javascript new function call with MooTools

Question

I have found a MooTools version of Nivoo Slider that (in theory) will work with our MooTools dropdown menu. However, the menu is using MooTools 1.2.x, and Nivoo is using 1.3.2 or 1.4.0. Every time I try and use both the menu and the slider, the menu stops working.

Are the versions of the MooTools framework not backward compatible?

Also, are these plugins compatible or is one overriding the other?

I don't know enough about JS to correct my errors or rewrite the function call. Is there a good beginner's tutorial for this?

window.addEvent('domready', function () {
    var menu = new UvumiDropdown('dropdown-demo');

    // initialize Nivoo-Slider
    new NivooSlider($('slider'), {
        directionNavHide: true,
        effect: 'wipeDown',
        interval: 1000
    });
}); 

---

In trying to convert without compatibility, here are instructions that I was not sure how to implement.

Instruction

:: Line of 1.2 code

$clear => use the native clearTimeout when using fn.delay, use clearInterval when using fn.periodical.

:: $clear(a.retrieve('closeDelay'))

myFn.create => Use the according functions like .pass, .bind, .delay, .periodical

:: this.createSubmenu(this.menu)

myFn.bind(this, [arg1, arg2, arg3]) => myFn.bind(this, arg1, arg2, arg3) OR myFn.pass([arg1, arg2, arg3], this)

:: this.domReady.bind(this)

$$ now only accepts a single selector, an array or arguments of elements

:: $$(b,b.getChildren('li')

These instructions are with compatibility. I'm trying both.

myElement.get('tween', options); // WRONG
myElement.set('tween', options).get('tween'); // YES, INDEED.

:: this.menu.get('tag')!='ul'

:: this.menu.getElement('ul')

Answer 1

OK I tested the UvumiDropdown latest build with mootools 1.4.x and it worked fine as long as I included a Mootools more build that includes Fx.Elements

Hope this helps

    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/mootools/1.4.1/mootools-yui-compressed.js"> </script>

    // MooTools: the javascript framework.
    // Load this file's selection again by visiting: http://mootools.net/more/c8813373963b6a3e9a4d4bcfe9290081 
    // Or build this file again with packager using: packager build More/Fx.Elements
    /*
    ---

    script: More.js

    name: More

    description: MooTools More

    license: MIT-style license

    authors:
      - Guillermo Rauch
      - Thomas Aylott
      - Scott Kyle
      - Arian Stolwijk
      - Tim Wienk
      - Christoph Pojer
      - Aaron Newton
      - Jacob Thornton

    requires:
      - Core/MooTools

    provides: [MooTools.More]

    ...
    */

    MooTools.More = {
        'version': '1.4.0.1',
        'build': 'a4244edf2aa97ac8a196fc96082dd35af1abab87'
    };


    /*
    ---

    script: Fx.Elements.js

    name: Fx.Elements

    description: Effect to change any number of CSS properties of any number of Elements.

    license: MIT-style license

    authors:
      - Valerio Proietti

    requires:
      - Core/Fx.CSS
      - /MooTools.More

    provides: [Fx.Elements]

    ...
    */

    Fx.Elements = new Class({

        Extends: Fx.CSS,

        initialize: function(elements, options){
            this.elements = this.subject = $$(elements);
            this.parent(options);
        },

        compute: function(from, to, delta){
            var now = {};

            for (var i in from){
                var iFrom = from[i], iTo = to[i], iNow = now[i] = {};
                for (var p in iFrom) iNow[p] = this.parent(iFrom[p], iTo[p], delta);
            }

            return now;
        },

        set: function(now){
            for (var i in now){
                if (!this.elements[i]) continue;

                var iNow = now[i];
                for (var p in iNow) this.render(this.elements[i], p, iNow[p], this.options.unit);
            }

            return this;
        },

        start: function(obj){
            if (!this.check(obj)) return this;
            var from = {}, to = {};

            for (var i in obj){
                if (!this.elements[i]) continue;

                var iProps = obj[i], iFrom = from[i] = {}, iTo = to[i] = {};

                for (var p in iProps){
                    var parsed = this.prepare(this.elements[i], p, iProps[p]);
                    iFrom[p] = parsed.from;
                    iTo[p] = parsed.to;
                }
            }

            return this.parent(from, to);
        }

    });

