How is javascript loaded

First are loaded scripts from <head> tag, than from <body> tag. It could happend that one <script src=... failed to load remote scipt, so probably the following script <script> tag will not work. You can add script dynamically in javascript using appendChild and it will be executed after all inline scripts are done (after all defered so setting defer option in javascript has no efects). You can run your script as callback when script is loaded

# if you are using script src tag
<script onload="loadedContent();" src ="/myapp/myCode.js"  ></script>

# or using script src tag and event listenter
<script id="myscript" src ="/myapp/myCode.js"></script>
<script>
  var script = document.querySelector('#myscript');
  script.addEventListener('load', function() {
    myScipt Initialisation code
  });
</script>

# or if loaded using appendChild

var razorpay_script = document.createElement('script');
razorpay_script.setAttribute('src','https://checkout.razorpay.com/v1/checkout.js');
razorpay_script.onload=function(){
  #{razorpay_options_js}
  var rzp1 = new Razorpay(options);
  rzp1.open();
};
document.head.appendChild(razorpay_script);

# third solution could be to use setTimeout(callback(){}, 200)

Threre are two phases: downloading and executing. All modern browsers download in parallel so we do not need to consider downloading. Execution could be immediatelly or after parsing.

There are two additional attributes html living standard 4.12 Scripting

  • <script src="" async> execute as soon as it is downloaded (download is not blocking). It could be in any order regarding other scripts and it could be before parser finishes.
  • when async is not present than<script src="" defer> (download is not blocking) execute in same order when page has finished parsing (just before DOMContentLoaded) defer is ignored on scripts without src (so defer works only for external scripts)

Scroll into view of element

For stimulus version check https://stimulus-components.netlify.app/docs/stimulus-scroll-to/

Sometimes you need to scroll the page to show some notification on top, or to display element from the bottom of the page. We can use scrollIntoView

function checkIfInView($element, options){
  // Not in view so use https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Element.scrollIntoView
  // use options parameter to force scrolling even element is visible on current view
  // if options == true, the top of the element will be aligned to the top of the visible area of the scrollable ancestor.
  if (typeof document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0].scrollIntoView == 'undefined')
  {
    LOG && console.log("scrollIntoView not defined");
    return true;
  }
  else if (typeof options != 'undefined')
  {
    LOG && console.log("ckeckIfInView "+options);
    $element[0].scrollIntoView(options);
  }
  else
  {
    // check if visible
    var offset = $element.offset().top - $(window).scrollTop();
    if(offset < 0){
        LOG && console.log("alignWithTop=true");
        $element[0].scrollIntoView();
        return false;
    }
    else if (offset > window.innerHeight){
        LOG && console.log("alignWithTop=false");
        $element[0].scrollIntoView(false);
        return false;
    }
    else
    {
      LOG && console.log("no scroll");
      return true;
    }
  }
}

Scroll to bottom

http://jsfiddle.net/5ucD3/13/

$('#textdiv').append('<p>asd</p>,,,,')
$('#textdiv').animate({scrollTop: $('#textdiv').prop("scrollHeight")}, 500);

Always on page, floating elements

There is nice plugin stickyjs but for simple scroll you can use this answer First version is enought if you do not need to scroll big elements. Note that calculation of originalTop could be wrong if there are some images and their parent does not have fixed height.

// app/assets/javascripts/follow-scroll-smoothly.js
// call with `follow_scroll_smoothly('.navbar');
function follow_scroll_smoothly(elementSelector) {
  var element = $(elementSelector);
  var originalTop = element.offset().top;
  console.log("follow_scroll_smoothly originalTop=" + originalTop);

  // Space between element and top of screen (when scrolling)
  var topMargin = 5;

  // Should probably be set in CSS; but here just for emphasis
  element.css('position', 'relative');

  $(window).on('scroll', function(event) {
    // get the vertical position of scrollbar
    var scrollTop = $(window).scrollTop();

    var newTop = scrollTop < originalTop ? 0 : scrollTop - originalTop + topMargin;

    element.stop(false, false).animate({
        top: newTop,
    }, 300);
    console.log("follow_scroll_smoothly scrollTop=" + scrollTop + " newTop=" + newTop);
  });
}

If target element is big enought to go beyond the bottom line of the page, you need to stop scroll untill user see the bottom. Note that we use outerHeight to include element padding and margin. There are two approaches. First is symetric which do not scroll if current view is inside element. Scroll only when user see’s top or bottom or does not see element.

