I have a template named exercise. Template exercise is subscribed to exactly one exercise (data) from db.
I am building touch typing app. The template exercise is part where user writes down prepared text.
This template will be quite complicated.
I needed some additional logic, so I created class ExerciseText.
The goal is: I need to share object exerciseText within template helpers and events of template exercise. I need that object exerciseTexthave some state during live time of template exercise.
I wrote my code with help of Sacha's article
It works, but is this a good pattern? Thank you for any ideas.
ExerciseText.js
"use strict";
export default class ExerciseText {
constructor(exercise) {
this.text = exercise.text;
}
get getText() {
return this.text.split('');
}
// many logic wow
}
exercise.js
"use strict";
import ExerciseText from '../../../imports/api/client/ExerciseText.js';
Template.exercise.helpers({
exercise: () => {
if (Template.instance().subscription.ready()) {
return Template.instance().exercise;
}
},
text: () => {
if (Template.instance().subscription.ready()) {
return Template.instance().exerciseText.getText;
}
}
});
Template.exercise.onCreated(()=> {
var instance = this;
instance.autorun(() => {
var params = Router.current().params;
var lessonUrl = params.lessonUrl;
var exerciseOrder = parseInt(params.rank);
instance.subscription = instance.subscribe('exercise', lessonUrl, exerciseOrder);
if (instance.subscription.ready()) {
var lesson = Lessons.findOne() || {};
if (lesson.hasOwnProperty('exercises')) {
// lesson has only one published exercise
// there si only one element in that array
instance.exercise = lesson.exercises[0];
instance.exerciseText = new ExerciseText(instance.exercise);
}
}
});
});
Related
I am confused on how to work with module pattern (and design patterns in general) in JavaScript.
I already wrote some functioning code in my application using module pattern that does what I want to, but it doesn't seem to be very modular to me, and I keep having this feeling that I am doing it wrong. I didn't manage to find any concrete and complete application example with any design pattern.
Here is how I work with it :
Let's say I have forms in my application that I'll use for different modules (post a thread, reply to a thread, comment the guests book), with some JavaScript I'll give users some functionalities, as such as popping a smiley bubble and handling insertion of them in my forms, sending data posts to my server code to return the HTML code in order to add the message without reloading the page, I'll do something like that:
let Form = function (selector_form, selector_textarea, selector_emoticonsButton, selector_postButton) {
let form, textarea, emoticonsButton, postButton;
let emoticonsBubble = new EmoticonsBubble()
return {
selectors: function () {
return {
form: function () { return selector_form },
sendButton: function () { return selector_sendButton }
}
}
setElements: function (obj) {
form = $(obj).get(0);
textarea = $(form).find(selector_textarea).get(0);
emoticonsButton = $(form).find(emoticonsButton).get(0);
postButton = $(form).find(selector_postButton).get(0);
emoticonsBubble.setElements(form, emoticonsButton);
},
get: function () {
return {
form: function () { return form },
//...
emoticonsBubble: function () { return emoticonsBubble }
}
},
post: function (moduleId, callback) {
$.ajax({
//parameters
}).done(function (data) {
callback(data);
});
}
}
}
let EmoticonsBubble = function () {
let thisContainerToAppendTo, thisTextarea;
return {
setElements: function (container, textarea) {
thisContainerToAppendTo = container;
thisTextarea = textarea;
},
pop: function () {
this.ajax().pop(function (data) {
$(thisContainerToAppendTo).append(data);
});
}
insert: function (emoticon) {
$(thisTextarea).append(emoticon);
},
ajax: function () {
return {
pop: function (callback) {
$.ajax({
//parameters
}).done(function (data) {
callback(data);
});
}
}
}
}
}
// Events part
let form = new Form('#threadForm', '.textarea', 'button[name="emoticons"]', 'button[name="send"]');
let emoticonsBubble = form.get().emoticonsBubble();
$(form.selectors().form()).on('click', function (e) {
form.setElements(this);
});
$(form.selectors().sendButton()).on('click', function (e) {
let moduleId = // retrieve module id, if it belongs to guests book, thread creation module or reply module
form.post(moduleId, function (data) {
// append data to something
});
});
// etc for emoticons handling
The fact that I have to rewrite the event part for every different form I have in my application while keeping everything the same but variables name, annoys me a lot.
Could you guys tell me how you would handle those functionalities and what may be wrong with my way of coding?
The Module Pattern is about keeping units of code from colliding with other scopes (usually the Global scope).