/*
UvumiTools Dropdown Menu v1.1.2 http://uvumi.com/tools/dropdown.html

Copyright (c) 2009 Uvumi LLC

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person
obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation
files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without
restriction, including without limitation the rights to use,
copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following
conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT
HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY,
WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR
OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
*/

var UvumiDropdown = new Class({
    Implements:Options,

    options:{
        clickToOpen:false,  //if set to true,  must click to open submenues
        openDelay:150,  //if hover mode, duration the mouse must stay on target before submenu is opened. if exits before delay expires, timer is cleared 
        closeDelay:500, //delay before the submenu close when mouse exits. If mouse enter the submenu again before timer expires, it's cleared
        duration:250,   //duration in millisecond of opening/closing effect
        link:'cancel',
        transition:Fx.Transitions.linear,   //effect's transitions. See http://docs.mootools.net/Fx/Fx.Transitions for more details
        mode:'horizontal' //if set to horizontal, the top level menu will be displayed horizontally. If set to vertical, it will be displayed vertically. If it does not match any of those two words, 'horizontal' will be used.
    },

    initialize: function(menu,options){
        this.menu = menu;
        this.setOptions(options);
        if(this.options.mode != 'horizontal' && this.options.mode != 'vertical'){
            this.options.mode = 'horizontal';
        }
        //some versions of Safari and Chrome run domready before DOM is actually ready, causing wrong positioning. If you still have some display issues in those browser try to increase the delay value a bit. I tried to keep it as low as possible, but sometimes it can take a bit longer than expected
        if(Browser.Engine.webkit){
            window.addEvent('domready',this.domReady.delay(200,this));
        }else{
            window.addEvent('domready',this.domReady.bind(this));
        }
    },

    domReady:function(){
        this.menu = $(this.menu);
        if(!$defined(this.menu)){
            return false;
        }
        //if passed element is not a UL, tries to find one in the children elements
        if(this.menu.get('tag')!='ul'){
            this.menu = this.menu.getElement('ul');
            if(!$defined(this.menu)){
                return false;
            }
        }
        //handles pages written form right to left.
        if(this.menu.getStyle('direction') == 'rtl' || $(document.body).getStyle('direction') == 'rtl'){
            this.rtl = true;
            if(Browser.Engine.trident && $(document.body).getStyle('direction') == 'rtl'){
                this.menu.getParent().setStyle('direction','ltr');
                this.menu.setStyle('direction','rtl');
            }
        }
        //start setup
        this.menu.setStyles({
            visibility:'hidden',
            display:'block',
            overflow:'hidden',
            height:0,
            marginLeft:(Browser.Engine.trident?1:-1)
        });
        //we call the createSubmenu function on the main UL, which is a recursive function
        this.createSubmenu(this.menu);
        //the LIs must be floated to be displayed horisotally
        if(this.options.mode=='horizontal'){
            this.menu.getChildren('li').setStyles({
                'float':(this.rtl?'right':'left'),
                display:'block',
                top:0
            });

            //We create an extar LI which role will be to clear the floats of the others
            var clear = new Element('li',{
                html:"&nbsp;",
                styles:{
                    clear:(this.rtl?'right':'left'),
                    display:(Browser.Engine.trident?'inline':'block'), //took me forever to find that fix
                    position:'relative',
                    top:0,
                    height:0,
                    width:0,
                    fontSize:0,
                    lineHeight:0,
                    margin:0,
                    padding:0
                }
            }).inject(this.menu);
        }else{
            this.menu.getChildren('li').setStyles({
                display:'block',
                top:0
            });
        }
        this.menu.setStyles({
            height:'auto',
            overflow:'visible',
            visibility:'visible'
        });
        //hack for IE, again
        this.menu.getElements('a').setStyle('display',(Browser.Engine.trident?'inline-block':'block'));
    },

