How to show multiple views (CompositeView) in a region - Backbone Marionette - backbone.js

I have some CompositeViews, and i want to render it in a region.
CompositeView count is dynamic.

My solution:
Container = Backbone.View.extend() // Not itemview, it needs a template
items = document.createDocumentFragment();
_.each(Data, function(m, k) {
items.appendChild(new CompositeView({collection: new Collection(m)}).render().el);
})
App.region.show(new Container({el: items}))

Related

Backbone Marionette Slow Composite Views (200+ collections)

When showing a dropdown composite view collection of around 200 countries my application gets far too slow.
What is the best way to increase performance when dealing with large collections in marionette composite views?
Here is the function in the controller that is very slow to load. It is fast with only the following lines removed:
#layout.shippingCountryRegion.show shippingCountryView
#layout.billingCountryRegion.show billingCountryView
So it appears to be a very slow rendering issue.
Show.Controller =
showProfile: ->
#layout = #getLayoutView()
#layout.on "show", =>
headerView = #getHeaderView()
#layout.headerRegion.show headerView
accessView = #getAccessView()
#layout.accessRegion.show accessView
billingReadmeView = #getBillingReadmeView()
#layout.billingReadmeRegion.show billingReadmeView
billingFieldsView = #getBillingFieldsView()
#layout.billingFieldRegion.show billingFieldsView
shippingReadmeView = #getShippingReadmeView()
#layout.shippingReadmeRegion.show shippingReadmeView
shippingFieldsView = #getShippingFieldsView()
#layout.shippingFieldRegion.show shippingFieldsView
MyApp.request "location:get_countries", (countries) =>
billingCountryView = #getBillingCountryView(countries)
#layout.billingCountryRegion.show billingCountryView
MyApp.request "location:get_states", MyApp.activeCustomer.get('billing_country_id'), (states) =>
billingStateView = #getBillingStatesView(states)
#layout.billingStateRegion.show billingStateView
MyApp.request "location:get_countries", (countries) =>
shippingCountryView = #getShippingCountryView(countries)
#layout.shippingCountryRegion.show shippingCountryView
MyApp.request "location:get_states", MyApp.activeCustomer.get('shipping_country_id'), (states) =>
shippingStateView = #getShippingStatesView(states)
#layout.shippingStateRegion.show shippingStateView
MyApp.mainRegion.show #layout
The billing country view:
class View.BillingCountryDropdownItem extends MyApp.Views.ItemView
template: billingCountryItemTpl
tagName: "option"
onRender: ->
this.$el.attr('value', this.model.get('id'));
if MyApp.activeCustomer.get('billing_country_id') == this.model.get('id')
this.$el.attr('selected', 'selected');
class View.BillingCountryDropdown extends MyApp.Views.CompositeView
template: billingCountryTpl
itemView: View.BillingCountryDropdownItem
itemViewContainer: "select"
The template, simply:
<label>Country
<select id="billing_country_id" name="billing_country_id">
<%- name %>
</select>
</label>
Your code can be optimized. Just move content of onRender method to the ItemView attributes.
class View.BillingCountryDropdownItem extends MyApp.Views.ItemView
template: billingCountryItemTpl
tagName: "option"
attributes: ->
var id = this.model.get('id');
var attributes = { 'value': id };
if MyApp.activeCustomer.get('billing_country_id') == this.model.get('id')
attributes['selected'] = 'selected';
return attributes
The difference between this method and onRender case is that, on render will execute when collection already rendered and 200+ operations will be done with DOM nodes, which will bring performance issues.
In case of attributes method, it executes upon view creation.
There are few advices you can follow:
1) Ask your self do you really need to render all items at once? Maybe you can render part of collection and render other items on scroll or use pagination or use 'virtual scrioll' with SlickGrid or Webix for example.
2) Checkout how often you re-render your view. Try to minify num of events cause re-render
3) Try to minify num of event listeners of ItemView. Its good practice to delegate context events to CollectionView
4) You can use setTimeout to render collection by parts. For example you divide you coll in 4 parts by 50 items and raise 4 timeouts to render it.
5) You can optimize underscore templating and get rid of with {} operator. http://underscorejs.org/#template
What's in your 'billingCountryItemTpl' varible? If it's just string with template ID then you could precompile your template using Marionette.TemplateCache.
So you'll have:
template: Marionette.TemplateCache.get(billingCountryItemTpl)

How to organize Backbone collection with a specific selection?

