@oarepo/vue-query-synchronizer

In browser applications, address bar should be the most important source of truth. When user performs data filtering, sorting, pagination, the url should change so that the result of the filtering is bookmarkable/shareable.

Traditionally vue component would listen on query change and copy the query params to an internal model. This would be then used by an input component. Whenever the input is changed, an event listener (after optional debouncing) would propagate the change back to the query.

This library does all of this on the background, leaving you with just a couple of lines of code.

• Installation
  • From sources
• Usage
  • Plugin installation
  • Router configuration
  • Component
• Demo setup and run
  • Screenshot
• Library build
• API
  • QuerySynchronizer plugin configuration
  • query
    • definition
  • Datatype
  • Callbacks and signals
    • onInit
    • onLoad
    • onChange

Installation

yarn add @oarepo/vue-query-synchronizer

From sources

yarn build
cd dist; yarn link

cd your_project
yarn link @oarepo/vue-query-synchronizer

Usage

Plugin installation

Add the following to main.js (in quasar boot/....js)

import QuerySynchronizer from '@oarepo/vue-query-synchronizer'

Vue.use(QuerySynchronizer, {
    router: router
})

See src/main.js for the whole file.

Router configuration

In router configuration, mark which query parameters with a given type and default value should be synchronized with the component state:

import { query } from '@oarepo/vue-query-synchronizer'

const routes = [
{
    path: '/',
    name: 'home',
    meta: {
        query: {
           'page': 'int:1'
        }
    },
    component: Home
}
]

Full example at src/router.js

Component

In component, use this.$query to access parsed query. Then you can use properties at $query, for example $query.filter, $query.sort as normal models for html inputs or as models for any other components:

<template>
<div>
    <input v-model="$query.filter"><br><br>
    <pre>{{$rawQuery}}</pre>
</div>
</template>

<script>
export default {
    name: 'home',
}
</script>

Full example at src/Home.vue

The $rawQuery gives access to the raw data, $query is

Demo setup and run

yarn install
yarn run serve

Screenshot

Library build

yarn run build

API

QuerySynchronizer plugin configuration

During plugin registration, router must be passed in. Optionally a global debounce can be set, the default if unset is 100ms.

import QuerySynchronizer from '@oarepo/vue-query-synchronizer'

Vue.use(QuerySynchronizer, {
    router: router,
    datatypes: {
        name: handler
    },
    debug: false
})

Setting debug to true will log the parsed and serialized query parameters.

query

The potential query parameters with data types are stored in route, meta.query property in the form of param_name:definition.

definition

Definition can be:

• default string value (test)

• datatype followed by a default value (int:1)

• an object:

{
    datatype: 'string',
    defaultValue: null
}

The object can define a datatype, which is implicitly string. The datatype defines how the value from URL is converted to model and vice versa. Datatypes are pluggable, see Datatype section later in the readme for details.

If defaultValue is set and a value is not present in the URL, the model is set to this value. URL is not changed. When a default value is programmatically set on the parameter (for example, user enters it in input), the parameter is removed from the url.

Note: This means that if you change the default value of a parameter during the lifetime of your application, user's bookmarks will start behaving differently as your code will receive the new default values, not the ones used when user bookmarked the page.

Datatype

A datatype provides means to convert url parameter into an internal model value and vice versa. The pre-installed datatypes are:

• string - a no-op converter
• number - converts string value of the number in url into a javascript number
• bool - if the parameter is present (with whatever value), returns true else false
• array - returns an array of string (for parameters with multiple values)

A custom datatype can be implemented as follows:

Vue.use(QuerySynchronizer, {
    router: router,
    datatypes: {
        lowecase: {
            parseDefault(value) {
                // parses the default value from the strings above
                return (value || '').toLowerCase()
            },
            parse(value, defaultValue) {
                // value is: undefined if property is not present in the url
                // null if property is in url but without a value
                // string value if property is written as url?key=value
 
                // note: defaultValue has been parsed previously so that
                // it already is in the javascript format
                return value ? value.toLowerCase() : defaultValue 
            },
            serialize (value, defaultValue) {
                // this method must return undefined, null or string instance
                // returning undefined will remove the property from query
                if (value === defaultValue) { return undefined }
                // returning null will put url?key without a value to the url
                if (value === '') { return null }
                // will put url?key=value into the url
                return value.toLowerCase()
            }
        }
    }
})

Default datatypes are implemented by importable StringDatatype, IntDatatype, BoolDatatype, ArrayDatatype.

You can use them to create composite datatypes, for example an array of numbers.

ArrayOfNumbersDatatype = {
    parseDefault(value) {
        return ArrayDatatype.parseDefault(value).map(
            x => IntDatatype.parse(x, null)
        )
    },
    parse(value, defaultValue) {
        return ArrayDatatype.parse(value, defaultValue).
            map(x=>IntDatatype.parse(x, null))
    },
    serialize (value, defaultValue) {
        return ArrayDatatype.serialize(
            value.map(x => NumberDataType.serialize(value, null)),
            defaultValue)
    }
}

Callbacks and signals

The following signals can be specified at the query level:

import { query } from '@oarepo/vue-query-synchronizer'

const routes = [
{
    path: '/',
    name: 'home',
    meta: {
        query: {...},
        querySettings: {
            onInit (paramsList) { paramsList },
            onLoad (query) { /* do something with query */ },
            onChange (newQuery, query) { /* do something with newQuery */ }
        }
    },
    component: Home
}
]

onInit

onInit is called when the query is loaded. This signal can be used for example to set default values stored in local storage or on the server.

onLoad

called after browser query parameters are parsed and before they are returned to the component.

onChange

called after just before the url is changed. Can be used to store the values to local storage so that the next onInit picks them and uses them as default. The callback takes two parameters:

• newQuery is the new query that will be set to URL. Does not contain props with default values
• query contains the whole current query object with resolved default values