  • Symetric rules are:
    • if I scroll down and I see bottom and top is about to hide
      • if I see whole element than follow with top of the element
      • if I don’t see whole element than follow with bottom
    • if I scroll up and I see top and bottom is about to hide
      • if I see whole element than follow with bottom of the element
      • if I don’t see whole element than follow with top
    • if I don’t see both top and bottom and I can not see element (it happens when user press Home and End keys) probably element is smaller than window height
      • if it scroll up than follow bottom
      • if it scroll down than follow top
function follow_scroll_smoothly(elementSelector, footerSelector) {
  var element = $(elementSelector);
  var elementHeight = element.outerHeight();
  var windowHeight = $(window).height();
  var documentHeight = $(document).height();
  var headerMinimumTop = element.offset().top;
  var footerMaximumTop = documentHeight;
  if (footerSelector && $(footerSelector).length) {
    footerMaximumTop = documentHeight - $(footerSelector).outerHeight();
  }
  console.log("follow_scroll_smoothly headerMinimumTop=" + headerMinimumTop);

  // Space between element and top/bottom of screen (when scrolling)
  var topMargin = 5;
  var bottomMargin = 15;

  // Should probably be set in CSS; but here just for emphasis
  element.css('position', 'relative');

  function checkRangeRelativeTop(relativeTop) {
    var result = relativeTop;
    if (result < 0) {
      // can not go above initial position
      result = 0;
    } else if (result > footerMaximumTop - elementHeight - headerMinimumTop) {
      // can not go bewond footer
      result = footerMaximumTop - elementHeight - headerMinimumTop;
    }
    return result;
  }

  function stickTop(scrollTop) {
    var newRelativeTop = checkRangeRelativeTop(scrollTop - headerMinimumTop + topMargin);
    element.stop(false, false).animate({
        top: newRelativeTop,
    }, 300);
    $('#debug').prepend('<br>stickTop ' + newRelativeTop);
  }
  function stickBottom(scrollTop) {
    // we don't use animate bottom since it is relative to element, we use top
    var newRelativeTop = checkRangeRelativeTop(scrollTop - headerMinimumTop + windowHeight - elementHeight - bottomMargin);

    element.stop(false, false).animate({
        top: newRelativeTop,
    }, 300);
    $('#debug').prepend('<br>stickBottom ' + newRelativeTop);
  }
  var lastScrollTop = 0;
  $(window).on('scroll', function(event) {
    // get the vertical position of scrollbar
    var scrollTop = $(window).scrollTop();
    var scrollDownDirection = scrollTop > lastScrollTop;
    lastScrollTop = scrollTop;
    var elementTop = element.offset().top
    var elementBottom = elementTop + elementHeight;
    var weSeeBottom = windowHeight + scrollTop > elementBottom && scrollTop < elementBottom;
    var weSeeTop = windowHeight + scrollTop > elementTop && scrollTop < elementTop;
    $('#info').html(JSON.stringify(
      {
        windowHeight: windowHeight,
        headerMinimumTop: headerMinimumTop,
        elementHeight: elementHeight,
        elementTop: elementTop,
        footerMaximumTop: footerMaximumTop,
        // scrollTop: scrollTop,
        // weSeeBottom: weSeeBottom,
        // weSeeTop: weSeeTop,
        // scrollDownDirection: scrollDownDirection,
      }
    ));

    if (scrollDownDirection && weSeeBottom && !weSeeTop)
    {
      if (windowHeight > elementHeight) {
        // we see whole element
        stickTop(scrollTop);
      } else {
        // we don't whole element because top is out of page
        stickBottom(scrollTop);
      }
    }
    else if (!scrollDownDirection && !weSeeBottom && weSeeTop)
    {
      if (windowHeight > elementHeight) {
        stickBottom(scrollTop);
      } else {
        stickTop(scrollTop);
      }
    }
    else if (!weSeeBottom && !weSeeTop && (elementBottom < scrollTop || elementTop > scrollTop + windowHeight))
    {
      if (scrollDownDirection) {
        stickTop(scrollTop);
      } else {
        stickBottom(scrollTop);
      }
    }
  });
}