I have a collection of items. I would like to keep track of the current selection. When the user clicks on a different item in the collection, I want to indicate that the item is selected and display the details of the selected item. Think of this as a list with a detail view (like a typical email client).
Example of a master-detail layout (source):
I currently have something like this (written in CoffeeScript, templates use haml-coffee):
class Collections.Items extends Backbone.Collection
model: Models.Item
setCurrentSelection: (id)->
# what to do here? Is this even the right way to do it?
getCurrentSelection: ->
# what to do here? Is this even the right way to do it?
class Views.ItemsPage extends Backbone.View
list_template: JST['items/list']
details_template: JST['items/details']
events:
'click .item': 'updateSelection'
initialize: (options)->
#collection = options.collection
render: ->
$('#items_list').html(#list_template(collection: #collection.toJSON())) # not sure if this is how to render a collection
$('#item_details').html(#details_template(item: #collection.currentSelection().toJSON())) # how to implement currentSelection?
#
updateSelection: (event)->
event.preventDefault()
item_id = $(event.currentTarget).data('id')
# mark the item as selected
# re-render using the new selection
# templates/items/list.hamlc
%ul
- for item in #collection
%li{data:{id: item.id}, class: ('selected' if item.selected?)} # TODO: How to check if selected?
= item.name
# templates/items/details.hamlc
%h2= #item.name
I'm not sure if I'm following you (my CoffeeScript is a bit rusty), but I think what you're trying to do is set a selected property on the appropriate model in your updateSelection method, and then re-render your view.
In other words:
updateSelection: (event)->
event.preventDefault()
item_id = $(event.currentTarget).data('id')
model = this.collection.get(item_id) # get the model to select
model.selected = true # mark the item as selected
this.render() # re-render using the new selection
even saying "my CoffeeScript is a bit rusty" is too much for me. But i'll still attempt to explain as best as i can in js.
First the backbone way is to keep models as a representation of a REST resource document. (server side - persisted data).
Client side presentation logic should stick to views. to remember which list item is visible in in the details part is job of the that specific view. initiating change request for details view model is job of the list of items.
the ideal way is to have two separate views for list and details. (you can also go a bit more ahead and have a view for every item in the list view.
parent view
var PageView = Backbone.View.extend({
initialize: function() {
//initialize child views
this.list = new ItemListView({
collection : this.collection //pass the collection to the list view
});
this.details = new ItemDetailView({
model : this.collection.at(1) //pass the first model for initial view
});
//handle selection change from list view and replace details view
this.list.on('itemSelect', function(selectedModel) {
this.details.remove();
this.details = new ItemDetailView({
model : selectedModel
});
this.renderDetails();
});
},
render: function() {
this.$el.html(this.template); // or this.$el.empty() if you have no template
this.renderList();
this.renderDetails();
},
renderList : function(){
this.$('#items_list').append(this.list.$el); //or any other jquery way to insert
this.list.render();
},
renderDetails : function(){
this.$('#item_details').append(this.details.$el); //or any other jquery way to insert
this.details.render();
}
});
list view
var ItemListView = Backbone.View.extend({
events : {
'click .item': 'updateSelection'
},
render: function() {
this.$el.html(this.template);
this.delegateEvents(); //this is important
}
updateSelection : function(){
var selectedModel;
// a mechanism to get the selected model here - can be same as yours with getting id from data attribute
// or you can have a child view setup for each model in the collection. which will trigger an event on click.
// such event will be first captured by the collection view and thn retriggerd for page view to listen.
this.trigger('itemSelect', selectedModel);
}
});
details view
var ItemDetailView = Backbone.View.extend({
render: function() {
this.$el.html(this.template);
this.delegateEvents(); //this is important
}
});
This won't persist the state through routes if you don't reuse your views. in that case you need to have a global state/event saving mechanism. somthing like following -
window.AppState = {};
_.extend(window.AppState, Backbone.Events);
//now your PageView initilize method becomes something like this -
initialize: function() {
//initialize child views
this.list = new ItemListView({
collection : this.collection //pass the collection to the list view
});
var firstModel;
if(window.AppState.SelectedModelId) {
firstModel = this.collection.get(window.AppState.SelectedModelId);
} else {
firstModel = this.collection.at(1);
}
this.details = new ItemDetailView({
model : firstModel //pass the first model for initial view
});
//handle selection change from list view and replace details view
this.list.on('itemSelect', function(selectedModel) {
window.AppState.SelectedModelId = selectedModel.id;
this.details.remove();
this.details = new ItemDetailView({
model : selectedModel
});
this.renderDetails();
});
}
EDIT
Handling selected class (highlight) in list view . see comments for reference.
list view template -
<ul>
<% _.each(collection, function(item, index){ %>
<li data-id='<%= item.id %>'><%= item.name %></li>
<% }); %>
</ul>
inside list view add following method -
changeSelectedHighlight : function(id){
this.$(li).removeClass('selected');
this.$("[data-id='" + id + "']").addClass('selected');
}
simply call this method from updateSelection method and during PageView initialize.
this.list.changeSelectedHighlight(firstModel.id);

