Dojo AMD: Can't call a function inside a require
I am really a newbie to dojo but as i started developing a new application with dojo version 1.7.2 i also wanted to use the new AMD syntax for functions. Unfortunately i don't seem to get it. :-(
What annoys me most is that i can't simply call any function which is inside of a "require"-block. For example i have a page which on opening creates a dynamic table with several widgets in each row. Then i have a button which adds one empty row each time pressed.
Without AMD syntax it would be easy:
- put all my "dojo.require()" in the HEAD
- and then create a bunch of my own functions for creating the table and widgets
- the add row function could easily access any global-variables my previous function filled
But with AMD its like this:
Initial function creates the table and widgets:
function fillReportTable(repId) {
require(["dojo/dom-construct", "dojo/dom-attr", "dijit/form/FilteringSelect",
"dojo/data/ItemFileReadStore", "dijit/form/ComboBox", "dijit/form/DateTextBox", "dijit/form/Select", "dojo/store/Memory"],
function (domConstruct, domAttr, FilteringSelect, ItemFileReadStore, ComboBox, DateTextBox, Select, Memory) {
// a lot of code to create the table, consisting of SEVERAL functions
function createNewRow(tbl) { ...}
function function1 () {... }
function function2 () {... }
function function3 () {... }
}
Now the "Add Empty Row" button calls its own function "addEmptyRow".
But in this function I have to:
- do an other require for each dojo-module again
- I CAN'T use any of the functions which are "inside" of the "fillReportTable"-function. For example the "createNewRow"-function
function addEmptyRow() {
require(["dojo/dom-construct", "dojo/dom-attr", "dijit/form/FilteringSelect",
"dojo/data/ItemFileReadStore", "dijit/form/ComboBox", "dijit/form/DateTextBox", "dijit/form/Select", "dojo/store/Memory"],
function (domConstruct, domAttr, FilteringSelect, ItemFileReadStore, ComboBox, DateTextBox, Select, Memory) {
// a lot of code to create the table, consisting of SEVERAL functions
}
This all seems to be so much complicated with AMD.
Or am i missing something obvious here ?
With AMD if you separate your code into a lot of small functions, do you do the "require" inside EACH function all over again ? Or do you put all the functions inside one "require" with the full list ?
If you do it the second way, how can you call these functions from widget events?
Answer
The easiest way would be to define your own module. Take a look at this tutorial first:
http://dojotoolkit.org/documentation/tutorials/1.7/modules/
Now define your own module, e.g. "./js/mymodules/mymodule.js" (relative to HTML page):
define([
"dojo/dom-construct",
"dojo/dom-attr",
"dijit/form/FilteringSelect",
"dojo/data/ItemFileReadStore",
"dijit/form/ComboBox",
"dijit/form/DateTextBox",
"dijit/form/Select",
"dojo/store/Memory"
], function (domConstruct, domAttr, FilteringSelect, ItemFileReadStore, ComboBox, DateTextBox, Select, Memory) {
function fillReportTable(repId) {
// a lot of code to create the table, consisting of SEVERAL functions
function createNewRow(tbl) { ...}
function function1 () {... }
function function2 () {... }
function function3 () {... }
}
function addEmptyRow() {
// a lot of code to create the table, consisting of SEVERAL functions
}
// Return an object that exposes two functions
return {
fillReportTable: fillReportTable,
addEmptyRow: addEmptyRow
}
});
And use your module like this:
<html>
<head>
<script>
var dojoConfig = {
baseUrl: "./js/",
packages: [
{ name: "dojo", location: "lib/dojo" },
{ name: "dijit", location: "lib/dijit" },
{ name: "dojox", location: "lib/dojox" }
]
};
</script>
<script data-dojo-config="async: true" src="js/lib/dojo/dojo.js"></script>
</head>
...
<script>
require([
"mymodules/mymodule"
], function (mymodule) {
mymodule.fillReportTable(...);
mymodule.addEmptyRow(...);
});
</script>