javascript-code.md

BookStack JavaScript Code

BookStack is primarily server-side-rendered, but it uses JavaScript sparingly to drive any required dynamic elements. Most JavaScript is applied via a custom, and very thin, component interface to keep code organised and somewhat reusable.

JavaScript source code can be found in the resources/js directory. This gets bundled and transformed by esbuild, ending up in the public/dist folder for browser use. Read the Development > "Building CSS & JavaScript Assets" documentation for details on this process.

Components

This section details the format for JavaScript components in BookStack. This is a really simple class-based setup with a few helpers provided.

Defining a Component in JS

class Dropdown {
    setup() {
        this.container = this.$el;
        this.menu = this.$refs.menu;
        this.toggles = this.$manyRefs.toggle;
    
        this.speed = parseInt(this.$opts.speed);
    }
}

All usage of $refs, $manyRefs and $opts should be done at the top of the setup function so any requirements can be easily seen.

Once defined, the component has to be registered for use. This is done in the resources/js/components/index.js file by defining an additional export, following the pattern of other components.

Using a Component in HTML

A component is used like so:

<div component="dropdown"></div>

<!-- or, for multiple -->

<div components="dropdown image-picker"></div>

The names will be parsed and new component instance will be created if a matching name is found in the components/index.js componentMapping.

Element References

Within a component you'll often need to refer to other element instances. This can be done like so:

<div component="dropdown">
    <span refs="dropdown@toggle othercomponent@handle">View more</span>
</div>

You can then access the span element as this.$refs.toggle in your component.

Multiple elements of the same reference name can be accessed via a this.$manyRefs property within your component. For example, all the buttons in the below example could be accessed via this.$manyRefs.buttons.

<div component="list">
    <button refs="list@button">Click here</button>
    <button refs="list@button">No, Click here</button>
    <button refs="list@button">This button is better</button>
</div>

Component Options

<div component="dropdown"
    option:dropdown:delay="500"
    option:dropdown:show>
</div>

Will result with this.$opts being:

{
    "delay": "500",
    "show": ""  
}

Component Properties & Methods

A component has the below shown properties & methods available for use. As mentioned above, most of these should be used within the setup() function to make the requirements/dependencies of the component clear.

// The root element that the component has been applied to.
this.$el

// A map of defined element references within the component.
// See "Element References" above.
this.$refs

// A map of defined multi-element references within the component.
// See "Element References" above.
this.$manyRefs

// Options defined for the component.
this.$opts

// The registered name of the component, usually kebab-case.
this.$name

// Emit a custom event from this component.
// Will be bubbled up from the dom element this is registered on, 
// as a custom event with the name `<elementName>-<eventName>`,
// with the provided data in the event detail.
this.$emit(eventName, data = {})

Global JavaScript Helpers

There are various global helper libraries in BookStack which can be accessed via the window. The below provides an overview of what's available.

// HTTP service
// Relative URLs will be resolved against the instance BASE_URL
window.$http.get(url, params);
window.$http.post(url, data);
window.$http.put(url, data);
window.$http.delete(url, data);
window.$http.patch(url, data);

// Global event system
// Emit a global event
window.$events.emit(eventName, eventData);
// Listen to a global event
window.$events.listen(eventName, callback);
// Show a success message
window.$events.success(message);
// Show an error message
window.$events.error(message);
// Show validation errors, if existing, as an error notification
window.$events.showValidationErrors(error);

// Translator
// Take the given plural text and count to decide on what plural option
// to use, Similar to laravel's trans_choice function but instead
// takes the direction directly instead of a translation key.
window.trans_plural(translationString, count, replacements);

// Component System
// Parse and initialise any components from the given root el down.
window.$components.init(rootEl);
// Register component models to be used by the component system.
// Takes a mapping of classes/constructors keyed by component names.
// Names will be converted to kebab-case.
window.$components.register(mapping);
// Get the first active component of the given name.
window.$components.first(name);
// Get all the active components of the given name. 
window.$components.get(name);
// Get the first active component of the given name that's been
// created on the given element.
window.$components.firstOnElement(element, name);

Public Events

There are a range of available events that are emitted as part of a public & supported API for accessing or extending JavaScript libraries & components used in the system.

Details on these events can be found in the JavaScript Public Events file.