    createSubmenu:function(ul){
        //we collect all the LI of the ul
        var LIs = ul.getChildren('li');
        var offset = 0;
        //loop through the LIs
        LIs.each(function(li){
            li.setStyles({
                position:'relative',
                display:'block',
                top:-offset,
                zIndex:1
            });
            offset += li.getSize().y;
            var innerUl = li.getFirst('ul');
            //if the current LI contains a UL
            if($defined(innerUl)){
                ul.getElements('ul').setStyle('display','none');
                //if the current UL is the main one, that means we are still in the top row, and the submenu must drop down
                if(ul == this.menu && this.options.mode == 'horizontal'){
                    li.addClass('submenu-down');
                    var x = 0;
                    var y = li.getSize().y;
                    this.options.link='cancel';
                    li.store('animation',new Fx.Elements($$(innerUl,innerUl.getChildren('li')).setStyle('opacity',0),this.options));
                //if the current UL is not the main one, the sub menu must pop from the side
                }else{
                    li.addClass('submenu-left');
                    var x = li.getSize().x-(this.rtl&&!Browser.Engine.trident?2:1)*li.getStyle('border-left-width').toInt();
                    var y = -li.getStyle('border-bottom-width').toInt();
                    this.options.link='chain';
                    li.store('animation',new Fx.Elements($$(innerUl,innerUl.getChildren('li')).setStyle('opacity',0),this.options));
                    offset=li.getSize().y+li.getPosition(this.menu).y;
                }
                innerUl.setStyles({
                    position:'absolute',
                    top:y,
                    opacity:0
                });
                ul.getElements('ul').setStyle('display','block');
                if(this.rtl){
                    innerUl.setStyles({
                        right:x,
                        marginRight:-x
                    });
                }else{
                    innerUl.setStyles({
                        left:x,
                        marginLeft:-x
                    });
                }
                //we call the createsubmenu function again, on the new UL
                this.createSubmenu(innerUl);
                //apply events to make the submenu appears when hovering the LI
                if(this.options.clickToOpen){
                    li.addEvent('mouseenter',function(){
                            $clear(li.retrieve('closeDelay'));
                        }.bind(this)
                    );
                    li.getFirst('a').addEvent('click',function(e){
                        e.stop();
                        $clear(li.retrieve('closeDelay'));
                        this.showChildList(li);
                    }.bind(this));
                }else{
                    li.addEvent('mouseenter',function(){
                        $clear(li.retrieve('closeDelay'));
                        li.store('openDelay',this.showChildList.delay(this.options.openDelay,this,li));
                    }.bind(this));
                }
                li.addEvent('mouseleave', function(){
                    $clear(li.retrieve('openDelay'));
                    li.store('closeDelay',this.hideChildList.delay(this.options.closeDelay,this,li));
                }.bind(this));
            }
        },this);
    },

    //display submenu
    showChildList:function(li){
        var ul = li.getFirst('ul');
        var LIs =  $$(ul.getChildren('li'));
        var animation = li.retrieve('animation');
        //if the parent menu is not the main menu, the submenu must pop from the side
        if(li.getParent('ul')!=this.menu || this.options.mode == 'vertical'){
            animation.cancel();
            var anim ={
                0:{
                    opacity:1
                },
                1:{
                    opacity:1
                }
            };
            if(this.rtl){
                anim[0]['marginRight'] = 0;
            }else{
                anim[0]['marginLeft'] = 0;
            }
            animation.start(anim);
            var animobject={};
        //if the parent menu us the main menu, the submenu must drop down
        }else{
            var animobject = {0:{opacity:1}};
        }
        LIs.each(function(innerli,i){
            animobject[i+1]={
                top:0,
                opacity:1
            };
        });
        li.setStyle('z-index',99);
        animation.start(animobject);
    },

    //hide the menu
    hideChildList:function(li){
        var animation = li.retrieve('animation');
        var ul = li.getFirst('ul');
        var LIs =  $$(ul.getChildren('li'));
        var offset = 0;
        var animobject={};
        LIs.each(function(innerli,i){
            animobject[i+1]={
                top:-offset,
                opacity:0
            };
            offset += innerli.getSize().y;
        });
        li.setStyle('z-index',1);
        //if the parent menu is not the main menu, the submenu must fold up, and go to the left
        if(li.getParent('ul')!=this.menu || this.options.mode == 'vertical'){
            animobject[1]=null;
            animation.cancel();
            animation.start(animobject);
            var anim = {
                0:{
                    opacity:0
                },
                1:{
                    opacity:0
                }
            };

            if(this.rtl){
                anim[0]['marginRight'] = -ul.getSize().x;
            }else{
                anim[0]['marginLeft'] = -ul.getSize().x;
            }
            animation.start(anim);
        //if the parent menu is the main menu, the submenu must just fold up
        }else{
            animobject[0]={opacity:0};
            animation.start(animobject);
        }
    }
});

Answer 2

MooTools follows SemVer (Semantic Versioning), meaning that a minor version number (x.Y.z) bump is not guaranteed to be backward-compatible (and is usually not).

However, new versions come with a compatibility layer. Just tick the box on the MooTools Core builder if you really can't upgrade your code. You should though avoid to do such a thing, it is bad for performance and potentially forward-compatibility.

As for a tutorial, the best way to learn how to upgrade code from one version to the other is to read the changelog of the 1.3 to learn about the differences with 1.2, and from the 1.3 to the 1.4 if you want to upgrade to the latest version. From this knowledge, rewrite all calls that make use of outdated APIs.

It looks like a daunting task at first, but it usually goes very quickly (actually, in this precise case, it is most often about rewriting Hash references and .each calls). It might be hard if you're learning JS, but it will definitely be a very rewarding experience in JS, and especially in MooTools, as you'll learn about what makes a code ”Mooish” :)