10.3. Module Utilities This section presents an extended example (Example 10-5) of a module of module-related utilities. The Module.createNamespace( ) utility handles namespace creation and error checking. A module author might use it like this: // Create a namespace for our module Module.createNamespace("com.davidflanagan.Class"); // Now start populating the namespace com.davidflanagan.Class.define = function(data) { /* code here */ }; com.davidflanagan.Class.provides = function(o, c) { /* code here */ }; The Module.require( ) function checks for the presence of the specified version (or later) of a named module and throws an error if it does not exist. Use it like this: // This Complex module requires the Class module to be loaded first Module.require("com.davidflanagan.Class", 1.0); The Module.importSymbols( ) function simplifies the task of importing symbols into the global namespace or another specified namespace. Here are examples of its use: // Import the default set of Module symbols to the global namespace // One of these defualt symbols is importSymbols itself Module.importSymbols(Module); // Note we pass the namespace, not module name // Import the Complex class into the global namespace importSymbols(com.davidflanagan.Complex); // Import the com.davidflanagan.Class.define( ) method to a Class object var Class = {}; importSymbols(com.davidflanagan.Class, Class, "define"); Finally, the Module.registerInitializationFunction( ) allows a module to register a function of initialization code to be run at some later time.[*] When this function is used in client-side JavaScript, an event handler is automatically registered to invoke all initialization functions for all loaded modules when the document finishes loading. When used in other, nonclient-side contexts, the initialization functions are not automatically invoked, but can be explicitly invoked with Module.runInitializationFunctions( ). [*] See also Example 17-6 for a similar initialization function registration utility. The Module module is shown in Example 10-5. This example is a long one, but the code repays careful study. Documentation and full details of each utility function are found in the code. Example 10-5. A module of module-related utilities /** * Module.js: module and namspace utilities * * This is a module of module-related utility functions that are * compatible with JSAN-type modules. * This module defines the namespace Module. */ // Make sure we haven't already been loaded var Module; if (Module && (typeof Module != "object" || Module.NAME)) throw new Error("Namespace 'Module' already exists"); // Create our namespace Module = {}; // This is some metainformation about this namespace Module.NAME = "Module"; // The name of this namespace Module.VERSION = 0.1; // The version of this namespace // This is the list of public symbols that we export from this namespace. // These are of interest to programers who use modules. Module.EXPORT = ["require", "importSymbols"]; // These are other symbols we are willing to export. They are ones normally // used only by module authors and are not typically imported. Module.EXPORT_OK = ["createNamespace", "isDefined", "registerInitializationFunction", "runInitializationFunctions", "modules", "globalNamespace"]; // Now start adding symbols to the namespace Module.globalNamespace = this; // So we can always refer to the global scope Module.modules = { "Module": Module }; // Module name->namespace map. /** * This function creates and returns a namespace object for the * specified name and does useful error checking to ensure that the * name does not conflict with any previously loaded module. It * throws an error if the namespace already exists or if any of the * property components of the namespace exist and are not objects. * * Sets a NAME property of the new namespace to its name. * If the version argument is specified, set the VERSION property * of the namespace. * * A mapping for the new namespace is added to the Module.modules object */ Module.createNamespace = function(name, version) { // Check name for validity. It must exist, and must not begin or // end with a period or contain two periods in a row. if (!name) throw new Error("Module.createNamespace( ): name required"); if (name.charAt(0) == '.' || name.charAt(name.length-1) == '.' || name.indexOf("..") != -1) throw new Error("Module.createNamespace( ): illegal name: " + name); // Break the name at periods and create the object hierarchy we need var parts = name.split('.'); // For each namespace component, either create an object or ensure that // an object by that name already exists. var container = Module.globalNamespace; for(var i = 0; i < parts.length; i++) { var part = parts[i]; // If there is no property of container with this name, create // an empty object. if (!container[part]) container[part] = {}; else if (typeof container[part] != "object") { // If there is already a property, make sure it is an object var n = parts.slice(0,i).join('.'); throw new Error(n + " already exists and is not an object"); } container = container[part]; } // The last container traversed above is the namespace we need. var namespace = container; // It is an error to define a namespace twice. It is okay if our // namespace object already exists, but it must not already have a // NAME property defined. if (namespace.NAME) throw new Error("Module "+name+" is already defined"); // Initialize name and version fields of the namespace namespace.NAME = name; if (version) namespace.VERSION = version; // Register this namespace in the map of all modules Module.modules[name] = namespace; // Return the namespace object to the caller return namespace; } /** * Test whether the module with the specified name has been defined. * Returns true if it is defined and false otherwise. */ Module.isDefined = function(name) { return name in Module.modules; }; /** * This function throws an error if the named module is not defined * or if it is defined but its version is less than the specified version. * If the namespace exists and has a suitable version, this function simply * returns without doing anything. Use this function to cause a fatal * error if the modules that your code requires are not present. */ Module.require = function(name, version) { if (!