I posted a resolution to this discussion here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2061501/jquery-plugin-design-pattern-common-practice-for-dealing-with-private-function
On Jan 14, 2:08 am, Matt Maxwell <leftwithoutli...@gmail.com> wrote: > Also, more information on the call function (if you're not familiar with it) > can be found > here:https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Core_JavaScript_1.5_Reference/Object... > > <https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Core_JavaScript_1.5_Reference/Object...>You > could also use the apply > function:https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Core_JavaScript_1.5_Reference/Object... > > <https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Core_JavaScript_1.5_Reference/Object...>If > you need any other help with that or don't understand my example, let me > know. > > Thanks, > Matt > > On Wed, Jan 13, 2010 at 7:04 PM, Matt Maxwell > <leftwithoutli...@gmail.com>wrote: > > > > > Maybe try using something like: > > > $.myplugin.fill.call( this, "red" ); > > > On Wed, Jan 13, 2010 at 6:47 PM, Tim Molendijk > > <taw.molend...@gmail.com>wrote: > > >> Hey all, > > >> I've been developing jQuery plugins for quite some time now, and I > >> like to think I got pretty good at it. One issue keeps nagging me > >> though, and that is how to deal with private functions in a powerful > >> yet elegant manner. > > >> My plugins generally look something like this: > > >> (function($) { > > >> $.fn.myplugin = function(...) { > >> ... > >> // some shared functionality, for example: > >> this.css('background-color', 'green'); > >> ... > >> }; > >> $.fn.mypluginAnotherPublicMethod = function(...) { > >> ... > >> // some shared functionality, for example: > >> this.css('background-color', 'red'); > >> ... > >> }; > > >> }(jQuery); > > >> Now my question is: how to neatly DRY up that shared functionality? An > >> obvious solution would be to put it in a function within the plugin's > >> namespace: > > >> var fill = function($obj, color) { > >> $obj.css('background-color', color); > >> }; > > >> Although this solution is effective and nicely namespaced, I really > >> dislike it. For one simple reason: I have to pass it the jQuery > >> object. I.e. I have to call it like this: > >> fill(this, 'red'); > >> While I would like to call it like this: > >> this.fill('red'); > > >> Of course we could achieve this result by simply putting 'fill' into > >> jQuery.fn. But that feels very uncomfortable. Imagine having ten > >> plugins developed based on this approach and each plugin putting five > >> of those 'private' functions into the jQuery function namespace. It > >> ends up in a big mess. We could mitigate by prefixing each of these > >> functions with the name of the plugin they belong to, but that doesn't > >> really make it more attractive. These functions are supposed to be > >> private to the plugin, so we do not want to expose them to the outside > >> world at all (at least not directly). > > >> So there's my question: does anyone of you have suggestions for how to > >> get the best of both worlds. So being able to call 'private' plugin > >> function in a way similar to this.fill('red') (or this.myplugin.fill > >> ('red') or even this.myplugin().fill('red') etc.), while preventing > >> jQuery function namespace pollution. And of course it should be light- > >> weight, as these private functions might be called very frequently. > > >> Thanks for your ideas. > > >> Regards, > >> Tim Molendijk
