How to check whether that object has an event? - backbone.js

My example :
var object = {
msg: 'context obj'
};
var object2 = {
msg: 'other context obj2'
};
_.extend(Object.prototype, Backbone.Events);
object.on("alert:boom", function() {
console.log("run " + this.msg);
}, object2);
object.on("all", function(eventName) {
console.log('all');
});
object.trigger("alert:boom");
object.trigger("alert:riri"); //Why called ALL ????
How to check whether that object has an event ?
I hope for your help.

It's unclear if your question is "How to check whether that object has an event ?" or "//Why called ALL ????" -- #AlexacderImra has answered the last one.
It is not recommended you check internal variables but it is very unlikely this will chage - the event array is _events so you can do:
if (myObject._events['myeventname'])
To check for a particular event, or:
if (myObject._events.length)
To check if there are any events.
It would be best to wrap that functionality in a function so that in the event it changes in future versions of Backbone you only have to update the logic in one place.

all is one of built-in Backbone events.
Callbacks bound to the special **all** event will be triggered when any event occurs, and are passed the name of the event as the first argument.
So if you want to want to know when any event occurs, do like:
Object.on('all', function(eventName) {
console.log('event [' + eventName + '] triggered');
});

Use JSON.stringify, check inside it.
JSON.stringify(object)

Related

Do not trigger add event on adding a model to a collection

Is there a way not to trigger add event when i am adding a new model to a collection by collection method add or push
Example:
collection.add({name: 'any name'})
I tried like giving
collection.add({name: 'xyz'}, {add: false})
but it is not working
#idbehold has perfectly answered this. You can pass {silent: true} in the options to suppress the add event. I just want to add some information from the documentation. Read what it says
Generally speaking, when calling a function that emits an event (model.set, collection.add, and so on...), if you'd like to prevent the event from being triggered, you may pass {silent: true} as an option.
Note that this is rarely, perhaps even never, a good idea.
Passing through a specific flag in the options for your event callback to look at, and choose to ignore, will usually work out better.
So, consider passing an additional flag in the options and check that flag in your event listener to ignore what you do not need.
Check this Jsbin Example
var M = Backbone.Model.extend({ defaults: { a: 5 } });
var C = Backbone.Collection.extend({ model: M });
var c = new C();
var m = new M({a:1});
c.on('add', function(model, collection, options) {
console.log(options);
if (!options.flag) { return; }
});
c.add(m, {flag: false});
Try this:
collection.add({name: 'xyz'}, {silent: true});

KO.Computed equivalent in Angular / Breeze Initializer

Trying to get a more in-depth understanding of how Angular treats data binding and understanding it better and one thing is difficult to get my head around -
In Knockout I use a computed to keep track of changes to a property. In Angular it to move this logic into the view, which is a it trivial to me, but if that is the way to do it I understand.
My question is when I am initializing a new entity with Breeze/Angular how do I create computed-like properties that are notified when changes occur to the entities property?
myEntity.fullName = ko.computed(function () {
return myEntity.firstName + ' ' + myEntity.LastName;
});
in Angular would the equivalent be
myEntity.fullName = function () {
return myEntity.firstName + ' ' + myEntity.LastName;
};
And does that properly track the entity?
You are correct to simply make it a function. If your entity as shown is added to the $scope, then you would access the property like so:
<span class="fullname">{{ user.fullName() }}</span>
Whenever Angular runs a $digest cycle, it will check for a change to the bound property. In this instance, it means it will call the fullName() function and check to see if the result has changed. If it has, anything that has a $watch attached to that item — including simple binding — will be notified of the change.
One caveat of this technique, however, is to make sure that the operations being performed within your function are relatively fast, and also have no side effects. Bound functions like this will be called many times throughout the application.
If you need to have a more complex function, it would be better to handle that within the controller, and update a property on the object manually when it changes.
I found the answer on the following website. If you don't do something similar, what you will find is that all functions are ran during the digest phase and are not triggered by the change of a dependent observable or property. The solution below allows you to only trigger the function when a value it uses is changed.
http://www.jomendez.com/2015/02/06/knockoutjs-computed-equivalent-angularjs/
Explains how to duplicate the subscribe and computed feature in knockoutjs
var myViewModel = {
personName: ko.observable('Bob')
};
myViewModel.personName.subscribe(function(oldValue) {
alert("The person's previous name is " + oldValue);
}, null, "beforeChange");
This is what I found as result of my research (this is the AngularJs equivalent) Using the $scope.$watch method see the AngularJs life cycle https://docs.angularjs.org/guide/scope
$scope.myViewModel = {
personName: 'Bob'
};
$scope.$watch(‘myViewModel.personName’, function(newValue, oldValue){
//we are able to have both the old and the new value
alert("The person's previous name is " + oldValue);
});
//knockout computed
var isVendorLoading = ko.observable(),
isCustomerLoading = ko.observable(),
isProgramLoading = ko.observable(),
isWaiting = ko.observable();
var isDataLoading = ko.computed(function () {
return isVendorLoading() || isCustomerLoading() || isProgramLoading() || isPositionLoading() || isWaiting();
});
This is the AngularJs Equivalent for KnockoutJs computed:
$scope.isDataLoading = false;
$scope.$watch(
function (scope) {
//those are the variables to watch
return { isVendorLoading: scope.isVendorLoading, isCustomerLoading: scope.isCustomerLoading, isProgramLoading: scope.isProgramLoading, isWaiting: scope.isWaiting };
},
function (obj, oldObj) {
$timeout(function () {
//$timeout used to safely include the asignation inside the angular digest processs
$scope.isDataLoading = obj.isVendorLoading || obj.isCustomerLoading || obj.isProgramLoading || obj.isPositionLoading || obj.isWaiting;
});
},
true
);

