Razor Syntax in External Javascript - javascript

So as you might know, Razor Syntax in ASP.NET MVC does not work in external JavaScript files.
My current solution is to put the Razor Syntax in a a global variable and set the value of that variable from the mvc view that is making use of that .js file.
JavaScript file:
function myFunc() {
alert(myValue);
}
MVC View file:
<script language="text/javascript">
myValue = #myValueFromModel;
</script>
I want to know how I can pass myValue directly as a parameter to the function ? I prefer to have explicit calling with param than relying on globals, however I'm not so keen on javascript.
How would I implement this with javascript parameters? Thanks!

Just have your function accept an argument and use that in the alert (or wherever).
external.js
function myFunc(value) {
alert(value);
}
someview.cshtml
<script>
myFunc(#myValueFromModel);
</script>
One thing to keep in mind though, is that if myValueFromModel is a string then it is going to come through as myFunc(hello) so you need to wrap that in quotes so it becomes myFunc('hello') like this
myFunc('#(myValueFromModel)');
Note the extra () used with razor. This helps the engine distinguish where the break between the razor code is so nothing odd happens. It can be useful when there are nested ( or " around.
edit
If this is going to be done multiple times, then some changes may need to take place in the JavaScript end of things. Mainly that the shown example doesn't properly depict the scenario. It will need to be modified. You may want to use a simple structure like this.
jsFiddle Demo
external.js
var myFunc= new function(){
var func = this,
myFunc = function(){
alert(func.value);
};
myFunc.set = function(value){
func.value = value;
}
return myFunc;
};
someview.cshtml
<script>
myFunc.set('#(myValueFromModel)');
myFunc();//can be called repeatedly now
</script>

I often find that JavaScript in the browser is typically conceptually tied to a specific element. If that's the case for you, you may want to associate the value with that element in your Razor code, and then use JavaScript to extract that value and use it in some way.
For example:
<div class="my-class" data-func-arg="#myValueFromModel"></div>
Static JavaScript:
$(function() {
$('.my-class').click(function() {
var arg = $(this).data('func-arg');
myFunc(arg);
});
});

Do you want to execute your function immediately? Or want to call the funcion with the parameter?
You could add a wrapper function with no parameter and inside call your function with the global var as a parameter. And when you need to call myFunc() you call it trough myFuncWrapper();
function myFuncWrapper(){
myFunc(myValue);
}
function myFunc(myParam){
//function code here;
}

Related

Allow the user to change their own JavaScript

I'm teaching students how to write JavaScript, so I've got this on the page:
<textarea name="PgmJS">console.log(1);</textarea>
<script id="PgmJS">
</script>
What I'd like to do is:
$('textarea[name=PgmJS]').on('keyup',PgmJSKeyUp);
function PgmJSKeyUp() {
$('#PgmJS').text('function init() {' + $(this).val() + '}');
init();
}
But the browser is saying that init() is not defined.
It doesn't work this way, you need the evil eval:
function PgmJSKeyUp() {
eval($(this).val());
}
You could also use Function, setTimeout or setInterval (if you clear it), which are as evil as eval when used with strings.
Or, if you really want to use <script> element,
function PgmJSKeyUp() {
var $s = $('<script type="text/javascript">');
$s.text($(this).val());
$('body').append($s);
}
But keep in mind that JS code inside <script> elements is only executed when they are added to the document.
That's because you're specifying the init function inside the textarea's text property - which by default, does not get picked up by the browser's JS compiler.
You will need to define the init function as normal JS code, and execute the custom JS code inside it. I smell an eval() coming on (ugh!) :|

Jquery and javascript namepsace

In trying to namespace my js/jquery code, I have come up against the following problem.
Basically, I used to write all my JS code in each html/php file, and I want to abstract that away to a single js file with namespaces.
So, in my html file I have:
<script type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(productActions.init());
</script>
And in my js file I have:
var productActions = {
init: function() {
alert('initialsed');
$('#field_id').change(function() {
alert('ok!');
});
}
The productActions init function is definitely running, because I get the first alert (initialised). However, it seems that none of the jquery binding functions do anything at all. Stepping through the init function shows that the above change function is being registered, but actually changing the value in the field does absolutely nothing.
Am I missing something obvious here?
$(document).ready(productActions.init());
This code calls init() immediately and passes its return value to ready(...). (just like any other function call)
Instead, you can write
$(document).ready(productActions.init);
To pass the function itself. Howeverm this will call it with the wrong this; if you need this, write
$(document).ready(function() { productActions.init() });

