databinder 0.2.0

Data binding via object mirrors.

DataBinder

Data binding is a technique used to maintain synchronization of data. And it's a key component of most MVP/MVVM frameworks.

DataBinder is a Dart library implementing data binding via object mirrors. Though the primary focus of the library is to be used by frameworks, it can be used directly as well.

Core principles

Do all bindings dynamically => no compilation

I strongly believe that runtime binding is more advantageous than compilation.

• No extra steps in the build process
• Easier to understand
• Templates can be built dynamically or retrieved from a database

Provide extension points for frameworks

To be a good foundation for building MV* frameworks Databinder should support custom binders.

How to use it

Add the databinder dependency to your pubspec.yaml

name:  sampleapp
dependencies:
  databinder: any

Define a view model

class Person {
  String firstName, lastName;
  bool married;

  Person(this.firstName, this.lastName);

  toUpperCase(e){
    firstName = firstName.toUpperCase();
    lastName = lastName.toUpperCase();
  }

  toLowerCase(e){
    firstName = firstName.toLowerCase();
    lastName = lastName.toLowerCase();
  }

  get children {
	return [new Person("Sam", "Smith"), new Person("Liz", "Smith")]
  }
}

Just 3 methods

• bind - registers model and DOM watchers
• unbind - unregisters all the registred watchers
• digest - triggers all the registered model watchers

One-way data binding

<fieldset id="one-way">
  First name {{firstName}}
  Last name {{lastName}}
</fieldset>

To bind:

var person = new Person("Jim", "Smith");
var element = query("#one-way");
var binder = new DataBinder.root(element, person);
binder.bind();

To unbind:

binder.unbind();

Two-way data binding

<fieldset id="two-way-form">
  First name <input data-bind="value:firstName"/>
  Last name <input data-bind="value:lastName"/>
</fieldset>

To bind:

var person = new Person("Jim", "Smith");
var element = query("#two-way-form");
var binder = new DataBinder.root(element, person);
binder.bind();

To unbind:

binder.unbind();

Binding actions

<div id="actions">
  <button data-action="click:toUpperCase">TO UPPER CASE</button>
  <button data-action="click:toLowerCase">to lower case</button>
</div>

To bind:

var person = new Person("Jim", "Smith");
var element = query("#actions");
var binder = new DataBinder.root(element, person);
binder.bind();

To unbind:

binder.unbind();

Conditionals

<div data-template="true" data-if="married">
  {{firstName}} {{lastName}} is married
</div>

To bind:

var person = new Person("Jim", "Smith");
person.married = true;

var element = query("#actions");
var binder = new DataBinder.root(element, person);
binder.bind();

You'll see:

Jim Smith is married

Repeaters

<div data-template="true" data-iterate="child in children">
  {{child.firstName}} is a child of {{firstName}}
</div>

You'll see:

Sam is a child of Jim
Liz is a child of Jim

More control over binding

var binder = new DataBinder.root(element, person);

is the equivalent of:

var boundObjects = new BoundObjects();
boundObjects.register("", person);

var scope = new Scope(boundObjects);

var transformations = new Transformations.standard();

var binder = new DataBinder(element, scope, transformations);

When creating a data binder you can configure the objects you want to bind, the scope, and the list of available transformations. All these objects are extendable.

Example app

Check out the example application that comes with the package to see the library in action.