need help to understand angular $watch

say I have a album list and user can add album
controller.albumList = function($scope, albumService) {
$scope.albums = albumService.query();
$scope.$watch('$scope.albums',function(){
$scope.albums.$save($scope.albums)
})
$scope.addalbum= function(){
$scope.albums.objects.push(album);
}
};
get a album list from server and show them
user can add album
watch the albums list ,when change happend save them to the server.
the problem is the $watch always fired, I did not even trigger the addalbum method, and every time I refresh the page a new album is created.
I follow the the code in todeMVC angular
here is the example code
var todos = $scope.todos = todoStorage.get();
$scope.newTodo = '';
$scope.editedTodo = null;
$scope.$watch('todos', function () {
$scope.remainingCount = filterFilter(todos, { completed: false }).length;
$scope.completedCount = todos.length - $scope.remainingCount;
$scope.allChecked = !$scope.remainingCount;
todoStorage.put(todos);
}, true);
please help me understand this
this is a solution:
$scope.$watch('albums', function(newValue, oldValue) {
if (angular.equals(newValue, oldValue)) {
return;
}
$scope.albums.$save($scope.albums);
}
After a watcher is registered with the scope, the listener fn is called asynchronously (via $evalAsync) to initialize the watcher. In rare cases, this is undesirable because the listener is called when the result of watchExpression didn't change. To detect this scenario within the listener fn, you can compare the newVal and oldVal. If these two values are identical (===) then the listener was called due to initialization.
More about a $watch listener: $watch at angularjs docs
Firstly, you do not have to specify the scope object when referencing to a property of the scope. So, replace:
$scope.$watch('$scope.albums', ...)
with the following:
$scope$watch('albums', ...)
Now about your issue. $watch is triggered each time the value of the object / property being watched changes. This includes even those cases when the values are yet to be assigned, such as undefined and null. Thus, if you wish that the save should happen only when a new album is added, you can have code similar to:
//Makes assumption that albums has a length property
$scope.$watch('albums.length', function () {
//Check for invalid cases
if ($scope.albums === undefined || $scope.albums === null) {
return;
}
//Genuine cases.
//Proceed to save the album.
});
With this, the $watch is still triggered in unwanted scenarios but with the check, you avoid saving when the album has not changed. Also, note that your $watch triggers only when the length of the albums object changes. So, if an album itself is updated (say an existing album name is changed), then this watch is not triggered. You can change the watch property based on your needs. The watch property mentioned here works only when a new album is added.

How to reference the event context for events defined in a backbone.js view?

I have my view set up with some events and I want to reference, for example, the button element that was clicked because it has a data attribute I need. I want to do it like so:
events: {
'click #testGadget': 'fireEvent',
...
},
fireEvent: function(){
var x = $(this).data('iCanHaz')
}
But the 'this' variable is scoped to the view itself. I know there's a way to accomplish what I'm looking to do but I can't seem to word my question in a way that returns any google hits.
Can simply be done with the event.target property:
fireEvent: function(e){
var x = $(e.target).data('iCanHaz')
}
see Event Object doc

How to rollback backbone.js model changes?

I have a "Cancel" button on my page which should reverts all the changes I made back to the state it was loaded from server..
I guess I need to store an initial state of Backbonejs model and restore a current (changed) state back to initial.
What is the best way to achieve that?
Thank you
FWIW - i wrote a plugin to handle this automatically, specifically with the idea of "cancel" buttons in mind: http://github.com/derickbailey/backbone.memento
model.previousAttributes() returns all of the previous attributes, while model.changedAttributes() returns all the changed attributes, but with their new values (or false if nothing has changed). So you could combine them to write a cancelChanges method in your prototype :
var MyModel = Backbone.Model.extend({
cancelChanges: function() {
var changed = this.changedAttributes();
if(!changed)
return;
var keys = _.keys(changed);
var prev = _.pick(this.previousAttributes(), keys);
this.set(prev, {silent: true}); // "silent" is optional; prevents change event
},
});
I dont believe there's a single method call for returning a model to its unedited state.. but the unedited values are available individually through model.previous(attribute) and collectively via model.previousAttributes.
Here is what I came up with:
var RollbackEnabledModel = Backbone.Model.extend({
initialize: function() {
this._initAttributes = _.clone(this.attributes);
},
parse: function(data) {
this._initAttributes = _.clone(data);
return data;
},
rollback: function() {
this.set(this._initAttributes);
}
});
Take a look at NYTimes' backbone.trackit. It tracks multiple changes to the model instead of only the most recent change like model.changedAttributes() and model.previousAttributes(). From the README:
var model = new Backbone.Model({id:1, artist:'Samuel Beckett', 'work':'Molloy'});
model.startTracking();
model.set('work', 'Malone Dies');
console.log(model.unsavedAttributes()); // >> Object {work: "Malone Dies"}
model.set('period', 'Modernism');
console.log(model.unsavedAttributes()); // >> Object {work: "Malone Dies", period: "Modernism"}
model.save({}, {
success: function() {
console.log(model.unsavedAttributes()); // >> false
}
});
In addition, the library adds functionality to resetAttributes to
their original state since the last save, triggers an event when the
state of unsavedChanges is updated, and has options to opt into
prompting to confirm before routing to a new context.

Resources