jQuery compat

[dvv]

Hi!

Seems there exist some compat issues preventing use of this $.ajax, at first glance:

Reqwest: method, type, headers, headers['Content-Type'], none, none

jQuery : type, dataType, none, contentType, onBeforeSend(), ?callback=

How'd you suggest to normalize?

TIA, --Vladimir

[ded]

hmm... the before send can be added. ?callback= is a JSONP thing. in which case i'd probably recommend using $.getScript

$.getScript('http://example.com/?callback=jazz');

of course we can work in some magic in $script.js to wrap it in a nice callback so you can just do this:

$.getScript('foo.js', {
  handlerName: function () {
    // done
  }
});

[dvv]

Personally, I find reqwest interface clearer. The most confusing is type option which has completely different meanings in both flavors.

What if expose reqwest interface under different alias (say $.Ajax), and make $.ajax be a wrapper, which should take jQuery options, reduce them to reqwest options and delegate to $.Ajax, printing a warning to the console?

Not very clear, but should help initial transition, and constant warnings may eventually make people to use reqwest ;)

[dvv]

Hi! Any progress in coping with this issue? They just consider it a stopper: https://github.com/documentcloud/backbone/pull/322#issuecomment-1044158

[beatgammit]

I agree with @dvv in principle. I like reqwest's syntax better too.

Perhaps instead of a wrapper, there could be a compat mode: reqwest.compat('jQuery') or something that's set once. This would bloat reqwest a little, but a few bytes never hurt anyone =D

[zenlor]

I came out with this to patch Spine.js:

  if (reqwest) {
    $ajax = function(params) {
      var error, success;
      params.method = params.type.toLowerCase();
      params.type = params.dataType;
      delete params.dataType;
      params.headers = {
        'Content-Type': params.contentType
      };
      if (params.success) {
        success = params.success;
        params.success = function(data) {
          return success(data, "success", this);
        };
      }
      if (params.error) {
        error = params.error;
      }
      params.error = function(data) {
        return error(data, "error", this);
      };
      return reqwest(params);
    };
  } else if (jQuery) {
    $ajax = $.ajax;
  }

I am sure it's buggy and handles only one use case. But it's quite similar on what RightJS does with his jquerysh plugin.

[ded]

i'm starting to like the idea of calling compat('jquery') which invokes a bridge. i'll see if i can have a play with that.

[mattly]

would a patch for a 'dataType' option (per jQuery, basically would allow sending Content-Type: application/json instead of application/x-www-form-urlencoded) be welcomed? This is an adoption-blocker for me.

[rvagg]

You can provide a custom Content-Type as it is, without a dataType option. This is roughly what a JSON call can look like with Reqwest:

$.ajax({
  url: '/happyPlace',
  method: 'post',
  type: 'json',
  data: JSON.stringify(happyData),
  headers: {
    'Accept': 'application/json',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  success: onSuccess,
  error: onError
});

Reqwest has sensible defaults for Accept and Content-Type but they aren't enforced if you provide your own.

[mattly]

Thanks, but I'm (also) working with a library that expects things to work like jQuery and take a 'dataType' option instead of specifying headers.

[mattly]

Eh, I can override it just fine with something like:

oldajax = $.ajax;
$.ender({ ajax: function(options) {
  if (options.dataType === 'json') {
    if (! options.headers) { options.headers = {}; }
    options.headers['Content-Type'] = 'application/json';
  }
  oldajax(options)
}});

It's not ideal but it works.