jsplink / tntjs

v 0.2.0
GNU General Public License v3.0
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tntjs

Simple, single-page scaffolding for developing cross-device web applications. By combining the flexibility of JavaScript with the power of rapidly evolving web standards we can greatly reduce the cost of software product development using a core UI codebase and extend into native code when needed.

Project Modules

You should only need to edit settings, models (what will your server send?), views (what will your users see?), and forms (what will your users tell?).

Dependencies

The npm registry has not upgraded a couple of the packages (cryptojs 3+, twitter-bootstrap 3.0), so npm install won't work. Please use the /lib directory or your own forks of those projects.

This project will in time adopt Apache Cordova.

How-To

models.js require("models");

Used by the dataserve module to validate & instantiate information passed in via the comm module.

Ob

Short for 'Object', this is the base class for all model definition.

/**
* @class <modelNameHere>
* @desc <modelDescriptionHere>
* @todo convert property declarations into an argument object
*/
var <modelName> = Ob.makeSubclass({
    _init: function(args) {
        var self = this;
        self._class = '<modelName>';
        self._pkey = '<identifyingPropertyName>';
        Ob.prototype._init(self, args, [
            [
                < "Number" | "String" | "moment" | "epoch" | "Date" | "Array" >, 
                "<propertyValue>", 
                <requiredBoolean>
            ], [ ... ]
        ]);
    }
});

Perhaps, an example...

/**
* @class group
* @desc Used for the CurrentGroup property
*/
var group = Ob.makeSubclass({
    _init: function(args) {
        var self = this;
        self._class = 'group';
        self._pkey = 'groupId';
        Ob.prototype._init(self, args, [
            ["Number", "groupId", false],
            ["String", "groupToken", true],
            ["String", "groupStyleType", true],
        ]);
    }
})

These models define what your server's client-bound data should look like. Server-side code is beyond the scope of this project.

dataserve.js require("dataserve");

Connects your comm to your views. Initiates objects via models. Serves lists and serves objects.

Please be sure to implement inbound dataquery whitelisting (see the owasp article on SQL Injection: https://www.owasp.org/index.php/SQL_Injection_Prevention_Cheat_Sheet).

dataserve.serveList({...});

The serveList method creates an expectation (or, perhaps, a 'promise') for a list of named objects. Objects are identified with a viewName and a typeName (i.e. data type name, created within models), along with number identifiers if there are any.

These number identifiers allow you to call for object-specific data lists from your database.

dataserve.serveList({
    '<viewName> { <NumberID> { <viewName> { <NumberID> ... } } }': { // keep adding <viewName><numberID> as the list becomes more and more detailed.
        '<typeName>': {
            offset: <number>,
            limit: <number>,
            filters: [
                [
                    '<propertyName>', 
                    < '<' | '>' | '==' | '<=' | '>=' | '!=' >,
                    '<propertyValue>'
                ] ), [ ... ]
            ]
        }
    }
});

Step One Within your views make calls to the dataserve as you wish.

var groups = dataserve.serveList({
    'groupChooser': { 
        'group': { 
            offset: 0,
            limit: 25,
            order: ["created", "ASC"],
            filters: [
                ['category', '==', 'soccer]
            ]
        }
    }
});
var golfGroup = dataserve.serveList({
    'groupChooserGroup48': {
        'member': {
            offset: 0,
            limit: 25,
            order: ["joined", "ASC"],
            filters: [[]]
        }
    }
});
var briansInterests = dataserve.serveList({
    'groupChooserGroup48member10': {
        'interest': {
            offset: 0,
            limit: 25,
            order: ["added", "ASC"],
            filters: [[]]
        }
    }
});

When the server responds, the dataserve will look to models for the following definitions:

groupChooserGroup, groupChooserGroupMember, groupChooserGroupMemberInterest

If they do not exist in models, an error is thrown.

Step Two dataserve registers this data and queries the comm module which in turn sends to your back-end. (N) Note that there are outbound variable conversions going on here via (hence the non-camelCase).

jsonp:jQuery19105425903734285384_1378496107370
action:get_list
arg0:{"config":{"group_chooser":{"group":{"offset":0,"limit":25,"order":["created","ASC"]}}}}
arg1:undefined
quuid:923e1329-8049-4674-84f0-5eefb54037cc
time:1378496254498
_:1378496107383

Step Three Your server shall respond with the following (use whatever back-end you prefer)..

