backbone_cartodb_guidelines.md

Backbone basics

4 elements to indetify

• model / view
• collection / view collection

model

• all the stuff that goes to the server
• operations on that data

collection

• groups of models
• operations that affect all the models
• listen for events on all elements

view

• view of a model
• changes model ONLY on user actions
• is modified by the model
• it does NOT modify its own state

collection view

• it shows the elements in the collection
• it does NOT modify its own state
• add/reset/remove

what not to DO

• modify a model in a render method

• modify a model in a render method

• modify a model in a render method

• no set, no save

• never ever modify model.attributes

  _.update(model.attributes, {...}) // NO
  

• never save a model on modification

• never save a model on add/remove

• modify a model in a render method, NEVER

models good practices

• use parse to transform from the server to the client

parse: function(attrs) {
    this.my_sub_model.set(attrs.submodel)
    _.update(attrs, JSON.parse(attrs.options));
    delete attrs.options
    return attrs
}

• toJSON to transform client side to server

views

• if you are not sure about a method it probably goes in the model

    onUpdateBlah: function() {
        // this goes to the model
        var data = model.get('...');
        var o = ..
        for (var i in data) {
            o = fn(data[i])
        }
        // ~
        $el.html(data)
    }

• don't leak bindings (add_related_model/addView)
• if you are not able to change something in view only changing a model -> probably wrong
• if you are not able to remove/add elements to a list from a collection -> wrong
• render methods:

$el.html(...)
$el.find('...').html(...') //NO

// render offline
var el = $(....)
el.find('...').html(...') 

// render to the element
$el.html(el)

• if you do operations with jquery -> probably really wrong

  • FUCK TIPSY

• if you do $('.whatever') you are doing it really wrong

  • this.$('.whaever')

• views does not know anything about its parent

general

• DRY, spend 1 hours refactoring
• think and try to use existing code