Model-View-WebSockets

Many front-end developers are familiar with MVC, and almost all are familiar with event-driven architectures (even if they call them something else). How do those two philosophies work together? And, more importantly, how can websockets help future applications become more responsive, more consistent, and easier to develop? We'll reexamine the Controller concept from MVC and figure out how to combine simple browser messaging and websockets to address our application needs and improve our user experiences.

Transcript

1. Model-View-
   Controller
   WebSockets
   Garann Means - HTML5.tx 2013
   

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2. ah, JavaScript
   ✏historically, a simple place
   ✏doing just fine without patterns and
   frameworks
   ✏a victim of its own potential
   ✏nothing is simple anymore
   ✏patterns combat complexity
   

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3. #singlepageappproblems
   

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4. SPAs today
   ✏everywhere!
   ✏more SPA-like behavior in static pages
   ✏third-party tools
   ✏systems of dependencies
   ✏easy to set up, but then.. ?
   

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5. win some/lose some
   ✏time to first render
   ✏SEO
   ✏managing HTTP requests
   ✏creating good packages
   

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6. implementation issues
   ✏creating app scaffolding
   ✏how & when to redraw
   ✏where client interactions fit
   ✏those darn HTTP requests
   

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7. some approaches
   ✏twitter
   ✏server-rendered HTML, Flight
   ✏airbnb
   ✏Node, full-stack Backbone
   ✏meteor (ok, not an implementation)
   ✏Node, MVC-style models, EDA-style
   messaging
   

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8. two households, both
   alike in dignity..
   

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9. Model-View-*
   ✏circa late 1970s
   ✏closely tied to OOP
   ✏SmallTalk
   ✏implemented in popular frameworks
   ✏traditionally backend
   

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10. Model
    ✏aka “object”
    ✏closely mirrors data
    ✏track their own relationships like
    relational DBs
    

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11. View
    ✏presentational part of the app
    ✏draw the interface
    ✏interpolate data
    ✏(optionally) capture interactions
    

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12. *
    ✏we’ll get to that in a sec
    

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13. MV* in JavaScript
    ✏MV* follows OOP
    ✏mix in a dash of rapid development..
    ✏fast-forward to now
    ✏numerous options
    ✏range of values for *
    ✏few popular choices outside MV*
    

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14. the new mutiny
    not-so-
    ^
    

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15. Event-Driven
    Architectures
    ✏less formal than MVC
    ✏suit high-I/O systems
    ✏simple and reactive
    ✏seen more in tools than applications
    

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16. events and objects
    ✏less data persisted overall
    ✏models less bound to data
    ✏natural “model” is a state
    

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17. events themselves
    ✏user interaction with view
    ✏server interaction with state
    ✏messaging within application
    ✏highly decoupled
    

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18. EDA in JavaScript
    ✏how we do it
    ✏all JS triggered by client-side events
    ✏event handling has evolved over time
    ✏inline onclick →
    ✏event delegation, pub/sub
    ✏dearth of sophisticated EDA JS
    frameworks
    

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19. a pair of star-crossed
    lovers?
    

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20. dealing with data
    ✏MVC: everything in models
    ✏EDA: models maybe?
    ✏MVC: lends itself to CRUD
    ✏EDA: ad-hoc updates
    

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21. the views
    ✏MVC: one-to-one with data
    ✏EDA: highly composite view reflecting
    state
    ✏MVC: view responsible for interaction
    ✏EDA: interaction first-class component
    

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22. the action
    ✏MVC: triad-specific
    ✏EDA: first-class
    ✏MVC: objects don’t influence controllers
    ✏EDA: objects have event awareness
    

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23. everybody loves MV*
    

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24. the whole family
    ✏MVC: tight triads, view bubbles up
    through controller
    ✏MVP: model and view paired, presenter
    can “float”
    ✏MVVM: model and view super tightly
    coupled, observerish
    

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25. the appeal
    ✏the age of OOP
    ✏big teams, separation of concerns
    ✏the age of REST
    ✏easy mapping to server code
    ✏good tools, obvs
    

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26. how we do it (now)
    ✏lightweight MVC
    ✏controller in router, view, other?
    ✏presenter abstractions
    ✏automatic binding
    

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27. framework choices
    ✏no need for boilerplate
    ✏too much for small apps?
    ✏too little for big apps?
    ✏SoC depends on NoC
    

