Director + Backbone = :)

Using the Flatiron framework's router Director with Backbone.JS and how it addresses key issues encountered by complex single-page web applications in a simple & effective way.

Transcript

2. WHO AM I? •  Lead Front-End Dev at Thefuture.fm (formerly Dubset) •  Columbia University MS in Computer Science   Vision/Graphics track w/ focus in UI/UX •  What is Thefuture.fm?   Curated internet radio   Endless streaming mixes from top DJs around the world   Single-Page Web App using Backbone.js •  Worked with Charlie Robbins (github.com/indexzero) & Paolo Fragomeni(github.com/hij1nx) of Nodejitsu (jit.su) on integrating flatiron/director with our Backbone app in the early pre-1.0 days
3. WHAT’S THIS ALL ABOUT? •  My Main Focus: •  Client-Side router implementation •  Comparing Director and Backbone.Router side-by-side •  Why I chose Director over Backbone’s built-in Router •  How to unplug Backbone.Router and plug in Director instead •  Background Items: •  What is Backbone.JS? •  Intro to Backbone.Router •  What is Flatiron? •  Intro to Flatiron’s Director OK LET’S GET STARTED!!
4. WHAT IS BACKBONE.JS? Backbone.js gives structure to web applications by providing models with key-value binding and custom events, collections with a rich API of enumerable functions, views with declarative event handling, and connects it all to your existing API over a RESTful JSON interface.   Model   Represents interactive data   Defines logic surrounding it   Provides functionality to manage changes   Collection   A collection of models   Ordered!! (can define Collection.comparator)   View   Logical view backed by a model/collection   Freeform & non-restrictive – works with any JS templating library   Router   Simple client-side routing   Determines what code to run (i.e. rendering a view) when a URL (route) is hit Dependencies: Underscore.js, json2.js, jQuery/etc. documentcloud.github.com/backbone
5. BACKBONE.JS PROVIDES STRUCTURE MVP FRAMEWORK MODEL: defines data & stores its current state VIEW: presents data & routes user input to Presenter PRESENTER: drives changes to Model & View documentcloud.github.com/backbone •  Provides structure for your data that you can parallel with your views (keeps things logically organized) MODEL PRESENTER VIEW Backbone.Model (Backbone.Collection) Backbone.View Templates/ Rendered View show index
6. BACKBONE.JS EVENT HANDLING Models/Collections trigger events which Views can bind to.   Collection   reset(collection) - when the entire contents have been replaced   triggered by: fetch, reset, etc.   add(model, collection) - when a model is added to a collection   remove(model, collection) - when a model is removed from a collection   Model   change(model, options) – when a model’s attributes have changed   change:[attribute](model, value, options) – when a specific attribute has been updated   Some notes:   {silent: true}   .trigger(“[event]”) documentcloud.github.com/backbone •  Syncs your views consistently with the data that drives it using rich event handling
7. BACKBONE.ROUTER: QUICK INTRO var myRouter = Backbone.Router.extend({ routes: { “/”: “home”, “/djs/:permalink”: “djs”, “/djs/:permalink/:mixid”: “djs” }, home: function() { … }, djs: function(permalink, mixid) { … } }); Routing determines what code to run for a specified URL. define route table define functions URL fragments fn names SIMPLE! Great for straightforward client-side routing of simple web apps. To start tracking hashchanges: Backbone.history.start(); documentcloud.github.com/backbone
8. WHAT IS FLATIRON? Flatiron is an adaptable framework for building modern web applications. It was built from the ground up for use with Javascript and Node.js. Philosopy No one agrees on frameworks. It's difficult to get consensus on how much or how little a framework should do. Flatiron's approach is to package simple to use yet full featured components and let developers subtract or add what they want. Motivation Build a collection of decoupled, unobtrusive tools that can operate as well in unison as they do independently. Promote code organization and sustainability by clearly separating development concerns. flatironjs.org
