The Mix JavaScript Library (mix-js)

What?

The Mix JavaScript Library (mix-js) has a simple goal -- it allows you to develop JavaScript applications by using object composition rather than prototype inheritance. In mix-js, discrete mixins are leveraged rather than prototype chaining. There is no 'base class' in mix-js, though there's nothing keeping you from composing one for your own purposes.

In keeping with that simple goal, the library supports a very limited set of features, these are:

• Composition using mixins, supporting both overwriting and merging of nested structures.

• Transparent method chaining, so if a method is mixed in that overwrites an existing one of the same name, the original method can be called from the new.

Why?

For some applications, Object Oriented Programming actually introduces more problems than it solves. For example, inheriting vast amounts of unused functionality simply to abstract the chain of events that would produce a callback for a button click, particularly when that event is already generated by the browser, is simply overkill in most cases.

Yes, there is value in this kind of code when your application becomes complex, but when you have a simple web page with a single button on it, why do you need to create a handler that intercepts all mouse events, figures out which view those events apply to, and then forwards the exact same event to that view?

So here's the thing... If your app is simple, keep it simple, and as it gets more complex, mix in value-added functionality to deal with the increased complexity, but don't make things more complicated than they need to be. That is why mix-js is designed the way it is.

How?

Well, if you absolutely must see an example:

var Clickable = mix.compose({
    click: function(target) {
        alert('i was clicked');
    }
});

var Editable = mix.compose({
    edit: function(target) {
        alert('I was edited');            
    }
});

var instance = mix.create(mix.Common, Clickable, Editable);

Who?

Thomas Bradford (thom at mix-js org) is the original author of this here library. He was sick of overweight frameworks that came heavily laden with internal dependencies and decided he'd fix that little problem, initially (and selfishly) for his own purposes, but eventually making the project available to you, at no cost, save for $5.95 shipping and handling.

License

This Library is Public Domain Software (see LICENSE.md)