As we know, in JavaScript, variables defined with:
let and const are scoped to their parent block
var are scoped to their containing function (or Global if not in a
function)
So, if you were to take your Form function:
let Form = function (x,y,z) {
let form, textarea, emoticonsButton, postButton;
let emoticonsBubble = new EmoticonsBubble()
return {
. . .
}
setElements: function (obj) {
. . .
},
get: function () {
. . .
},
post: function (moduleId, callback) {
. . .
}
}
}
The variable Form is Global because there is no containing block. This is a problem because what if there is already another Global called Form (which there very well could be because of the generic nature of the word "Form"). So, this code doesn't cut off your code from being exposed. To use the Module Pattern on it, we'd wrap it with an IIFE (Immediately Invoked Function Expression) and within that IIFE, we'd create a custom namespace in the Global scope that we're sure doesn't exist (thereby avoiding name collisions):
(function(){
// This is going to be exposed as publicly available via the module namespace
function Form(x,y,z) {
. . .
}
// This will remain private within the module
function helper(){
}
// **********************************************************************
let temp = {}; // Create a temporary object to bind only the public API
temp.Form = Form; // Bind the public members to the object
// Expose the module to the Global scope by creating a custom namespace
// and mapping the temp object to it
window.myCustomAPI = temp;
})();
// Now, outside of the module (in some higher scope), your public portions
// of the Module are accessible:
let myForm = new myCustomAPI.Form(arg, arg, arg);
The repetition in your code basically comes from the selection of elements and their helpers, and that can easily be abstracted into a function:
function Elements(selectors, children, options) {
let elements = { ...children };
return {
selectors,
elements,
setElements(obj) {
for(const [name, selector] of Object.entries(selectors))
elements[name] = $(obj).find(selector).get(0);
for(const child of Object.values(child))
child.parent && child.parent(this, obj);
},
...options
}
}
That can then be used as:
function Form(form, textarea, emoticonsButton, postButton) {
const emoticonsBubble = EmoticonsBubble();
return Elements({ form, textarea, emoticonButtons }, { emoticonsBubble }, {
post() {
//...
}
});
}
function EmoticonsBubble() {
return Elements({ /*...*/ }, {}, {
parent(parent, obj) {
this.setElements(parent);
}
});
}
But you are basically reinventing a lot of wheels here, have you thought about using one of the MVCs that are out there (React, Vue, ...) ?
Ok the boilerplate for some common tasks that you have in the event part is driving you crazy right ?
So checking your code you can fix them in many ways.
A. Encapsulate your code in real modules I mean this.
const Form = (function(/*receive here dependencies as arguments */){
// your code module goes here
})(/*inject dependencies here to module*/);
B. You can create a event pattern module, to drive your internal and externals events for module.
C. You know what are the listener that the module needs , so apply them into your module.
That way should be more reusable than now
I'm writing a Protractor test and in my test.step.js file I have
element(by.css('...')).getText().then(function (text) {
expect(text).to.equal('expectedText');
});
This works as expected and passes.
Instead I created a test.page.js file and in there put this.field = element(by.css('...')); and then in my step file had
"use strict"
module.exports = function exampleTest() {
var TestPage = require("...");
var testPage = new TestPage;
...
test.Then(..., function (next) {
testPage.field.getText().then(function (text) {
expect(text).to.equal('expectedText');
});
});
}
then field is undefined. I have also tried adding getText() in the page file, but again get undefined or get told that I can't call 'then' on undefined.
In my mind, this should do exactly the same thing as the first example, but I'm far from an expert with Angular or JavaScript.
test.page.js looks like:
"use strict";
module.exports = (function () {
function TestPage() {
this.field = element(by.css('...'));
}
return TestPage;
});
Hoping someone can shine some light on why this is happening and what I should do instead to be able to put the CSS selector inside a page file for re-use.
Thanks
Your code new TestPage; returns the constructor TestPage, but it's never called.
You could return the class :
function TestPage() {
this.field = element(by.css('...'));
}
module.exports = TestPage;
var TestPage = require("...");
var testPage = new TestPage;
testPage.field.getText().then(...
Or an instance of the class:
function TestPage() {
this.field = element(by.css('...'));
}
module.exports = new TestPage();
var testPage = require("...");
testPage.field.getText().then(...
