[xwiki-devs] [Proposal] Adopt the JavaScript module pattern - xwiki-devs@xwiki.org

20 Oct 2010

Hi devs,

I'd like to propose we adopt the module pattern for our XWiki's
javascript modules.

The pattern and its variations is well described here :
http://www.adequatelygood.com/2010/3/JavaScript-Module-Pattern-In-Depth

I would follow the author advice and go for loose augmentation and
sub-modules. I don't think we need private states.

Main avantages I see over what we currently are doing are :
* It enforces namespacing and the use of a private scope versus manual
namespacing in the global window scope
* It easily supports global imports (can be useful for example when
using jQuery in addition to prototype)
* It's more elegant and easier to read. For example :

var XWiki = (function(XWiki, $j){

    var mySubModule = XWiki.mySubModule = XWiki.mySubModule || {};

    // my sub module code here

    return XWiki;

})(XWiki, jQuery)

instead of the tedious :

if (typeof XWiki == "undefined") {
    XWiki = new Object();
}
if (typeof XWiki.mySubModule == "undefined") {
    XWiki.mySubModule = new Object();
}

// my sub module code here

I'm +1 to adopt it.

WDYT ?

Jerome