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koco (generator)

A knockout component based project structure and conventions. It should be used when wanting to quickly scaffold a project structure and start right away with basic modules to create a single page application.

Table of contents

Manifesto

The generator aims to help easing the development and deployment of JavaScript web applications. Code should be small, concise and encapsulated in a component so it can be reused and passed to another project easily.

A component is not necessarily a knockout component, but can be anything that can be sliced and reused properly inside or outside the project.

Compatibilty and recommended modules

Core librairies

Optional libraries

Other librairies

Pre-requisites

Before using this generator, you need a number of tool

  1. Install nodejs
  2. Install npmjs: npm install -g npm to upgrade npm to at least 2.x.x (type npm -v to get your current version)
    • If you have problem upgrading your npm version, it may have to do with how Windows handle PATH environment variable order.
  3. Install bower: npm install -g bower
  4. Install gulpjs: npm install -g gulp
  5. Install yeoman: npm install -g yo

Installation

To install generator-koco from npm, run:

npm install -g generator-koco

Finally, initiate the generator:

mkdir test
cd test
yo koco

Note: You can choose to install the demo project during koco's installation to get a better sens of how the project is build. Also, you will have to choose between Push state or hash routing. hash routing will generate url using the # character, as the push state option will use modern browser's state technology.

Project structure

Here's the proposed directory structure for a koco project.

|-- configuration
|-- server
|-- src
    |-- app
        |-- configs
            |-- configs.js
            |-- configs.local.js
            |-- <other config files...>
        |-- components.js
        |-- knockout-binding-handlers.js
        |-- knockout-configurator.js
        |-- knockout-extenders.js
        |-- knockout-validation-rules.js
        |-- require.config.js
        |-- startup.js
    |-- components
        |-- <components for your project only...>
    |-- images
        |-- <images for your project only...>
    |-- less
        |-- <less for your project only...>
    |-- index.html
|-- gulpfile.js
|-- gulpfile.local.js
|-- gulpfile.deploy.js
|-- gulpfile.tests.js

Building the project

koco uses gulp by default to build. You can build the project for local development or to put in release environment.

The project comes with three files. One for developing, one for releasing and the last one for testing.

To build the project locally, simply run gulp --open. Running gulp will do a number of things:

What it does

  • *.less files will be compiled into css in the /src/app/css directory
  • gulp watch will be applied on *.js, *.less and *.html files in various locations of your project and build them as you modify them so you can use Chrome's livereload feature.
  • a nodejs express server locally on port 1337
  • when --open is specified, it will open your default browser tab on http://localhost:1337.

Deploying your project

To build the project for release or any other environment, simply run gulp deploy. Running gulp deploy will do a number of things:

  • JavaScript, less and html will be merged into three separated files and copied into the /dist directory.
  • release-folders task will run and copy specified files to the /dist folder keeping the same pattern.

Note: When developing, require.js is used to load dependencies dynamically. When in release mode, all JavaScript and html files are merged to be handled by the require.js optimizer r.js. You can use the javascript arrays declared at the top of the gulpfile.js to specify which file to include or exclude from the final bundle.

Specifying a configuration

A project uses two configuration files to build. The first one, the parent, is named configs.js. Then, a child file is used to superseed the parent file values. These files are named after their environment.

To specify an environment, run the following gulp command:

gulp deploy --env=[environment]

Example

configs.js

return {
        api: {
            baseUrl: 'http://example.com/api'
        },
        imagePicker: {
            defaultWidth: '635px',
            defaultHeight: '357px'
        }
    };

configs.dev.js

return {
        api: {
            baseUrl: 'http://dev.example.com/api'
        }
    };

gulp command

gulp deploy --env=dev

In this case, api.baseUrl would be overrided in the child file.

Creating an environment

Simply name your file configs.[environment].js in the /src/app/configs folder. If the environment doesn't exist, local will be assumed.

Files purpose

The project comes with default files that should be used for a specific purpose. Here are some general guidelines that could be used or not, depends on your needs.

startup.js

The main entry point. Use this file with caution and avoid adding code directly to it. It should be used mainly as a hub for other initialization functions.

index.html

The main html file. Router, dialoger and modaler components will be rendered there.

components.js

Main component registry file. It is called once at application start. Any scaffolded component will be added here.

configs.js

Main configuration file returns an object. First property level should be treated as a module configuration, while any subsequent level should be configurations options.

Example:

    {
        api: {
            baseUrl: 'http://example.com/api'
        },
        imagePicker: {
            defaultWidth: '635px',
            defaultHeight: '357px'
        }
    }

The configs-tranforms module will extend the main configuration and override any configuration with the same name. It is useful when you want to set environment linked configurations such as development, release or local environment.

knockout-binding-handlers.js

Include all custom knockout binding handlers here to be loaded at application startup.

knockout-extenders.js

Include all custom knockout extenders here to be loaded at application startup.

knockout-validation-rules.js

Include all custom knockout validation rules here to be loaded at application startup.

require.config.js

Here you can modify the require.js configuration. This is the require.js configuration object as per http://requirejs.org/docs/api.html#config.

gulpfile.js, gulpfile.local.js, gulpfile.deploy.js, gulpfile.tests.js

The gulp build files. See Building the project for more information.

Conventions

koco sits on arbitrary conventions that should be followed closely.

Naming components

  • Dialoger will look for component named using the -dialog suffix.
  • Modaler will look for component named using the -modal suffix.
  • Router will look for component named using the -page suffix.
  • Any component failing to follow this pattern for any reason should be registered using the Knockout utilities librairy or knockout's.

Usage of Bower and the bower_components/ folder

Dialoger, Modaler and Router rely heavily on Bower to work. In this structure, the .bowerrc file overrides the default bower components installation folder and put it inside the /src folder. This has to prevail as the majority of the modules will look for files from there.

The components/ folder

By default, all libraries will assume registered components are in the components/ folder unless isBower or basePath is specified.