returnTrue and returnFalse functions in jQuery source - javascript

I can't help but notice there are two seemingly useless functions in the source code of jQuery (For v1.9.1, it's line 2702 and line 2706):
function returnTrue() {
return true;
}
function returnFalse() {
return false;
}
Which both are called quite often within jQuery. Is there a reason why they don't simply substitute the function call with a boolean true or false?

If an object property, function argument, etc expects a function you should provide a function not a boolean.
For example in vanilla JavaScript:
var a = document.createElement("a");
a.href = "http://www.google.com/";
/*
* see https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/DOM/element.onclick
* element.onclick = functionRef;
* where functionRef is a function - often a name of a function declared
* elsewhere or a function expression.
*/
a.onclick = true; // wrong
a.onclick = returnTrue; // correct
a.onclick = function() { return true; }; // correct
Also, writing:
someProperty: returnTrue,
Is more convenient than writing:
someProperty: function(){
return true;
},
Especially since they are called quite often.

it was used like this:
stopImmediatePropagation: function() {
this.isImmediatePropagationStopped = returnTrue;
this.stopPropagation();
}
here isImmediatePropagationStopped is a query method. used like this event.isImmediatePropagationStopped()
of course, you can define a instance method, like:
event.prototyoe.isImmediatePropagationStopped = function() { return this._isImmediatePropagationStopped };
stopImmediatePropagation: function() {
this._isImmediatePropagationStopped = true; //or false at other place.
this.stopPropagation();
}
but you have to introduce a new instance property _isImmediatePropagationStopped to store the status.
with this trick, you can cut off bunch of instance properties for hold true/false status here, like _isImmediatePropagationStopped, _isDefaultPrevented etc.
so that, in my opinion, this is just a matter of code style, not right or wrong.
PS: the query methods on event, like isDefaultPrevented , isPropagationStopped, isImmediatePropagationStopped are defined in DOM event level 3 sepc.
spec: http://www.w3.org/TR/2003/NOTE-DOM-Level-3-Events-20031107/events.html#Events-Event-isImmediatePropagationStopped

Related

Setting "this" to the instance, in a callback set during the creation of a prototype function

I have this code:
var createAllAreSelectedClickedHandler = function(selectablesArrayGetter) {
return function() {
var array = selectablesArrayGetter();
var desiredState = array.every(function(selectable) { return selectable.selected; }) ? false : true;
array.forEach(function(selectable) {
selectable.selected = desiredState;
});
};
};
Followed by this one:
function PromoViewModel() { this.registrations = [...] }
PromoViewModel.prototype.allEventsSelectedClickedHandler = createAllAreSelectedClickedHandler(function() { return this.registrations; }));
I can't manage to set the correct value of this. The "this" value when the function is created points to Window so I can't do .bind(this). I've tried doing .bind(PromoViewModel.prototype) but it lacks all the precious instance fields set inside the constructor.
I know I could simply set this.allEventsSelectedClickedHandler in the constructor function, but I'm trying to separate the methods creation from the variables.
The problem is the call selectablesArrayGetter(); which determines the this value for the callback.
You will need to "pass" the this value that the method (i.e. the closure you are returning) is invoked on, using call:
var array = selectablesArrayGetter.call(this);
I'd recommend defining your PromoViewModel.prototype.allEventsSelectedClickedHandler method as follows:
PromoViewModel.prototype.allEventsSelectedClickedHandler = function() {
var _array = this.registrations;
var desiredState = _array.every(function(selectable) { return selectable.selected; }) ? false : true;
_array.forEach(function(selectable) {
selectable.selected = desiredState;
});
};
the function that you're passing as callback uses this, but doesn't have the PromoViewModel context. You can ensure the method has the proper context by binding this to a variable.
function PromoViewModel()
{
var me = this;
this.registrations = [...];
this.allEventsSelectedClickedHandler = createAllAreSelectedClickedHandler(function() {
return me.registrations;
});
}
Working fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/michaschwab/coegnL5j/9/ also has Bergi's answer in there (commented out) to show that that works just as well.
Ok here is what I did.
In the prototype definition instead of directly associating it to createAllAreSelectedClickedHandler function, I actually define a function that returns the createAllAreSelectedClickedHandler function. By doing this, I can define a variable (in this case protoScope) that maps this context when defined.
When doing that, if you put a break-point in the createAllAreSelectedClickedHandler function you will see that the selectablesArrayGetter value is correct (the acutal registrations array).
PromoViewModel.prototype.allEventsSelectedClickedHandler = function (){
var protoScope = this;
return createAllAreSelectedClickedHandler(function() {
return protoScope.registrations;
});
}

How to create javascript function constructor with default functionality and persistent properties?