{
    "body": {
        "status": 1, 
        "config": {
            "groupChooser": {
                "group": [{
                    "name": "Soccer Group",
                    "groupID": 24
                }, { ... }]
            }
        }, 
        "quuid": "923e1329-8049-4674-84f0-5eefb54037cc"
    }, 
    "timestamp": "2013-09-06T19:37:34.814917", 
    "signature": "NmY4MzY5MDE4NzU2ZDcxODA1OGE2MzUyNGZjNTYyNjdjYzRiMzgxNjAzN2NjMTk0Yjg1NjUzNjQ0\nYjhhYjgyMg=="
}

Step Four The comm module (1) validates the hmac signature via comm.tokens and (2) updates the comm.receivedMsg array

Step Five The dataserve, listening to comm becomes notified of the received message and updates the list in the registry.

Step Six Your views are automatically updated and the user's interface follows (thanks to data-binding).

dataserve.serveObject(...);

The serveObject method creates an expectation for an object.

dataserve.serveObject('<objectName><numberID>');

nav.js require("nav");

Looks at settings.navigation and implements twitter's bootstrap. Also determines navigational hierarchy with the classes .navigable-[a-z], where each latter letter shall be a child of its parent. In other words, .navigable-[a-z] designates the navigational hierarchy.

User Navigation

Okay, so let's say you had a div called chat-room and two children: chat-room-settings and chat-room-messages.

<div id='chat-room' class='navigable-a'>
    <div id='chat-room-messages' class='navigable-b'>
        <ul data-bind='foreach: milkProducts.cream'></ul>
    </div>
    <div id='chat-room-settings' class='navigable-b'>
        <ul data-bind='foreach: milkProducts.cheese'></ul>
    </div>
</div>

Please note that the placement of chat-room-messages as a div in front of chat-room-settings is important. When the URI #/chat-room is followed, the nav module loads the first navigable descendents of their class (in this case #chat-room-messages.navigable-b), and will hide from view #chat-room-settings until a #/chat-room/settings link is clicked upon.

The same goes for a-class navigable elements. Let's consider the following.

<div id='chat-room' class='navigable-a'>
    <div id='chat-room-messages' class='navigable-b'>
        <ul data-bind='foreach: milkProducts.cream'></ul>
    </div>
    <div id='chat-room-settings' class='navigable-b'>
        <ul data-bind='foreach: milkProducts.cheese'></ul>
    </div>
</div>
<div id="settings" class='navigable-a'>
    <!-- ... -->
</div>
<div id='overview' class='navigable-a'>
    <!-- ... -->
</div>

Here, when the user navigates to the #/overview URI the #chat-room.navigable-a and #settings.navigable-a elements will be hidden from view and the #overview.navigable-a element will be shown.

Navigation Bar

There are two parts to defining and presenting user navigation.

  1. Go into the settings module to declare the structure of your application.
  2. Insert the associative HTML into your app html file (or just use the app.html which comes with this repo).

Step 1 - go to settings.navigation;

The twitter-bootstrap navigational bar configuration found in the settings module easily defines for you what your users will see at the top of their screen for navigation.

/**
* Description of this navbar.
*/
<userTypeA>: { // name of your navbar, most likely the type of user (i.e. guest, etc.)
    root: '<mainViewName>',
    children: [
        '<userViewNameA>', // these viewNames always activate the <userTypeA> navbar
        '<userViewNameN>'
    ], 
    navbar: [
        {
            name: '<viewNameATitle>', // name on the button
            link: '<viewNameAURI>',
            pos: '<left | right>'
        }, {
            name: '<viewNameNTitle>',
            menu: [
                { // example of a drop-down menu
                    name: '<viewNameAChildViewName>',
                    link: '<viewNameAChildViewNameURI>'
                }, { ... }
            ],
            pos: '<left | right>'
        }
    ]
}, 
/**
* Description of this navbar.
*/
<userTypeN>: { 
    ... 
}

Perhaps, an example.

