC frameworks available are:
Backbone
Angular
CanJS
Ember
ReactJS
Selecting a JavaScript MVC framework required so many factors to consider. Read the following comparison article that will help you to select best framework based on the factors important for your project:
http://sporto.github.io/blog/2013/04/12/comparison-angular-backbone-can-ember/
You can also use RequireJS with the framework to support Asynchrounous js file & module loading.
Look the below to get started on JS Module loading:
http://www.sitepoint.com/understanding-requirejs-for-effective-javascript-module-loading/
Categorize your code. This method is helping me a lot and does work with any js framework:
(function(){//HEADER: menu
//your code for your header
})();
(function(){//HEADER: location bar
//your code for your location
})();
(function(){//FOOTER
//your code for your footer
})();
(function(){//PANEL: interactive links. e.g:
var crr = null;
$('::section.panel a').addEvent('click', function(E){
if ( crr) {
crr.hide();
}
crr = this.show();
});
})();
In your preferred editor (the best is Komodo Edit) you may fold in by collapsing all entries and you will see only the titles:
(function(){//HEADER: menu_____________________________________
(function(){//HEADER: location bar_____________________________
(function(){//FOOTER___________________________________________
(function(){//PANEL: interactive links. e.g:___________________
I would suggest:
publisher/subscriber pattern for event management.
object orientation
namespacing
In your case Jessica, divide the interface into pages or screens. Pages or screens can be objects and extended from some parent classes. Manage the interactions among pages with a PageManager class.
I suggest that you use something like Backbone. Backbone is a RESTFUL supported javascript library. Ik makes your code cleaner and more readable and is powerful when used together with requirejs.
http://backbonejs.org/
http://requirejs.org/
Backbone isn't a real library. It is meant to give structure to your javascript code. It is able to include other libraries like jquery, jquery-ui, google-maps etc. Backbone is in my opinion the closest javascript approach to Object Oriented and Model View Controller structures.
Also regarding your workflow.. If you build your applications in PHP use the Laravel library. It'll work flawlessly with Backbone when used with the RESTfull principle. Below the link to Laravel Framework and a tutorial about building RESTfull APIs:
http://maxoffsky.com/code-blog/building-restful-api-in-laravel-start-here/
http://laravel.com/
Below is a tutorial from nettuts. Nettuts has a lot of High Quality tutorials:
http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/javascript-ajax/understanding-backbone-js-and-the-server/
Maybe its time for you start implementing a whole development workflow using such tools as yeoman http://yeoman.io/. This will help control all your dependencies, build process and if you wanted, automated testing. Its a lot of work to start with but once implemented will make future changes a lot easier.

Javascript Build Tools To Toggle Urls/Variables Between Production/Deployment

I am beginning my first big javascript project! I had a question about deployment. I am using ajax calls to a webservice. To set this up I have a static JS file with code like:
var API_URL_ROOT = 'http://api.example.com/';
var IN_DEVELOPMENT = True;
if (IN_DEVELOPMENT) {
API_URL_ROOT = 'http://localhost.com/api';
}
$.get(API_URL_ROOT)
I am using python/fabric to deploy. I was wondering if there were any prebuilt tools for handling the static analysis/manipulation of the javascript files., Right now it leaves toggling up to the commiters
I was planning on a deployment process like:
issue deploy command
"build" JS, by setting all values to production values (ie. IN_DEVELOPMENT = False)
Minify JS
Deploy code to production servers
I was thinking of just using sed or something to do the IN_DEVELPMENT = False replacement. I have looked at some of the popular minification tools and none seem to offer this sort of functionality.
I would assume that this is a pretty common problem for applications. How is it usually handled? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you
I recently read an article on hackernews from mozilla:
In the Mozilla Persona code base, we frequently expose difficult to
test private functions to the public interface, clearly marking the
extra functions as part of a test API. While other developers are
still able to call these private functions, the author’s intentions
are clear.
...
publicFunction: function() {
return "publicFunction can be invoked externally but "
+ privateFunction();
}
// BEGIN TESTING API
,
privateFunction: privateFunction
// END TESTING API
};
// privateFunction is now accessible via the TESTING API
function privateFunction() {
...
Code between the // BEGIN TESTING API and //END TESTING API
pseudo-markers can be removed for production during the build process.
So other companies are definitely doing this. Are there premade tools to facilitate the JS build proccess that can remove this code? I glanced at a number of their projects on github and didn't see any. Thank you
We are using dojo
And in dojo you can use conditional exclusions for the build version of your js in order to exclude parts of your code that you would not want in your build js. Hope this helps.
eg:
var API_URL_ROOT = 'http://api.example.com/';
//>>excludeStart("dev",!pragmas.dev);
var IN_DEVELOPMENT = True;
//>>excludeEnd("dev");
if (IN_DEVELOPMENT) {
API_URL_ROOT = 'http://localhost.com/api';
}
$.get(API_URL_ROOT)

How can I combine my JavaScript files and still have my callbacks wait for a ready state?