Backbone.js - Build view with sub models

I have an edit view for a Backbone Model that I create each time the the element is clicked on. The problem I have is that the edit view needs two Backbone collections to create the edit form (it contains two <select> lists).
The view:
MyApp.elementView = Backbone.View.extend({
events: {
'click .edit': 'editForm',
},
editForm: function(ev) {
var editView = new TimeTrack.Views.EditJob({
model: this.model
// This view needs two more collections
// for the <select> elements
});
...
}
});
Instantiate the view:
var elementView = new MyApp.elementView({
collection: elementCollection
});
What is the best way to push the needed collections to the edit view? Do I have to pass the collections need for the edit view from the elementView form the instantiation? Or is there a better way of doing this?
I did so, passed in view 2 collections, 1 - the main and the other as follows:
to elementView - second collection and in elementView recive her.
example:
in router I'm
initialize: ->
(YourNameSpace).secondCollection = new (YourNameSpace).secondCollection
elements: =>
view = new (YourNameSpace).elementView( secondCollection: #secondCollection )
$('.l-yield').html(view.render().el)

How to know if element is already in the DOM when creating new Backbone view

here's the situation:
When page is opened for the first time, it already has prepared DOM by server(php).
If user has javascript turned on, then i want to convert my page to web app(or whatever you call it).
As soon as Javascript is initialized, Backbone fetches collection from server.
The problem is, that some of these fetched items are already on page.
Now how can i mark those items which already are in the DOM?
And how can i tie them up with the Backbone view?
Hooking up a Backbone.View to an existing DOM element is simple:
//get a referent to the view element
var $el = $("#foo");
//initialize new view
var view = new FooView({el:$el});
The view now handles the #foo element's events, and all the other View goodness. You shouldn't call view.render. If you do, it will re-render the view to the element. This means that you can't define any necessary code in the render method.
As to how to find out which elements are already in the DOM, and how to find the corresponding element for each view - that's a bit more complicated to answer without knowing exactly how your data and html looks like. As a general advice, consider using data-* attributes to match up the elements.
Let's say you have a DOM tree:
<ul id="list">
<li data-id="1">...</li>
<li data-id="2">...</li>
<li data-id="5">...</li>
</ul>
You could bind/render a model to the container like so:
var view;
//container element
var $list = $("ul#list");
//find item node by "data-id" attribute
var $item = $list.find("li[data-id='" + model.id+ "']");
if($item.length) {
//element was in the DOM, so bind to it
view = new View( {el:$item, model:model} );
} else {
//not in DOM, so create it
view = new View( {model:model} ).render();
$list.append(view.el);
}
Ok, i managed to do that like so:
var Collection = Backbone.Collection.extend({...});
var ItemView = Backbone.View.extend({...});
var ItemsView = Backbone.View.extend({
initialize: function () {
var that = this,
coll = new Collection;
coll.fetch({ success: function () {
that.collection = coll;
that.render();
}});
},
render: function () {
this.collection.each(this.addOne, this);
},
addOne: function (model) {
var selector = '#i'+model.get("id");
if( $(selector).length ) {
//If we are here, then element is already in the DOM
var itemView = new ItemView({ 'model': model, 'el': selector, 'existsInDom': true });
} else {
var itemView = new ItemView({ 'model':model });
}
}
});

In Backbone.js how do you handle Ordinal Numbering and changing numbering based on jQuery Sortable in the view?