/**
* Navigational settings for the application.
*/
navigation: {
    /**
    * As seen by first-time users.
    */
    guest: {
        root: 'welcome',
        children: [
            'welcome',
            'sign-in',
            'sign-up', 
            'forgot-password',
            'reset-password' 
        ], 
        navbar: [
            {
                name: 'Welcome',
                link: '#/welcome',
                pos: 'left'
            }, {
                name: 'Sign Up',
                link: '#/sign-up',
                pos: 'right'
            }, { 
                name: 'Sign In',
                link: '#/sign-in',
                pos: 'right'
            }
        ]
    },
    /**
    * As seen by users.
    */
    user: {
        root: 'entryway',
        children: [ 
            'entryway', 
            'entryway-groups', 
            'entryway-group-invites', 
            'group-form',
            'join-home'
        ], 
        navbar: [
            {
                name: 'Entryway',
                link: '#/entryway',
                pos: 'left'
            }, { 
                name: 'Create a Group',
                link: '#/group-form',
                pos: 'left'
            }, { 
                name: 'Join a Group',
                link: '#/join-group',
                pos: 'left'
            }
        ]
    }, 
    /**
    * As seen by members. 
    */
    member: {
        root: 'overview',
        children: [
            'overview', 
            'chat-room',
            'people',
            'move-out',
            'invite-member'
        ], 
        navbar: [
            {
                name: 'Overview', 
                link: '#/overview'
            }, {
                name: 'Discuss', 
                menu: [
                    { 
                        name: 'Message Thread',
                        link: '#/chat-room' 
                    }
                ]
            }, { 
                name: 'Manage', 
                menu: [
                    {
                        name: 'Invite Member',
                        link: '#/invite-member'
                    }, { 
                        name: 'Group Settings', 
                        link: '#/change-nickname' 
                    }, { 
                        name: 'Leave Group', 
                        link: '#/move-out'
                    }
                ]
            }, {
                name: 'Entryway', 
                link: '#/leave-group'
            }
        ]
    }
}

That's it! The nav module will do the rest. Informational console notifications are thrown if your navigation links lead to nowhere.

Retrospective

After a few years from beginning this project I think that I've gained enough retrospective on this piece of work to comment on some areas within which one can improve. KnockoutJS is a great framework which binds "computed" and "observable" objects onto the DOM with an abstracted DOM-level api. I think the implementation and api of this library is well designed with three features standing out to me above the rest: 1) a guessable, dom-level api; 2) it's observable counter-part; and 3) the "one object per app" concept.

Use of the observable pattern

I think that my use of KnockoutJS was too prolific. I used the library for implementing the observable design pattern everywhere within the application. Simple things such as configuration, for example, was applied observable design pattern. I think that this pattern is well adept for serving user interfaces; but not with all of the baggage which comes with KnockoutJS's computed and observables.

KO's computed and observable objects are interfaces first and data second. Each instance is sprinkled with adapters upon the initial binding application call--perhaps on a need-to-implement basis in which case the impact is downright minimal--which adds extra weight to the objects, unnecessary weight.

I think that this focus on observable patterns within user interface libraries can show a lot of promise. It's reactive.

Credits

License

GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE

Version 3, 29 June 2007

Copyright (C) 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc. http://fsf.org/ Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.

Preamble

The GNU General Public License is a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works.

The licenses for most software and other practical works are designed to take away your freedom to share and change the works. By contrast, the GNU General Public License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change all versions of a program--to make sure it remains free software for all its users. We, the Free Software Foundation, use the GNU General Public License for most of our software; it applies also to any other work released this way by its authors. You can apply it to your programs, too.

When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for them if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it in new free programs, and that you know you can do these things.

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Developers that use the GNU GPL protect your rights with two steps: (1) assert copyright on the software, and (2) offer you this License giving you legal permission to copy, distribute and/or modify it.

For the developers' and authors' protection, the GPL clearly explains that there is no warranty for this free software. For both users' and authors' sake, the GPL requires that modified versions be marked as changed, so that their problems will not be attributed erroneously to authors of previous versions.

Some devices are designed to deny users access to install or run modified versions of the software inside them, although the manufacturer can do so. This is fundamentally incompatible with the aim of protecting users' freedom to change the software. The systematic pattern of such abuse occurs in the area of products for individuals to use, which is precisely where it is most unacceptable. Therefore, we have designed this version of the GPL to prohibit the practice for those products. If such problems arise substantially in other domains, we stand ready to extend this provision to those domains in future versions of the GPL, as needed to protect the freedom of users.

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You may refer to LICENSE.md under the repository for the Terms and Conditions of use.