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28. shaking the yoke of
    inauspicious *s
    

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29. a controller
    ✏Spine.js in TodoMVC
    ✏interface events
    ✏bindings to app functions
    ✏manage model properties
    ✏rendering, init
    

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30. a presenter (kinda)
    ✏Backbone.js in TodoMVC
    ✏interface events
    ✏observer events
    ✏rendering, init
    

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31. a viewmodel
    ✏Knockback.js in TodoMVC
    ✏interface binding events
    ✏magic interface events
    ✏observer events
    ✏controller handles render, init
    

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32. no man is an island
    SPA
    

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33. someone to talk to
    ✏given: server supplies first render
    ✏data
    ✏HTML
    ✏server updates
    ✏localstorage
    

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34. when it’s easy
    ✏CRUD
    ✏REST
    ✏highly automatable
    

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35. when it’s tricky
    ✏changing multiple models
    ✏lots of quick state changes
    ✏uploading offline data
    

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36. hey, it’s WebSocket!
    

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37. what is that tho
    ✏its own protocol
    ✏TCP, port 80, ws: and wss:
    ✏server can push data
    ✏replacement for e.g. long-polling
    ✏example: Word2
    

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38. not your mama’s
    comet
    ✏bi-directional
    ✏no request, no response
    ✏cross-origin support
    ✏dead simple API
    

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39. available now
    ✏FF 16
    ✏Chrome 23
    ✏IE 10
    ✏Opera 12
    ✏Safari 6
    ✏iffy on mobile (iOS yes, Android no)
    

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40. uses
    ✏tickers
    ✏chat
    ✏collaborative editing
    ✏yes, games
    ✏every Node Knockout app ever
    

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41. getting cozier with the
    server
    

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42. EDAing the *s
    ✏controllers/presenters/viewmodels full
    of events
    ✏free events from triads
    ✏subscribe at application level
    ✏any old event system will do
    

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43. event piping
    ✏decouple user and server interaction
    ✏provide place for validation
    ✏allow multiple subscribers
    

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44. EDA + WebSockets
    ✏chained like interface events
    ✏specific controllers can subscribe to
    global events
    ✏updates can be cached and bundled
    

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45. real talk
    time
    ^
    

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46. DIY WebSockets
    ✏declare a socket with URL and protocol
    ✏listen for open connection
    ✏send client messages
    ✏listen for server messages
    ✏close the connection
    

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47. DIY WebSockets
    var msgPane = document.querySelector(“#msgPane”),
    s = new WebSocket(“ws://yoursite.com”, [“soap”]);
    // listen for connection
    s.onopen = function(e) {
    s.send(“open for business!”);
    };
    // listen for server message
    s.onmessage = function(e) {
    msgPane.innerHTML = e.data;
    };
    

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48. on the server
    ✏can also DIY
    ✏becomes handy to use a utility
    ✏niceties like broadcasting
    ✏options for almost any backend
    

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49. socket.io example
    var msgPane = document.querySelector(“#msgPane”),
    s = io.connect(“http://yoursite.com”);
    // listen for connection
    s.on(“connect”, function() {
    s.emit(“open for business!”);
    };
    // listen for server message
    s.on(“newmessage”, function(data) {
    msgPane.innerHTML = data;
    };
    

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50. connecting it
    ✏add messaging anywhere in controller/
    presenter/etc.
    ✏use it for syncing if rolling your own
    ✏replace framework sync calls in
    implementation with socket events
    ✏use WebSockets plugin for framework
    (e.g. backbone.io)
    

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51. sockets for control
    ✏take action based on server messages
    ✏pipe events
    ✏subscribe on models and views
    ✏very similar to MVP
    

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52. controller.js
    var Events = function() {
    // ...
    // simple pub/sub
    };
    var sock = io.connect(“http://yoursite.com”);
    // listen for server message
    sock.on(“newobject”, function(data) {
    Events.publish(“objectadded”, data);
    };
    

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53. collection.js
    var that = this;
    Events.on(“objectadded”, function(data) {
    that.add(data);
    };
    

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54. view.js
    var that = this;
    Events.on(“objectadded”, function(data) {
    that.container.append(that.render(data));
    };
    

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55. together at last
    ✏a tool to use within your pattern
    ✏use a little (ad-hoc)
    ✏use a lot (syncing)
    ✏easy as pie to add
    

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56. thanks!
    @garannm - garann@gmail.com
    

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