Here is my situation. I have a bunch of "Question" model inside a "Questions" collection.
The Question Collection is represented by a SurveyBuilder view.
The Question Model is represented by a QuestionBuilder view.
So basically you have an UL of QuestionBuilder views. The UL has a jQuery sortable attached (so you can reorder the questions). The question is once I'm done reordering I want to update the changed "question_number"s in the models to reflect their position.
The Questions collection has a comparator of 'question_number' so collection should be sorted. Now I just need a way to make their .index() in the UL reflect their question_number. Any ideas?
Another problem is DELETEing a question, I need to update all the question numbers. Right now I handle it using:
var deleted_number = question.get('question_number');
var counter = deleted_number;
var questions = this.each(function(question) {
if (question.get('question_number') > deleted_number) {
question.set('question_number', question.get('question_number') - 1);
}
});
if (this.last()) {
this.questionCounter = this.last().get('question_number') + 1;
} else {
this.questionCounter = 1;
}
But it seems there's got to be a much more straighforward way to do it.
Ideally whenever a remove is called on the collection or the sortstop is called on the UL in the view, it would get the .index() of each QuestionuBuilder view, update it's models's question_number to the .index() + 1, and save().
My Models,Views, and Collections: https://github.com/nycitt/node-survey-builder/tree/master/app/js/survey-builder
Screenshot: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5xZcIdpJm0NczNRclhGeHJZQkE/edit
More than one way to do this but I would use Backbone Events. Emit an event either when the user clicks something like done sorting, hasn't sorted in N seconds, or as each sort occurs using a jQuery sortable event such as sort. Listen for the event inside v.SurveyBuilder.
Then do something like this. Not tested obviously but should get you there relatively easily. Update, this should handle your deletions as well becuase it doesn't care what things used to be, only what they are now. Handle the delete then trigger this event. Update 2, first examples weren't good; so much for coding in my head. You'll have to modify your views to insert the model's cid in a data-cid attribute on the li. Then you can update the correct model using your collection's .get method. I see you've found an answer of your own, as I said there are multiple approaches.
v.SurveyBuilder = v.Page.extend({
template: JST["app/templates/pages/survey-builder.hb"],
initialize: function() {
this.eventHub = EventHub;
this.questions = new c.Questions();
this.questions.on('add', this.addQuestion, this);
this.eventHub.on('questions:doneSorting', this.updateIndexes)
},
updateIndexes: function(e) {
var that = this;
this.$('li').each(function(index) {
var cid = $(this).attr('data-cid');
that.questions.get(cid).set('question_number', index);
});
}
I figured out a way to do it!!!
Make an array of child views under the parent view (in my example this.qbViews maintains an array of QuestionBuilder views) for the SurveyBuilder view
For your collection (in my case this.questions), set the remove event using on to updateIndexes. That means it will run updateIndexes every time something is removed from this.questions
In your events object in the parent view, add a sortstop event for your sortable object (in my case startstop .question-builders, which is the UL holding the questionBuilder views) to also point to updateIndexes
In updateIndexes do the following:
updateIndexes: function(){
//Go through each of our Views and set the underlying model's question_number to
//whatever the index is in the list + 1
_.each(this.qbViews, function(qbView){
var index = qbView.$el.index();
//Only actually `set`s if it changed
qbView.model.set('question_number', index + 1);
});
},
And there is my full code for SurveyBuilder view:
v.SurveyBuilder = v.Page.extend({
template: JST["app/templates/pages/survey-builder.hb"],
initialize: function() {
this.qbViews = []; //will hold all of our QuestionBuilder views
this.questions = new c.Questions(); //will hold the Questions collection
this.questions.on('add', this.addQuestion, this);
this.questions.on('remove', this.updateIndexes, this); //We need to update Question Numbers
},
bindSortable: function() {
$('.question-builders').sortable({
items: '>li',
handle: '.move-question',
placeholder: 'placeholder span11'
});
},
addQuestion: function(question) {
var view = new v.QuestionBuilder({
model: question
});
//Push it onto the Views array
this.qbViews.push(view);
$('.question-builders').append(view.render().el);
this.bindSortable();
},
updateIndexes: function(){
//Go through each of our Views and set the underlying model's question_number to
//whatever the index is in the list + 1
_.each(this.qbViews, function(qbView){
var index = qbView.$el.index();
//Only actually `set`s if it changed
qbView.model.set('question_number', index + 1);
});
},
events: {
'click .add-question': function() {
this.questions.add({});
},
//need to update question numbers when we resort
'sortstop .question-builders': 'updateIndexes'
}
});
And here is the permalink to my Views file for the full code:
https://github.com/nycitt/node-survey-builder/blob/1bee2f0b8a04006aac10d7ecdf6cb19b29de8c12/app/js/survey-builder/views.js

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