I've got a slightly unusual pattern I'm trying to achieve and have not quite figured it out. My goal is to create a function called debugLog as a flexible console.log replacement, which can be called as follows:
debugLog('thing to log #1', 'thing to log #2', objectToLog1, objectToLog2);
^^ the number of params should be arbitrary, just as is possible with console.log
That is what I'll call the "default" functionality. Now I'd also like to add some additional functionality through property functions.
Examples:
debugLog.setDebugFlag(true); // sets the internal this.debugFlag property to true or false depending on param
I'm trying to do this in Node and what I have so far does not quite let me achieve this pattern:
var debugLog = function () {
this.debugFlag = this.debugFlag || true;
if (this.debugFlag) {
console.log.apply(null, arguments);
} else {
// production mode, nothing to log
}
};
debugLog.prototype.setDebugFlag = function (flagBool) {
this.debugFlag = flagBool;
}
module.exports = new debugLog();
This module would be including in a Node app using the standard require pattern:
var debugLog = require('./debugLog.js');
The question is how can I achieve this pattern of a function object with default functionality, but also extended "property" style functions? Please note I am already aware of the typical pattern where ALL functionality comes from function properties (such as debugLog.log() and debugLog.setDebugFlag()). But that patterns does NOT achieve my key goal of a shorthand for the default functionality that simply involves calling the function directly.
Is it even possible to do?
You could do it this way
var debugLog = (function() {
var debugFlag = true;
function log() {
if (debugFlag) {
console.log.apply(null, arguments);
} else {
// production mode, nothing to log
}
};
log.setDebugFlag = function(flag) {
debugFlag = flag;
}
return log;
})();
module.exports = debugLog;
You could use closure, like so:
// debugLog.js
var debugFlag = true;
function debugLog() {
if (debugFlag) {
console.log.apply(null, arguments);
} else {
// production mode, nothing to log
}
}
debugLog.setDebugFlag = function (newFlag) {
debugFlag = newFlag;
}
module.exports = debugLog;
and use it like this:
// otherFile.js
var debugLog = require('./debugLog');
debugLog('Hey!');
debugLog.setDebugFlag(false);
debugLog('This wont appear!');

Changing the state of a toggle in JavaScript/jQuery

Is it possible to change the state of a toggle function? Like:
myDiv.toggle ... function 1 , function 2
I click on the myDiv element, the function 1 executes
I click again, function 2
I click again, function 1
BUT
Change the state
function 1 again
etc.
But I need to be able to change the state from outside the toggle function.
Here is a javascript object that uses closure to track it's state and toggle:
var TOGGLER = function() {
var _state = true;
var _msg = "function1";
var function1 = function() {
_msg = "function1";
}
var function2 = function() {
_msg = "function2";
}
return {
toggle: (function () {
_state = !_state;
if (_state) {
function1();
} else {
function2();
}
return _msg;
})
}
}();
Here is a jsfiddle that shows how to use it to toggle based with the following jquery: http://jsfiddle.net/yjPKH/5/
$(document).ready(function() {
$("#search").click(function() {
var message = TOGGLER.toggle();
$("#state").text(message);
});
});
The toggle function is meant for simple use cases. Changing the state externally is not "simple" anymore.
You cannot easily/safely (it's internal so it may change during minor versions) access the state variable of the toggle function easily as it's stored in the internal dataset of the element.
If you really want to do it, you can try this code though:
$._data(ELEMENT, "lastToggle" + func.guid, 0);
func is the function you passed to .toggle(), so you need to save this function in a variable. Here's a minimal example: http://jsfiddle.net/xqgrP/
However, since inside the function there's a var guid = fn.guid || jQuery.guid++ statement, I somehow think that the devs actually meant to use guid instead of func.guid for the _data key - in that case a minor update is very likely to break things. And after the fix you'd have to iterate over the data set to retrieve the correct key as there is no way to access the guid from outside.