The way you defined re-usable element locators looks different. I am following some thing like below
Step 1: Define a .js file which should contain the Locator objects and re-usable methods
var Login = {
PageElements: {
emailInput: element(by.css('#email')),
passwordInput: element(by.css('#password')),
loginForm: element(by.css('#form')),
},
doLogin: function doLogin() {
this.PageElements.emailInput.sendKeys('blahblah#email.com');
this.PageElements.passwordInput.sendKeys('blahblah');
this.PageElements.loginForm.submit();
},
};
module.exports = Login;
Step 2: Call these page objects in your test classes.
var LoginPage = require('../pageobjects/LoginPage.js');
it('Scenario1_Login',function(){
LoginPage.PageElements.emailInput.sendKeys('blahblah');
});
More details here
I have 2 components - addProjectForm and listProjects. They are both nested components inside the root module. Whenever I add a project using the form, I want it to appear in the list straight away.
To achieve this, I had to pass down the controller instance to each component like this:
var RootComponent = {};
rootComponent.controller = function() {
this.example = 'test variable';
}
rootComponent.view = function(ctrl) {
return [
m.component(addProjectForm, ctrl),
m.component(listProjects, ctrl)
];
}
and then the listProjectscomponent for example, looks like this:
var listProjects = {
controller: function(root) {
this.root = root;
},
view: function(ctrl) {
console.log(ctrl.root.example);
}
};
So this way I keep calling methods on the top level, but I don't quite like passing down the controller instance like this. Is there any other way I should be doing it?
I think this is what you're looking for:
Mithril.js: Should two child components talk to each other through their parent's controller?
A newer way of solving this common problem is to use a Flux like architecture developed by Facebook:
https://facebook.github.io/flux/
Writing your own dispatcher is semi-trivial. Here's an example that someone else built alongside Mithril:
https://gist.github.com/MattMcFarland/25fb4f0241530d2f421a
The downside with this approach is it would be somewhat anti-Flux to use m.withAttr, as views aren't supposed to write directly to models in the dispatcher paradigm.
The problem you have is the difference between passing by reference or by value. In JS all primitive types are passed by value. Thats why you can't pass the string directly since it's cloned during pass. You have multiple options here:
You can use m.prop and just pass the variable down to the components, m.props stores the value in function that is always passed by reference.
var RootComponent = {};
rootComponent.controller = function() {
this.example = m.prop('test variable');
}
rootComponent.view = function(ctrl) {
return [
m.component(addProjectForm, ctrl.example),
m.component(listProjects, ctrl.example)
];
}
If the variable is an array, it will be passed by reference anyways.
Second option is to keep the list in the root context and add a callback to the second component.
var RootComponent = {};
rootComponent.controller = function() {
var projects = this.projects = [];
this.addProject = function(project) {
projects.push(project);
}
}
rootComponent.view = function(ctrl) {
return [
m.component(addProjectForm, {
onsubmit: ctrl.addProject
}),
m.component(listProjects, ctrl.projects)
];
}
Well met!
I am playing around with Knockoutjs with the goal of having a single ViewModel, which controls multiple sub-viewmodels. This in order to have more control over the views itself and to prevent putting various parts of my view into their own little place. The code below should explain my idea:
ApplicationViewModel
ApplicationViewModel = function () {
var self = this;
// Context (for laziness' sake, no separate VM)
self.activeProject = ko.observable();
// States
self.projectsLoaded = ko.observable(false);
// State-change events
// Let application know that loading of projects has been called
self.projectsLoaded.subscribe(function (newValue) {
if (newValue === true) {
console.log('Projects have loaded');
} else {
console.log('Projects have not loaded');
}
});
// Let application know that selection of a project has happened
self.activeProject.subscribe(function (newValue) {
if (newValue != null) {
// Notify other viewmodels that a project has been (successfully loaded)
// Use hook-pattern to hook into this event
} else {
// Notify something went wrong- present user with a notification
// Application stops processes that are project-dependant
}
});
self.ProjectViewModel = new ProjectViewModel();
};
ProjectViewModel
ProjectViewModel = function () {
var self = this;
self.projects = ko.observableArray();
self.loadProjects = function () {
// Business logic to retrieve projects, think AJAX
var placeHolderProjects = [];
// Find projects somewhere and load them up!
