Category Archives: Javascript

$(function(){…}) vs (function($){…})($) or DOMReady vs The Module Pattern

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Derick Bailey

This was originally a StackOverflow question. I’m re-posting here because I think the question is fairly common, and I like the answer that I provided.  Why define anonymous function and pass it jQuery as the argument? This is the original … Continue reading →

Also posted in Backbone, DOM, JQuery, Principles and Patterns | 1 Comment

Backbone.Syphon: Serialize Form Inputs To JavaScript Objects

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Derick Bailey

Working with form elements in a Backbone view can become very tedious very quickly. You will either end up writing a lot of repetitive code to read values from the form, or end up using a key-value-observer or data-binding solution … Continue reading →

Also posted in Backbone, Backbone.Syphon, JQuery, JSON | 10 Comments

Workflow In Backbone Apps: Triggering View Events From DOM Events

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Derick Bailey

In my previous blog post, I talked about modeling an explicit workflow in JavaScript and Backbone application. The last code sample I showed had the implementation of the workflow object itself, but omitted all of the details of the views … Continue reading →

Also posted in Backbone, Workflow | 1 Comment

Modeling Explicit Workflow With Code, In JavaScript And Backbone Apps

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Derick Bailey

A long time ago, in what seems to be a previous life at this point, I wrote a small blog post about modeling and creating an explicit return value from a dialog form in a Windows application. Fast forward a … Continue reading →

Also posted in AntiPatterns, Backbone, Principles and Patterns, Workflow | 11 Comments

View Helpers For Underscore Templates

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Derick Bailey

Underscore’s template engine lets you run any arbitrary JavaScript code that you want, within a template. You could write an entire JavaScript application within an underscore template if you want. But this is a really bad idea. Templates should be … Continue reading →

Also posted in Backbone, Marionette, Underscore | 8 Comments

Executing A Project-Specific Node/NPM Package A-la “bundle exec”

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Derick Bailey

It’s no secret that I love NodeJS, though I really haven’t blogged about it much (if at all). Frankly, I think Node and NPM are going to be eating Ruby, RubyGems and Bundler’s $25,000 lunch – at least on OSX. … Continue reading →

Also posted in Command Line, NodeJS, NPM | 3 Comments

Decoupling Backbone Apps From WebSockets

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Derick Bailey

I’ve been doing a lot of work with web sockets lately, in my Backbone applications. And I’ve fallen in to a pattern that I really like, where my Backbone application doesn’t actually know anything about web sockets. All it knows … Continue reading →

Also posted in Backbone, Marionette, Pusher, SignalR, Socket.IO, Web Sockets | 8 Comments

Managing A Modal Dialog With Backbone And Marionette

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Derick Bailey

My current client project is using Twitter Bootstrap, and I have to say I’m loving it. It provides a simple way to get started with common layout and design elements, and includes a handful of UI widgets and features that … Continue reading →

Also posted in Backbone, DOM, JQuery, Marionette, Twitter Bootstrap | 9 Comments

ClassyObjects: A JavaScript Class-y Inheritance Example

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Derick Bailey

I recently released a screencast that covers JavaScript Objects & Prototypes on my WatchMeCode site. In this screencast, I go through all of the basics of working with objects in JavaScript, including prototypal inheritance. Toward the end of the video, … Continue reading →

Also posted in Backbone, Classy Inheritance, Ember, Prototypal Inheritance | 3 Comments

JavaScript Performance: Pre-Compiling And Caching HTML Templates

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Derick Bailey

If you’re using HTML templates with a JavaScript application, you need to be caching the template’s raw text and/or pre-compiled version of the template. All of this spawned from a fun thread of discussion on a StackOverflow question. DOM Selection … Continue reading →

Also posted in Backbone, DOM, JQuery, Marionette, Performance | 6 Comments