I have lots of functions and event handlers that are split across multiple javascript files which are included on different pages throughout my site.
For performance reasons I want to combine all of those files into 1 file that is global across the site.
The problem is I will have event handlers called on elements that won't necessarily exist and same function names.
This is an example of a typical javascript file...
$(document).ready(function(){
$('#blah').keypress(function(e){
if (e.which == 13) {
checkMap();
return false;
}
});
});
function checkMap() {
// code
}
function loadMap() {
// code
}
I would need to seperate this code into an object that is called on that specific page.
My thoughts are I could re-write it like this:
(function($) {
$.homepage = {
checkMap: function(){
// code
},
loadMap: function(){
//code
}
};
})(jQuery);
And then on the page that requires it I could call $.homepage.checkMap() etc.
But then how would I declare event handlers like document.ready without containing it in it's own function?
First of all: Depending on how much code you have, you should consider, if serving all your code in one file is really a good idea. It's okay to save http-requests, but if you load a huge chunk of code, from which you use 5% on a single page, you might be better of by keeping those js files separated (especially in mobile environments!).
Remember, you can let the browser cache those files. Depending on how frequent your code changes, and how much of the source changes, you might want to separate your code into stable core-functionality and additional .js packages for special purposes. This way you might be better off traffic- and maintainance-wise.
Encapsulating your functions into different objects is a good idea to prevent unnecessary function-hoisting and global namespace pollution.
Finally you can prevent calling needless event handlers by either:
Introducing some kind of pagetype which helps you decide calling only the necessary functions.
or
checking for the existence of certain elements like this if( $("specialelement").length > 0 ){ callhandlers}
to speed up your JS, you could use the Google Closure Compiler. It minifies and optimizes your code.
I think that all you need is a namespace for you application. A namespace is a simple JSON object that could look like this:
var myApp = {
homepage : {
showHeader : function(){},
hideHeader : function(){},
animationDelay : 3400,
start : function(){} // the function that start the entire homepage logic
},
about : {
....
}
}
You can split it in more files:
MyApp will contain the myApp = { } object, maybe with some useful utilities like object.create or what have you.
Homepage.js will contain myApp.homepage = { ... } with all the methods of your homepage page.
The list goes on and on with the rest of the pages.
Think of it as packages. You don't need to use $ as the main object.
<script src="myapp.js"></script>
<script src="homepage.js"></script>
<-....->
<script>
myApp.homepage.start();
</script>
Would be the way I would use the homepage object.
When compressing with YUI, you should have:
<script src="scripts.min.js"></script>
<script>
myApp.homepage.start();
</script>
Just to make sure I've understood you correctly, you have one js file with all your code, but you want to still be in control of what is executed on a certain page?
If that is the case, then the Terrific JS framework could interest you. It allows you to apply javascript functionality to a module. A module is a component on your webpage, like the navigation, header, a currency converter. Terrific JS scans the dom and executes the js for the modules it finds so you don't have to worry about execution. Terrific JS requires OOCSS naming conventions to identify modules. It's no quick solution to your problem but it will help if you're willing to take the time. Here are some more links you may find useful:
Hello World Example:
http://jsfiddle.net/brunschgi/uzjSM/
Blogpost on using:
http://thomas.junghans.co.za/blog/2011/10/14/using-terrificjs-in-your-website/
I would use something like YUI compressor to merge all files into one min.js file that is minified. If you are looking for performance both merging and minifiying is the way to go. http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/compressor/
Example:
Javascript input files: jquery.js, ads.js support.js
run yui with jquery.js, ads.js, support.js output it into min.js
Javascript output files: min.js
then use min.js in your html code.

Advice for order in big javascript file

I started creating a javascript file in Sublime Text with a few lines and a few functions, but over days passed the file was growing and growing and now it has around 600 lines with about 40 functions.
So I keep scrolling up and down for writing or reading code. And I think that that it's not a good workflow. How can i be more organized with javascript code. Is there a technique that professionals use for that, or a tool?
600 lines is not so much, yet. What you can do is namespace your code (separate it according to functionality). For example:
Lets say you have a js file with a bunch of functions
function formatDate(date){ ... }
function calcAge(birthdate){ ... }
function removeAccents(string){ ... }
function resizeImage(img){ ... }
... and many more ...
You can go ahead and separate functions by category, in this case we could group all the functions that deal with dates. All the ones that deal with strings and the ones that handle images.
// we create a global namespace, on main.js
var MyCoolProject = {};
// then we include string.js, and put all the string functions here
MyCoolProject.string = {
removeAccents: function(string){ ... }
};
// on date.js, we put all date functions
MyCoolProject.date = {
formatDate: function(date){ ... },
calcAge: function(birthdate){ ... }
};
// so on with image.js
MyCoolProject.img = {
resizeImage: function(date){ ... }
};
This way you have several smaller files that handle a specific kind of logic and you would call your functions like this:
function doSomethingAwesome(str){
var awesomeString = MyCoolProject.string.awesomize(str);
alert(awesomeString);
}
You also benefit by having more maintainable code and avoid collisions. Collisions happen when you include another script that happens to have a function with the same name as yours. If this happens, only the last included function will be executed. By namespacing your code you prevent this.
Keep in mind
You will have more files, this means more <script> tags in your html in which sometimes the order matters! You should eventually use build tools like grunt or gulp to concatenate and minimize all the js into one single scripts.js file. This way you have full control over your code during development. But once in production your site will make only one request for a js file which should make your site load faster.
Also, the namespacing method used here is my personal preference but in js you can achieve the same behavior through other patterns like prototypes, closures, commonjs, etc so you could research these and see which one fits your personal preference. There is not one better than the other, just one that will serve as a tool to make you build it faster and better.

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