Javascript Class Inheritance

Can anyone tell me why my 'showDiv_boo' is undefined inside the class´s method?
I also can´t access my class´s methods.
Here´s my class 'Blink' class with its properties and methods:
function Blink(div) {
this.div = div
}
Blink.prototype.counter = 0
Blink.prototype.showDiv_boo = true
Blink.prototype.showDiv = function() {
this.div.style.visibility = 'visible'
}
Blink.prototype.hideDiv = function() {
this.div.style.visibility = 'hidden'
}
Blink.prototype.startEngine = function() {
if (this.showDiv_boo) {
this.showDiv()
} else if (!this.showDiv_boo) {
this.hideDiv()
}
this.showDiv_boo = !this.showDiv_boo
this.counter++
}
Blink.prototype.startEffect = function() {
this.idEffect = setInterval(this.startEngine, 1000 / 45)
}
So, if I create:
_blink = new Blink(myDiv);
_blink.startEffect();
You can test... the variable 'showDiv_boo', is undefined inside the method.
Even, if I set the showDiv_boo inside the method to true, it won´t call my class´s methods showDiv or hideDiv.
Anyone?
Thanks :)
The reason why is that startEngine is called from setInterval. The way in which this callback is invoked causes startEngine to have a different value for this than startEffect. You need to save this in order to maintain it in the callback. For example.
Blink.prototype.startEffect = function () {
var self = this;
self.idEffect = setInterval(function () { self.startEngine(); }, 1000 / 45);
};
You need to:
use var self and call the method via self.startEngine()
use an anonymous function to wrap the call in [1] i.e. function(){ self.startEngine(); }
This is because when you just pass this.startEngine or self.startEngine you are just passing the function startEngine without specifying what this is, which in both cases is supplied by the global conext of DOMWindow.
To give an example...
function startEngine() {
...code omitted...
};
Blink.prototype.startEngine = startEngine;
Blink.prototype.start = function() {
setTimeout(startEngine, 0); // obviously wrong, what is this?
setTimeout(Blink.startEngine, 0); // actually the same as line above, although not as obvious
setTimeout(startEngine.bind(this), 0); // works correctly
}
works to add code to the prototype and if used in the anonymous function will work as expected, but if you just use Blink.startEngine as the callback it is exactly the same as using startEngine only the second is more obviously wrong because there's no object it is being called on so you'd expect this to be whatever is supplied by the context.
The other way you could do this without using the anonymous function would be
Blink.startEngine.bind(self)
Which returns a function that will call startEngine with the correct this same as explicitly creating the anonymous function and wrapping the call to self.startEngine()
Heres a link to a fiddle to play around with the differences: http://jsfiddle.net/bonza_labs/MdeTF/
If you do the following, you will find it is defined
var x = new Blink('hello');
x.showDiv_boo
Javascript uses prototypical inheritance. While showDiv_boo may not be explicitly defined within the instance of Blink that you now have, it does exist within the prototype that Blink inherits from. When you try referencing showDiv_boo from within the object, the Javascript engine realizes the object does not own a member by that name and then will check its prototype.
Along with setting a temporal variable to store this, you must call the startEngine() function with that variable:
Blink.prototype.startEffect = function(){
var self = this;
self.idEffect = setInterval(function(){ self.startEngine.call(self); }, 1000/45);
}
Note the .call(self), which basically calls the function with the variable self, so the variable this in startEngine will be the correct one.

Override jQuery functions

Is there way to override jQuery's core functions ?
Say I wanted to add an alert(this.length) in size: function()
Instead of adding it in the source
size: function() {
alert(this.length)
return this.length;
},
I was wondering if it would be possible to do something like this :
if (console)
{
console.log("Size of div = " + $("div").size());
var oSize = jQuery.fn.size;
jQuery.fn.size = function()
{
alert(this.length);
// Now go back to jQuery's original size()
return oSize(this);
}
console.log("Size of div = " + $("div").size());
}
You almost had it, you need to set the this reference inside of the old size function to be the this reference in the override function, like this:
var oSize = jQuery.fn.size;
jQuery.fn.size = function() {
alert(this.length);
// Now go back to jQuery's original size()
return oSize.apply(this, arguments);
};
The way this works is Function instances have a method called apply, whose purpose is to arbitrarily override the inner this reference inside of the function's body.
So, as an example:
var f = function() { console.log(this); }
f.apply("Hello World", null); //prints "Hello World" to the console
You can override plugins method by prototype it in a separate file without modifying original source file as below::
(function ($) {
$.ui.draggable.prototype._mouseDrag = function(event, noPropagation) {
// Your Code
},
$.ui.resizable.prototype._mouseDrag = function(event) {
// Your code
}
}(jQuery));
Now put your logic here or original code with your new idea that is needed in your project.

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