Another approach is to keep top as much as he can (until bottom reaches bottom). When element is bigger than page, user needs to scroll down to the bottom to see bottom of the element.

Coffeescript tips

  • try coffeescript and convertor js2coffe
  • no need ; at the end of line
  • block {…} is replaced with -> and proper indend (two spaces) or could be inline
  • parantheses (arg) in one line can be ommited (when there are some arguments), in multiple lines they are required. Don’t mix inline and multiline, since it will resolve to two arguments (with type object). Don’t know how to break long inline arguments to two line. At least first arg should be in new line, others can be on the same line or in separate line.
  • () are required when you want to call function without arguments (otherwise it will just return reference to the function)
  • object definition {…} braces can be ommited, name/value pairs could be on new lines (if object is only argument than parentheses can be ommited)
  • No need to write return command. Since last line is returning, put empty return in angular constructor functions
  • conditional ternary (triple) operator in ? : can be used with if then else
  • loops are simiral to ruby, and it’s better than ES5 forEach since we can break from the loop. For example find by objectId in array carts:

    service.findOrCreateCartForRestaurant = (restaurant) ->
      resultCart = null
      for cart in service.carts
        if cart.restaurantId == restaurant.id
          resultCart = cart
          break
      if !resultCart
        resultCart =
          restaurantId: restaurant.id
          restaurantName: restaurant.name
          total: 0
          cartItems: []
        service.carts.push resultCart
      resultCart
    

    Another solution is to use resultCart = $filter('filter')(service.carts, (cart) -> { cart.id == restaurant.id }) or from cookbook ` resultCart = service.carts.filter (cart) -> cart.id == restaurant.id`

  • print empty lines in log

    console.log ("\n" for x in [0..10]).join('')
    
  • fat arrow => allow to this in callback functions

    Account = (customer, cart) ->
      @customer = customer
      @cart = cart
    
      $('.shopping_cart').on 'click', (event) =>
        @customer.purchase @cart
    
  • multiline text without or with new lines

    s = "This is
      very long line"
    p = "this-long-url\
        -joined-without-space"
    q =
      """
      This is
      very long line
      """
    
  • excellent reference for coffeescript-cookbook
  • global variables can be attached to window object like window.my_var = 42 or you can use @ syntax @my_var = 42
  • iterate loops over hash object for k, v of my_object. If you need index of array use also two params for value, index of array. In ES6 you can myArray.forEach(function(val) { console.log(val) }. To convert HtmlCollection to array you can use Array.from(htmlCollection)
  • you can call functions without parantesis but if you have params. But if you do not have params, that would be just a reference to a function, to call it you can use do link

    event.preventDefault()
    # or
    do event.preventDefault
    

    another usage of do is for closures

  • you can use class, constructor, @instance_valiable =, @class_variable: for classes for example you can define constants https://coderwall.com/p/1dckba/constants-in-coffeescript
    # app/assets/javascripts/const.coffee.erb
    class window.Const
    @DATATABLE_SR_LANGUAGE_URL: '<%= asset_path 'plugins/datatables/i18n.sr.json.erb' %>'
    @SOME_OBJECT: {
      a: 1
    }
    

so you can access in other js files

url = Const.DATATABLE_SR_LANGUAGE_URL
my_obj = Const.SOME_OBJECT

Difference ES6 (ie ES2015) and ES5

This post explains what is new in ES6 (Ecma Script 2015). Almost all those features already exists in coffee script nice reply. It’s good that no need to write function keyword. Also nice table of es6-features and supported browsers