(name in Module.modules)) { throw new Error("Module " + name + " is not defined"); } // If no version was specified, there is nothing to check if (!version) return; var n = Module.modules[name]; // If the defined version is less than the required version or if // the namespace does not declare any version, throw an error. if (!n.VERSION || n.VERSION < version) throw new Error("Module " + name + " has version " + n.VERSION + " but version " + version + " or greater is required."); }; /** * This function imports symbols from a specified module. By default, it * imports them into the global namespace, but you may specify a different * destination as the second argument. * * If no symbols are explicitly specified, the symbols in the EXPORT * array of the module will be imported. If no such array is defined, * and no EXPORT_OK is defined, all symbols from the module will be imported. * * To import an explicitly specified set of symbols, pass their names as * arguments after the module and the optional destination namespace. If the * modules defines an EXPORT or EXPORT_OK array, symbols will be imported * only if they are listed in one of those arrays. */ Module.importSymbols = function(from) { // Make sure that the module is correctly specified. We expect the // module's namespace object but will try with a string, too if (typeof from == "string") from = Module.modules[from]; if (!from || typeof from != "object") throw new Error("Module.importSymbols( ): " + "namespace object required"); // The source namespace may be followed by an optional destination // namespace and the names of one or more symbols to import; var to = Module.globalNamespace; // Default destination var symbols = []; // No symbols by default var firstsymbol = 1; // Index in arguments of first symbol name // See if a destination namespace is specified if (arguments.length > 1 && typeof arguments[1] == "object") { if (arguments[1] != null) to = arguments[1]; firstsymbol = 2; } // Now get the list of specified symbols for(var a = firstsymbol; a < arguments.length; a++) symbols.push(arguments[a]); // If we were not passed any symbols to import, import a set defined // by the module, or just import all of them. if (symbols.length == 0) { // If the module defines an EXPORT array, import // the symbols in that array. if (from.EXPORT) { for(var i = 0; i < from.EXPORT.length; i++) { var s = from.EXPORT[i]; to[s] = from[s]; } return; } // Otherwise if the modules does not define an EXPORT_OK array, // just import everything in the module's namespace else if (!from.EXPORT_OK) { for(s in from) to[s] = from[s]; return; } } // If we get here, we have an explicitly specified array of symbols // to import. If the namespace defines EXPORT and/or EXPORT_OK arrays, // ensure that each symbol is listed before importing it. // Throw an error if a requested symbol does not exist or if // it is not allowed to be exported. var allowed; if (from.EXPORT || from.EXPORT_OK) { allowed = {}; // Copy allowed symbols from arrays to properties of an object. // This allows us to test for an allowed symbol more efficiently. if (from.EXPORT) for(var i = 0; i < from.EXPORT.length; i++) allowed[from.EXPORT[i]] = true; if (from.EXPORT_OK) for(var i = 0; i < from.EXPORT_OK.length; i++) allowed[from.EXPORT_OK[i]] = true; } // Import the symbols for(var i = 0; i < symbols.length; i++) { var s = symbols[i]; // The name of the symbol to import if (!(s in from)) // Make sure it exists throw new Error("Module.importSymbols( ): symbol " + s + " is not defined"); if (allowed && !(s in allowed)) // Make sure it is a public symbol throw new Error("Module.importSymbols( ): symbol " + s + " is not public and cannot be imported."); to[s] = from[s]; // Import it } }; // Modules use this function to register one or more initialization functions Module.registerInitializationFunction = function(f) { // Store the function in the array of initialization functions Module._initfuncs.push(f); // If we have not yet registered an onload event handler, do so now. Module._registerEventHandler( ); } // A function to invoke all registered initialization functions. // In client-side JavaScript, this will automatically be called in // when the document finished loading. In other contexts, you must // call it explicitly. Module.runInitializationFunctions = function( ) { // Run each initialization function, catching and ignoring exceptions // so that a failure by one module does not prevent other modules // from being initialized. for(var i = 0; i < Module._initfuncs.length; i++) { try { Module._initfuncs[i]( ); } catch(e) { /* ignore exceptions */} } // Erase the array so the functions are never called more than once. Module._initfuncs.length = 0; } // A private array holding initialization functions to invoke later Module._initfuncs = []; // If we are loaded into a web browser, this private function registers an // onload event handler to run the initialization functions for all loaded // modules. It does not allow itself to be called more than once. Module._registerEventHandler = function( ) { var clientside = // Check for well-known client-side properties "window" in Module.globalNamespace && "navigator" in window; if (clientside) { if (window.addEventListener) { // W3C DOM standard event registration window.addEventListener("load", Module.runInitializationFunctions, false); } else if (window.attachEvent) { // IE5+ event registration window.attachEvent("onload", Module.runInitializationFunctions); } else { // IE4 and old browsers // If the <body> defines an onload tag, this event listener // will be overwritten and never get called. window.onload = Module.runInitializationFunctions; } } // The function overwrites itself with an empty function so it never // gets called more than once. Module._registerEventHandler = function( ) {}; } | |