// If something went wrong, notify parent
if (placeHolderProjects.length > 0) {
self.projects(placeHolderProjects);
$root.projectsLoaded(true);
} else {
$root.projectsLoaded(false);
}
};
self.selectProject = function (projectId) {
if (!projectId) {
$.parent.activeProject = null;
return;
}
// Fetch data for project, stuff like membershipId
var loadProjectResult = magicalLoadFunction(projectId);
if (loadProjectsResult === true) {
$root.activeProject(projectId);
} else {
$root.activeProject(projectId);
}
// Exit
return;
}
/********** Constructor logic
****************************/
self.loadProjects();
};
So basically, what I am looking for, is a way to:
- Control parent/child properties from their respective child/parent inside the viewmodels.
I am looking into AngularJS as well, but I'd really like to get this working in KnockoutJS first :) Immediate problem, is that I can't get $root/$parent to work. I bind the ApplicationViewModel in a $(document).ready() handler, unsure if I have to actually bind the sub-viewmodels to the view as well. I have bound ApplicationViewModel to the body element.
Thanks for reading and, possibly for answering/helping me get on my way :)
The answer provided by #jansommer proved successful.
I changed the following line (added this as a parameter):
self.ProjectViewModel = new ProjectViewModel(this);
And that was what was needed.
Thanks!
I have a few questions about Best Practises using javascript in external files and namespacing.
Let's have a namespace MyCompany, global configuration stuff, code for individual pages and maybe some "API"s.
var MyCompany = {};
Global configuration in HTML
MyCompany.root = "/";
Which approach is better
First
MyCompany.Page = {};
(function(ns} {
ns.init = function() {
var root = MyCompany.root;
ajax(root+"somepage.html");
};
}(MyCompany.Page.Home = MyCompany.Page.Home || {});
and in html use
<script>
$( function() {
MyCompany.Page.Home.init();
});
</script>
Second (Page as an Class and its instance)
MyCompany.Page.Home = function() {
var root = MyCompany.root;
this.init = function() {
ajax(root + "somepage.html");
};
};
in html
<script>
var page = new MyCompany.Page.Home();
$( function() {
page.init();
});
</script>
Submodules and Mixing API with Page javascript
If our Homepage has some reviews.
MyCompany.Page.Home.Reviews = function() {
this.init = function() {
load_stuff();
}
};
And now inside Page init use
MyCompany.Home.Page = function(data) {
var reviews = new MyCompany.Home.Page.Reviews();
this.init = function() {
reviews.init();
};
};
Could that cause troubles?
It's obvious that Reviews extends MyCompany.Home.Page, but MyCompany.Home.Page requires Reviews.
It shouldn't cause troubles if instance on MyCompany.Home.Page is created after MyCompany.Home.Page.Reviews are loaded, right? Because Reviews in fact will extend the function object, is that right?
I guess this depends on answer to first question.
It also could be
(function(ns) {
ns.init = function() { MyCompany.Page.Home.Reviews.init(); };
})(MyCompany.Page.Home = MyCompany.Page.Home || {} );
(function(ns) {
ns.init = function() { load_stuff(); };
})(MyCompany.Page.Home.Reviews = MyCompany.Page.Home.Reviews || {});
Also should I somehow separate API of Page javascript?
Such as
MyCompany.APIS.Maps = function(location) {
/* Private variables */
var _location = location;
/* Private functions */
function search_address(address) { .. do search .. }
/* Public interface */
this.search = search_address;
do some initialization ...
};
I'd be glad if anyone reads it all to leave some comment.
Thank you in advance.
Which approach is better? Revealing singleton module (first) or a constructor function/class and its instance (second)?
Depends on your use case. If you don't expect multiple page objects to exist at once (and you hardly seem to), the singleton (with an init function) is really fine. Everything else could be considered wrong or at least overkill.
Same thing holds true for your MyCompany.Page.Home.Reviews (or MyCompany.Home.Page.Reviews?) class module, of which you seem to need only one instance.
It shouldn't cause troubles if instance on MyCompany.Home.Page is created after MyCompany.Home.Page.Reviews are loaded, right? Because Reviews in fact will extend the function object, is that right?
Yes.
(function(ns) {
ns.init = function() { MyCompany.Page.Home.Reviews.init(); };
})(MyCompany.Page.Home = MyCompany.Page.Home || {} );
If you have that ns shortcut available, you should use it:
(function(ns) {
ns.init = function() { ns.Reviews.init(); };
})(MyCompany.Page.Home = MyCompany.Page.Home || {} );
Also should I somehow separate API of Page javascript?
For development: Yes, in every case. Each module should have its own file. When deploying, you might concatenate them together for faster loading, but that's a different question.