  • use strict mode by default (by this info you should use in development but not on production

Books

  • https://performancejs.com/post/hde6d32/The-Best-Frontend-JavaScript-Interview-Questions-%28written-by-a-Frontend-Engineer%29
  • https://github.com/getify/You-Dont-Know-JS
  • best practices https://github.com/wearehive/project-guidelines

Colors

You can generate random color palete in javascript

  function getRandomColor() {
    var letters = '0123456789ABCDEF'.split('');
    var color = '#';
    for (var i = 0; i < 6; i++ ) {
        color += letters[Math.floor(Math.random() * 16)];
    }
    return color;
  }

  var color = getRandomColor()
  // add transparency for background colors
  var backgroundColor = color + 'A0'

If you need same distinct colors based on integer numbers you can create a deterministic function. Here is example in ruby

  def add_colors(datasets)
    # http://martin.ankerl.com/2009/12/09/how-to-create-random-colors-programmatically/
    h = 0.5
    golden_ratio_conjugate = 0.618033988749895
    colors = (1..datasets.length).to_a.map do
      h += golden_ratio_conjugate
      h %= 1
      hsv_to_rgb(h, 0.5, 0.95)
    end.map do |r,g,b|
      {
        full: "rgba(#{r},#{g},#{b},1)",
        transparent: "rgba(#{r},#{g},#{b},0.2)"
      }
    end.map { |c| OpenStruct.new c }

    result = datasets.each_with_index.map do |dataset,i|
      {
        fillColor: colors[i].transparent,
        strokeColor: colors[i].full,
        pointColor: colors[i].full,
        pointStrokeColor: "#fff",
        pointHighlightFill: "#fff",
        pointHighlightStroke: colors[i].full,
      }.merge dataset
    end
    result
  end

  # HSV values in [0..1]
  # returns [r, g, b] values from 0 to 255
  def hsv_to_rgb(h, s, v)
    h_i = (h*6).to_i
    f = h*6 - h_i
    p = v * (1 - s)
    q = v * (1 - f*s)
    t = v * (1 - (1 - f) * s)
    r, g, b = v, t, p if h_i==0
    r, g, b = q, v, p if h_i==1
    r, g, b = p, v, t if h_i==2
    r, g, b = p, q, v if h_i==3
    r, g, b = t, p, v if h_i==4
    r, g, b = v, p, q if h_i==5
    [(r*256).to_i, (g*256).to_i, (b*256).to_i]
  end

Javascript tips

  • modern js cheatsheet
  • to see all keys of myObj you can use Object.keys(myObj)
  • alert object with alert(JSON.stringify(myObj))
  • if you want to break array forEach method when you find el, you can use some

  • to remove item myObject from array myArray.splice myArray.indexOf(myObject),1
  • !!variable will return false only for 0, null, "", undefined, NaN NaN=Not a number
  • to check if some property is defined on a object (method or variable), you can use in for example a = {b:1}; 'b' in a // returns true
  • get last element of array array.slice(-1);
  • replaceAll is the same as /g example "asdasd".replace(/s/g,"***")
  • merging arrays is better to append array1.push.apply(array1, array2) than to create new array1.concat(array2)
  • instead of parseInt('10') you can use +'10' to type cast string to number
  • jQuery.data() is different than plain javascript this.dataset because javascript always returns string this.dataset.a // "[1]" but jQuery use JSON.parse and returns string in case it is not valid json $(this).data('a') // [1]. Note that integers will be integers not strings. Also IE10 does not support dataset, so better is to use $(this).data().a.
  • if variable point to the same array or object, than it will be the same a=[1];b=a;a==b//true. But if it different object (event with same data) variables will not have the same value. a=[1];b=[1];a==b//false or {a:1}=={a:1}//false. Comparing arrays or objects should be done one by one link