How best to overwrite a Javascript object method

I'm using a framework that allows the include of JS files. At the top of my JS file I have something like:
<import resource="classpath:/templates/webscripts/org/mycompany/projects/library/utils.lib.js">
I want to override a fairly small method that is defined in the very large utils.lib.js file. Rather than make the change directly in utils.lib.js, a file that's part of the framework, I want to overwrite just one method. The utils.lib.js file has something that looks like:
var Evaluator =
{
/**
* Data evaluator
*/
getData: function Evaluator_getData(input)
{
var ans;
return ans;
},
...
}
I want to change just what the method getData does. Sorry for the basic question, but after importing the file which copies the JS contents into the top of my JS file, can I just do something like:
Evaluator.getData = function Mine_getData(input)
{
...
};
Yes, you can just reassign that method to your own function as you have proposed with:
Evaluator.getData = function Mine_getData(input)
{
...
};
This will successfully change what happens when the .getData(input) property is called.
Yes you can.
However Evaluator is not a proper 'class'. You can't write var x = new Evaluator();
So you are not overriding, but just changing the variable getData. That's why we say that in JavaScript, functions are first-class citizen, treated like any variable.

Unable to re-define a function in my javascript object

I have an object defined using literal notation as follows (example code used). This is in an external script file.
if (RF == null) var RF = {};
RF.Example= {
onDoSomething: function () { alert('Original Definition');} ,
method1 : function(){ RF.Example.onDoSomething(); }
}
In my .aspx page I have the following ..
$(document).ready(function () {
RF.Example.onDoSomething = function(){ alert('New Definition'); };
RF.Example.method1();
});
When the page loads the document.ready is called but the alert('Original Definition'); is only ever shown. Can someone point me in the right direction. I basically want to redefine the onDoSomething function. Thanks, Ben.
Edit
Thanks for the comments, I can see that is working. Would it matter that method1 is actually calling another method that takes the onDoSomething() function as a callback parameter? e.g.
method1 : function(){
RF.Example2.callbackFunction(function() {RF.Example.onDoSomething();});
}
Your code as quoted should work (and does: http://jsbin.com/uguva4), so something other than what's in your question is causing this behavior. For instance, if you're using any kind of JavaScript compiler (like Closure) or minifier or something, the names may be being changed, which case you're adding a new onDoSomething when the old one has been renamed. Alternately, perhaps the alert is being triggered by something else, not what you think is triggering it. Or something else may have grabbed a reference to the old onDoSomething (elsewhere in the external script, perhaps) and be using it directly, like this: http://jsbin.com/uguva4/2.
Thanks for the response .. in the end the answer was unrelated to the code posted. Cheers for verifying I wasn't going bonkers.

How do I pass argument to anonymous Javascript function?