9. FLATIRON: MAIN COMPONENTS 1.  DIRECTOR URL Routing 2.  PLATES Templating 3.  RESOURCEFUL Data Management 4.  UNION Middleware 5.  BROADWAY Plugins 6.  WINSTON Logging flatironjs.org Client-Side!!
10. WHAT IS DIRECTOR? http://github.com/flatiron/director Synopsis Director is a router. Routing is the process of determining what code to run when a URL is requested. Motivation A routing library that works in both the browser and node.js environments with as few differences as possible. Simplifies the development of Single Page Apps and Node.js applications. Dependency free. flatironjs.org
11. DIRECTOR: OVERVIEW •  Depth-first search URL Matching •  Route events •  global •  for each route •  Nested routing •  Route recursion •  Regex •  Lots of flexibility •  function organization github.com/flatiron/director
12. DIRECTOR: QUICK INTRO ROUTE TABLE var routes = { '/': viewMethods.index, '/dog': { '/:color': { on: function (color) { console.log(color) } } } }; CONSTRUCTOR // instantiate var router = new Router(routes) .configure(options); // initialize – start listening! router.init(); github.com/flatiron/director
13. DIRECTOR > BACKBONE.ROUTER WHY BACKBONE.ROUTER WASN’T CUTTING IT FOR US -  Custom styling -  “Sectional” routing -  Pre-route authorization -  Global event firing -  Proper 404 catching -  More flexibility DIRECTOR SAVES THE DAY! FLEXIBILITY -  Routing Events: Setup/Teardown -  Global routing events -  notfound handler à 404 Page -  Nested Routes & Recursion -  Regex control -  Flexibility with function organization
14. •  ON/AFTER = SETUP/TEARDOWN •  Custom Formatting •  Authorization Issues •  “Sectional” setup/teardown •  Global routing events:   Reporting on every route   View cleanup after every route // instantiate the router w/ global events var myRouter = new Router(routes).configure({ on: analyticsEvents, after: cleanupView, notfound: render404 }).init(); DIRECTOR: ROUTING EVENTS '/hugoboss': { on: branded.hugoBoss.setup, after: branded.hugoBoss.teardown } var branded = { hugoBoss: { setup: function() { $('body').addClass('hugo-boss'); new HugoBossView(); }, teardown: function() { $('body').removeClass('hugo-boss’); } } }; ROUTING TABLE [snippet]: FUNCTION DEFINITION: BACKBONE VIEW Teardown! Global events 404!! Setup
15. ‘/section’: { on: function() { if(!userLoggedIn) { // route to ‘/login’ return false; } }, ‘/sub1’: ..., ‘/sub2’: ..., } 1.  Organized routes 2.  Less repetition 3.  “Sectional” routing 4.  Recursive routing DIRECTOR: NESTED ROUTING & RECURSION “section”: “section”, “section/sub1”: “sectionSub1”, “section/sub2”: “sectionSub2”, “section/sub3”: “sectionSub3” ... OR: “section/:sub”: “section” ... Define logic with cases in “section” function definition BACKBONE: DIRECTOR: recursion forward! Check for authorization Break out of recursion
16. DIRECTOR: FLEXIBLITY & CONTROL REGULAR EXPRESSIONS DIRECTOR: var router = Router({ // given the route '/hello/world'. '/hello': { '/(\\w+)': { // this function will return 'world'. on: function (who) { console.log(who) } } } }); FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION BACKBONE.ROUTER: var Workspace = Backbone.Router.extend({ routes: { "help": "help", // #help "search/:query": "search", // #search/ kiwis }, help: function() { ... }, search: function(query) { ... } }); DIRECTOR: -  Organize functions into global, views, custom -  Nested function definitions to parallel nested route definitions Regex yay!
17. HOW TO REPLACE BACKBONE.ROUTER WITH DIRECTOR •  What we don’t need from Backbone.js -  Backbone.Router -  Backbone.History (tracks hashchange events) •  Instead of: var myRouter = Backbone.Router.extend({ … }); Backbone.history.start(); •  We want: var myRouter = new Router(routingTable); myRouter.init(); WHY SO EASY!! J
18. QUESTIONS? •  Thefuture.fm: http://thefuture.fm •  Backbone.js: http://documentcloud.github.com/backbone •  Flatiron: http://flatironjs.org •  Director: http://github.com/flatiron/director •  Twitter: @janwdet