  • if you are using window.location.replace('http://a.b'); then browser back button is not working as espected. Its better to use window.location.assign('new_page'); because the page is stored in history or window.location.href = 'http://www.google.com'
  • when user click back button previous page is reshown, and chrome reruns the javascript, but mozilla doesn’t. if you want in mozilla to run again, use cache buster or try with:

    • window.onunload = function(){};
    • $(window).unload(function () {});
    • $(window).bind("pageshow", function() {});

    In both mozilla and chrome, form fields stays populated, so you can use $('form').each(function() { this.reset(); }); which is not user friendly, it is better to target only one form

    <form id="reset-form"></form>
    <script>
      $(window).bind("pageshow", function() {
        document.getElementById('reset-form').reset();
      });
    </script>
    
  • submit button should be disabled when text input or textarea are blank. You can enable button on change, but it should listen other events as well so it is enable for example, on onpaste.
<form>
  <input onchange="d(this)" onkeyup="this.onchange()" onpaste="this.onchange()" oninput="this.onchange()" \>
  <button id="send_button" disabled="disabled">Send</button>
</form>
<script>
function d(e){
  document.getElementById("send_button").disabled = e.value.length == 0;
}
</script>

this is unobtrusive version, works for input and select elements

# app/assets/javascripts/common.coffee
  $('[data-disable-button-if-empty]').on 'change paste keyup input', ->
    disabled = this.value.length == 0
    $(this).parents('form').first().find('[type=submit]').prop('disabled', disabled)

  # initial status
  $.each $('[data-disable-button-if-empty]'), (index, el) ->
    $(el).trigger('change')

# app/views/posts/form.html.erb
    <%= f.text_field :name, class: "input-large", 'data-disable-button-if-empty' => true %>
    <%= f.collection_select :post_id, some_posts, :id, :name, { include_blank: 'Select Package' }, class: "field span5", 'data-disable-button-if-empty' => true %>

regex

match

  • when you are sending object with GET than you need to make it encoded (or you can use jQuery.get(url, data):

      var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
      // http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5505085/flatten-a-javascript-object-to-pass-as-querystring
      function toQueryString(obj) {
        var parts = [];
        for (var i in obj) {
            if (obj.hasOwnProperty(i)) {
                parts.push(encodeURIComponent(i) + "=" + encodeURIComponent(obj[i]));
            }
        }
        return parts.join("&");
      }
      xhr.open('GET', '/notify-javascript-error?' + toQueryString(data));
      xhr.send();
    
  • to create jquery elements you can select parent element and append to it: $('p').append('<span>hi</span>') or you can create and use appendTo $('<span>hi</span>').appendTo('body');. Instead of elements as html blocks, if you have a lot of javascript variables, you can pass additinal parameters and use quick self closed tags like

$('<div/>', {
  id: 'foo',
  css: {
    fontWeight: 600
  },
  click: function() {
    alert('Hi');
  }
});

you can add $('p').after("some text") or $('p').before('some text')

  • click event buble up, so when you attach click

    <button type="button" class="btn btn-box-tool" data-widget="collapse" data-user-preferences="expand_location_reports_customers"><i class="fa fa-minus"></i>
    

    target will will be inner <i> and currentTarget will be <button> so targetElement (e.target) should be e.currentTarget

    @initializeUserPreferences = ->
      $('[data-user-preferences]').click (e) ->
        preference = e.currentTarget.dataset.dataUserPreferences
    
  • disable right click on a page with document.addEventListener('contextmenu', event => event.preventDefault());. If you want to reenable on some page, use global search (Ctrl+Shift+F in chrome) for contextmenu and put breakpoint and comment that line, save and continue F8.

  • jquery.each should not return false since it will break the loop, for in coffeescript you should add true
      $('[data-enable-buttons]:checked').each ->
        this.checked = false
        true
    
  • upgrade jquery with require('jquery-migrate') so we can read all warnings in console
    • replace $(document).on('ready', function(){}) with $(function(){})
    • replace $(el).focus()) with $(el).trigger('focus') or $(el).blur(function(){}) with $(el).on('blur', function(){})