Thanks for your example using dynamic arguments; I didn’t think about it, as I’ve never done it like that. I’ve always used the parent’s onRendered hook to access the child and set the values that way, which seems stupid compared to your solution. So that makes sense. Another suggestion here: what do you think about prefixing those dynamic options with an underscore or so? That way we could have code like this, which looks clean to me:
{{> myWidget throttle=500}}
<template name="myWidget">
<!-- Edge case: -->
<input {{bind value='email 100' enterKey=submit _throttle=throttle}}>
<!-- But this would be normal: -->
<input {{bind value=password enterKey=submit}}>
</template>
I totally get where you’re coming from, regarding the keyword bind syntax – it’s more Blaze native than using strings. A thing to keep in mind, though, is that we’ll never be able to skip the quotation marks around property names.
Another thing is, that there’s currently no way of passing neither positional nor keyword arguments to a helper in Jade (mquandalle:jade), without resorting to Spacebars syntax.
Least of all with attributes, I’m afraid.
Aside from all that, I think it’s wisest to keep hidden rules, such as conventions about the naming of keyword arguments, to an absolute minimum.
I have added the possibility in the next version, though, of using commas to separate multiple bind expressions inside a single string.
I’m currently looking into a better syntax for Jade.
Instead of this:
input($dyn='{{bind "value: value"}}')
… I would like to be able to write this:
input($bind='value: value')
To enable this syntax, I need just one out of the following two scenarios – presented here in order of their usefulness:
That the mquandalle:jade package automatically convert attributes starting with $ directly to dynamic attribute helpers. So that any identifier following a dollar sign denotes a Blaze dynamic attribute helper – just like the word “bind” above.
It only takes the four lines of code that I’ve submitted to mquandalle:jade-compiler in this pull request.
This feature is fully backwards compatible, since attributes beginning with $ have so far resulted in an exception (except for the special $dyn attribute, which is left untouched by my pull request).
You may be valiant enough to add some encouraging comments under my pull request, backing up the idea
Or – that the mquandalle:jade-compiler package export its TemplateCompiler class. Or at least add it as a property on the main export, JadeCompiler.
I’ve gone ahead and created an issue about it, and supportive comments will be cherished there, too
Exporting this class would make it possible for me to release a special version for Jade – dalgard:viewmodel-jade – which would include quandalle:jade-compiler and extend it to support the new syntax in a few lines of code.
I’ve actually implemented this solution in the develop branch of the project, by simply copying the latest version of mquandalle:jade-compiler into my root packages folder and adding the additional export statement to it.
In summary, I hope to have a solution to the Jade syntax soon – preferably the first one. Fingers crossed…
Sure, I didn’t think about the fact, that Blaze will always return the value, not the function, and I couldn’t find a way to get the passed property’s name …
So I guess having the comma separated syntax is a good thing, I like it!
Interesting – thanks for the research. The parenthesis syntax is pretty sweet, but I think we’re quickly reaching a point where expressions in Spacebars shouldn’t become any richer.
Next stop, Blaze 2 – possibly using some kind of JSX.
Hey, Krisitian. I currently use Manuel’s awesome package. You say that your version is leaner and meaner.
So what are the exact benefits of migrating to yours?
ps I am actually disappointed with awkward jade syntax in your package - have there been any improvements?
Thanks for asking. I guess it comes down to a lot of small things – like how custom bindings are defined, how parameters may be passed to bindings, the integration with Blaze, features like persistence and shared state, and the API in general.
I’m disappointed by the Jade syntax, too, though, but I haven’t been able to get a reply from @mquandalle on my pull request, nor on the issue I’ve created with the matter.
You’re right – this package is very much for people knowing what to expect from a viewmodel pattern. What I recommend is looking through the code of the examples while seeing them live at dalgard-viewmodel.
The examples are not pretty, but they are concise
In about one month’s time, we’re locking down the API with version 1.0, under the auspices of a new venture that I’m part of. Then, we might create a tutorial, which I think is what you’re seeking.
It looks like development on mquandalle:jade has been set on stand-by, seeing that the last change was five months ago. Maybe the package just works for people in its current form.
Nevertheless, instead of waiting around for my pull request to be merged, I’ve re-released the package on Atmosphere, including the feature I wanted.
The alternative package is called dalgard:jade and, as expected, it works exactly like the original, except that a dollar sign marks a dynamic attribute helper. The new package is backwards compatible and passes the tests of the original.
With the dollar sign syntax, elements can be bound like this:
button($bind='click: myHandler')
As far as I’m aware, Jade still lacks the ability to pass keyword arguments to helpers without resorting to Spacebars syntax. Any input on how this issue can be dealt with is very welcome.
Cheers.
P.S. As I’ve made clear elsewhere, I have not intention of taking on the maintenance of Meteor’s canonical Jade package, but will keep my package in sync with the original.
It doesn’t, there are few things missing that would be good to have. F.e. the {{#each item in items}} syntax and {{index}} in each. The same with {{#helper param}} which you mentioned.
But Jade is so much better than HTML that few missing things are still fine. And you can use spacebar syntax for some of the missing things anyways.
dalgard:viewmodel version 0.9.1 has been released together with dalgard:jade version 0.5.0, which solves some of the problems that have been discussed.
The 0.9.0 version of dalgard:viewmodel was a major refactoring of the code base, which included a number of optimizations and improved debugging through ViewModel.nexuses. At the same time, the package was moved to Meteor 1.2.0.2, mainly for native ecmascript support.
