cammerman/copper.js

A convention-based binding framework that flows between your HTML, view object, and model object and then wires them all up.

#Intro

copper.js is a convention-based binding framework that flows between your HTML, view object, and view-model object and then wires them all up.

The primary goal of the current version of copper.js is to allow you to use a full-fledged MVVM implementation, but without much of the boilerplate that can often come along with such designs. To the extent possible, copper uses conventions to determine what events should be bound and what data should be synchronized. The default conventions are name-based. (At present, there is no way to change conventions without modifying copper's source, but easy convention overriding is on the way.)

The closer your objects follow the conventions in place, the slimmer your code can be, letting the business logic that departs from boilerplate semantics shine through.

#Features

• Cu.Observable
• Cu.Computed
• Cu.ObservableCollection
• Cu.EventHost
• Auto-Binding with Cu.Wire

Future Auto-Binding Features

There are a number of features I plan to add to Copper in future releases. Generally they are all entered in the Issues list, but a few highlights include:

• Auto-bind the disabled attribute of input elements.
• Auto-bind ul, ol, and select children to an ObservableCollection
• Auto-bind any element repetition to an ObservableCollection
• Self-rendering views and template-based support for same.
• Generate a simple ViewModel "bag of observables" from a hash of initial values.
• Cu.Bindable: Bindable properties that are read-only via .val() and not observable, for syuncing on init only.

Stay tuned!

copper.js's Issues

Feature: Template-rendering views.

Views should be able to render a template from a model being bound to a view.

Feature: Subview collections

Given template-based rendering of views, subview collections could facilitate auto-rendering of repeated children (simple examples: LI, OPTION, TD, TR)

Feature: Bind-time explicit bindings

Add the ability to specify a hash of selector/property name pairs at bind-time.

Feature: Bind-time convention override

Conventions should be override-able at bind-time, so that the scope of diversions from the global convention can be as localized as possible.

Infrastructure: move crucial logic out of pipeline steps into conventions

Particularly for the model property pipeline, the crucial functionality could be embodied by functions easily overridable by the user on the conventions object.

Feature: Support automatic data synching when binding complete.

Feature: Allow initial data synching in either direction

Allow the intial post-bind data sync to be done from model to view, or from view to model.

Feature: Unbinding support

Unbind events from models, and views, for when models are removed or replaced.

Feature: Auto-bind view to template after rendering.

After rendering a template, the view should auto-bind to it, along with the model.

Feature: Autobound observable collections

The change events of Observable properties are autobound to event handlers on the view. ObservableCollections ought to get the same treatment.

Infrastructure: Expose binding metadata to pipeline steps.

Binding conventions could be more flexible and less likely to conflict, if they could make sure they're not wiping out an earlier steps bindings.

Feature: Conventions related to validation feedback

Need some conventions to make synching validation feedback to model state easier. Dependent observables may make this type of thing much easier.

Convention: Autobind class attributes to Observable properties with "Is" as a keyword

Autobind scope element classes to properties in the format "is" or "Is".
Autobind scope children to properties in the format "is".

Bug: End-to-end auto-bindings are overwritten in pre-existing handler binding steps

The order of these should be reversed. First pre-existing handlers should be bound. Then end-to-end bindings should be attempted.

Convention: Autobind "enabled" attributes to Observables based on keyword "allow"

Autobind scope elements to model properties named "allow".
Autobind scope children to model properties named in the format "allow" or "Allow".

Infrastructure: Refactor out redundancy of selector hash checks

Selector hash checking occurs in many steps of the binding pipeline, and the code for it is repeated in each case. It would be more useful to perform the association at the beginning of the pipeline and store it in the binding state object for reuse downstream.

Feature: View binding release

Unbind a view from the DOM so that a view may be removed or replaced, if desired.

Feature: View rendering template in response to model changes.

Explicitly specify observable model properties who trigger re-rendering of the view template.

Infrastructure: Prevent event cycles

In auto-bound event handlers, prevent DOM-triggered model changes from triggering changes to the source DOM element.