I am writing a simple counter, and I would like to make installation of this counter very simple for users. One of the simplest counter code (for users who install it) I ever see was Google Analytics Code
So I would like to store main code in a file and user who will install my counter will need just to set websiteID like this:
<html><head><title></title></head><body>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://counterhost.lan/tm.js">
var websiteId = 'XXXXX';
</script>
</body></html>
Here is my code:
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://counterhost.lan/tm.js">
var page = _gat.init('new');
</script>
and this is my JS file:
(function() {
var z = '_gat';
var aa = function init(data) { alert(data); alert(z);};
function na() {
return new z.aa();
}
na();
})();
I tried to understand Google Analytics javascript code but I failed to do this. Can anyone suggest how can I specify variable between tags and then read it in anonymous function which is located in a javascript file ?
Thanks.
In your example, websiteId is a global variable. So it is accessible everywhere including anonymous functions unless there is a local variable with the same name
<script> var websiteId = "something"; </script>
Later in the page or included js file...
(function() {
alert(websiteId); //this should work
})();
Can anyone suggest how can I specify variable between tags and then read it [...]
Not if your tag has both a SRC attribute and JS content.
<script type="text/javascript" src="http:/x.com/x.js"></script>
.. is different from,
<script type="text/javascript">
var x = 1;
</script>
One framework that optionally adds JS variables to SCRIPT tags is Dojo. So if you're using Dojo you can add variables to the global djConfig hash by writing,
<script type="text/javascript" src="mxclientsystem/dojo/dojo.js"
djConfig="
usePlainJson: true,
parseOnLoad: true
">
</script>
Dojo does this by running through the SCRIPT tags and evaluating the custom djConfig attribute.
This does not, however solve your problem.
You do really want two SCRIPT tags. One saying,
<script type="text/javascript">
var websiteId = '123456';
</script>
which will set a global variable websiteId and a second one,
<script type="text/javascript" src="http:/x.com/myreporter.js"></script>
which can load from anywhere and read out the websiteId variable and, I assume, report it back.
You can pass variables to an anonymous function like so:
(function(arg1, arg2, arg3) {
alert(arg1);
alert(arg2);
alert(arg3);
})("let's", "go", "redsox");
// will alert "let's", then "go", then "redsox" :)
I'm not entirely clear about what you're asking, but...
You can tag any HTML element with an id attribute, then use
document.getEntityById() to retrieve that specific element.
You can also give any HTML element user-defined attributes having names of your own choosing, then get and set them for that element within Javascript.
I think you've got a bit confused with how JS objects are called.
z is a String, '_gat'. You can't call aa() on it because a String has no member called aa. aa is a standalone function stored in a local variable. Even if you did call aa(), it doesn't return anything, so using the new operator on its results is meaningless. new can only be called on constructor-functions.
I guess you mean something like:
var _gat= function() {
// Private variable
//
var data= null;
// Object to put in window._gat
//
return {
// Set the private variable
//
init: function(d) {
data= d;
}
};
}();
Then calling _gat.init('foo') as in your second example would set the variable to website ID 'foo'. This works because the _gat object is the return {init: function() {...}} object defined inside the anonymous function, keeping a reference (a ‘closure’) on the hidden data variable.
If you specify a src attribute as part of a script element, any code within the script element tags themselves will not be executed. However, you can add this functionality with the following code. I got this technique from Crockford (I believe it was him), where he uses it in of his talks on the unrelated topic of rendering performance and asynchronously loading scripts into a page to that end.
JavaScript:
(function() {
// Using inner class example from bobince's answer
var _gat = (function() {
var data= null;
return {
init: function(d) {
console.info("Configuration data: ", d);
data = d;
}
}
})();
// Method 1: Extract configuration by ID (SEE FOOT NOTE)
var config = document.getElementById("my-counter-apps-unique-and-long-to-avoid-collision-id").innerHTML;
// Method 2: search all script tags for the script with the expected name
var scripts = document.getElementsByTagName("script");
for ( var i=0, l=scripts.length; i<l; ++i ) {
if ( scripts[i].src = "some-script.js" ) {
config = scripts[i].innerHTML;
break;
}
}
_gat.init( eval("(" +config+ ")") );
})();
HTML:
<script type="text/javascript" src="some-script.js" id="my-counter-apps-unique-and-long-to-avoid-collision-id">
{some: "foo", config: "bar", settings: 123}
</script>
Both methods have their draw backs:
Using a unique and non-colliding ID will make determining the proper script element more precise and faster; however, this is not valid HTML4/XHTML markup. In HTML5, you can define arbitrary attributes, so it wont be an issue at that time
This method is valid HTML markup; however, the simple comparison that I have shown can be easily broken if your url is subject to change (e.g.: http vs https) and a more robust comparison method may be in order
A note on eval
Both methods make use of eval. The typical mantra concerning this feature is that "eval is evil." However, that goes with say that using eval without knowing the dangers of eval is evil.
In this case, AFAIK, the data contained within the script tags is not subject to inject attack since the eval'ing script (the code shown) is executed as soon as that element is reached when parsing the HTML into the DOM. Scripts that may have been defined previously are unable to access the data contained within the counter's script tags as that node does not exist in the DOM tree at the point when they are executed.
It may be the case that a well timed setTimeout executed from a previously included script may be able to run at the time between the counter's script's inclusion and the time of the eval; however, this may or may not be the case, and if possible, may not be so consistently depending on CPU load, etc.
Moral of the story, if you're worried about it, include a non-eval'ing JSON parser and use that instead.

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